Denver Condo Project Aims for 'Permanent Affordability'

More often the province of rental housing, affordability policies are limited in the for-sale market. A partnership in Denver aims to change that with a mixed-use project including at least 86 condos destined to be "permanently affordable."

1 minute read

January 9, 2019, 9:00 AM PST

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


Housing Construction

Tom Grundy / Shutterstock

In a city that "has mostly prioritized, and subsidized, affordable rental development," Emily Nonko writes, developer Jeff Shanahan was hard-pressed to find incentives to build homes affordable to working-class buyers, teachers in particular. 

To see what could be done with a 18,000-square foot parcel in Denver's Santa Fe Arts District, he looked to a nonprofit, the Urban Land Conservancy, which brought aboard the Elevation Community Land Trust. Founded in 2017, the trust has secured "$24 million in initial funding to acquire 700 homes across the city and surrounding suburbs, and, in the traditional community land trust model, lease the homes at affordable prices."

In December, Nonko writes, "the partners announced the Santa Fe Arts District lot would become home to 92 new condominiums, at least 86 to be permanently affordable for households earning $40,000 to $72,000 in annual income. The mixed-use project, called Inca Commons, will also include 4,000 square feet of commercial space."

The Elevation Community Land Trust will own the ground, distinguishing these for-sale units from market-rate housing and keeping prices down permanently. Aaron Miripol, president of the Urban Land Conservancy, believes the model has advantages over deed restrictions, which typically expire and can be opaque to homebuyers.

Thursday, January 3, 2019 in Next City

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder