By Marsha Barancik, Senior Vice President of Strategic Impact
The Arvada Chamber congratulates the City of Arvada for being one of the first municipalities in Jefferson County and across Colorado to file a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) commitment to increase the City’s total number of housing units, aligned with a 60% average median income (AMI) or less for rental properties or 100% AMI or less for homeownership units.
The City’s commitment to generate more than 400 new units, a 9% uptick in the City’s supply of income-aligned properties, positions developers to access the State Affordable Housing Fund, created by this year’s Proposition 123 legislation. DOLA approved Arvada’s commitment last month.
What to know:
Early bird perks: “This is an advantageous position because we have access to Prop 123 funding now while other municipalities are still deciding whether or not to opt-in at all,” says Samantha Bradley, Affordable Housing Development Specialist with the City of Arvada. One intent of filing a commitment was to ensure that the city receives more affordable housing funding opportunities to help projects in our pipeline, and hopefully attract new projects for the city, Bradley adds.
Who administers the funds: The Affordable Housing Fund’s $300 million is broken into two parts; 40% goes to the Affordable Housing Support Fund administered by DOLA and 60% to the Affordable Housing Financing Fund overseen by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) to fund housing programs.
The time is now: The city is currently open to discussions around potential affordable housing projects, and encourages developers to try to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these funds, Bradley says. The city has also committed to a 90-day fast-track approval process by the end of 2026
B.O.L.D. 2026 is a five-year regional economic strength and resiliency initiative of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber developed BOLD 2026 in consultation with private and public sector leaders and partners in Arvada, Jefferson / Adams Counties, Metro Denver and the state of Colorado. One goal of B.O.L.D. 2026 is to increase 60-120% AMI housing in Jefferson County to ensure workers can attain housing within reasonable proximity to their jobs. Learn more about our housing challenges and work here.
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