In the latest move to increase affordable home building in Colorado, a bill has been approved in the state legislature to provide funding support to developers.
As introduced by Democrat State Senator Dylan Roberts, the measure, Senate Bill 6, calls for issuing low-interest bonds to help spur the construction of affordable housing projects.
According to the language of the legislation, the bill permits the State Treasurer’s Office to invest up to $50 million in bonds at below market rates to build new housing.
In remarking on the purpose of the bill during a signing ceremony, Roberts said, “We all know that affordable housing continues to be a challenge in our state and especially in our mountain communities, where the cost of living is so much higher.”
Roberts particularly noted that a lack of affordable housing has negatively impacted workforce retention, “whether it’s ski areas like Copper Mountain or our school districts, our hospitals, our law enforcement agencies, and everybody else.”
The legislation specifically requires developers to create new housing that will be sold at or below 140% of area median income.
In another effort to attack the affordable housing challenge, Colorado lawmakers in 2023 approved the establishment of the Middle Income Housing Authority, which is designed to promote the building of affordable rental housing for middle-income workers.
That agency provides funding for the building of rental units between 80% and 120% of area median income, while targeting 140% of area median income for the state’s more expensive rural resort areas.
June 2, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Office of Senator Dylan Roberts
