Colorado Politics reports Denver just cut the ribbon on a new “permanently” affordable, all-electric apartment building in West Colfax. Another photo op, another big promise, and somehow the bill always finds its way back to the taxpayer like a boomerang with great PR.
Here’s what happened, plain and simple: city leaders celebrated the opening of The Irving at Mile High Vista, a 102-unit “permanently affordable” all-electric multifamily project in Denver’s West Colfax neighborhood, developed by the Urban Land Conservancy.
Let’s not pretend the buzzwords do the heavy lifting. Buildings do. Power grids do. Budgets do. Gravity still applies, even inside the Denver planning bubble.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Denver opened The Irving at Mile High Vista, a 102-unit “permanently affordable,” all-electric apartment building in the West Colfax neighborhood.
- The project was developed by the Urban Land Conservancy and uses a community land trust structure guaranteeing affordability for at least 99 years.
- Units are aimed at households earning 20% to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI).
- The city’s Office of Housing Stability provided a $4,080,000 loan, and the Office of Climate Action provided a $100,000 grant tied to the all-electric design.
- City leaders tied the project to Proposition 123 funding and said Denver would need 30 to 40 similar communities per year to meet affordability demand.
My Bottom Line
Permanently affordable, all electric. We’ll see how this great experiment goes. Denver loves a slogan you can print on a banner. Living under it is the part they skip.
I’m old-fashioned: I like results. If the market were actually clamoring for this, the market would present more. When government has to prop it up with loans and grants, that tells you it is not a trend, it is a mandate with better lighting.
Let’s hope they have backup heat sources when Xcel decides it’s windy and the power needs to be shut off. Translated: if you bet everything on electricity, you better have a plan for the day electricity gets scarce or expensive.
Of course, this was built with the help of taxpayer dollars. The voters voted to fund affordable housing across Colorado. Fine. Now show me the numbers over time: operating costs, maintenance, rent stability, and whether the “all-electric” promise stays affordable when utility rates and grid upgrades come due.
Ribbon cuttings are cheap, reliability isn’t.
Let’s see how this works out for them. I remain skeptical. The fair path forward is simple: build housing that pencils out, keep energy choices flexible, and measure outcomes like adults instead of treating skepticism like heresy.
Source: Colorado Politics
