denver to step up affordable housing effort

Denver officials are hoping to find a contractor who will help formulate a strategy for the construction of affordable housing throughout the city.

To that end, the city has issued a Request for Proposals looking for a consultant that can put into play policy ideas suggested earlier this year in a documented called Blueprint Denver—A Blueprint for an Inclusive City.

Both the city’s Community Planning and Development department, as well as the offices of the Economic Development and Opportunity department, have issued the RFP solicitation, which has an August 30 deadline.

That RFP reads, in part, that the consultant to be selected will “assist in the establishment of a citywide affordable housing zoning incentive as well as the establishment of more predictable requirements for large developments to provide affordable housing benefits to the community.”

Ultimately, the city wants to see the creation of more zoning incentives for affordable housing projects, particularly in transit-oriented sections of Denver.

At the same time, Denver is hoping to create standards for the construction of such housing across the city.

If successful, the effort will see zoning code changes that will subsequently be adopted by the Denver City Council.

The ambitious Blueprint Denver document, centered on both transportation and land use, was approved by the council in April and is intended to anticipate housing issues and needs for the next two decades.

That document stated that it was intended to guide “where new jobs and homes should go, how our transportation system will improve, how to strengthen our neighborhoods, and where and how we invest in our communities with new infrastructure and amenities.”

By Garry Boulard

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