Tierra Colectiva, a community land trust in the Denver neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, combines community organizing, traditional CLT development, and more unusual roles in a large affordable housing development.
In Denver’s historically working-class neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, a community land trust called Tierra Colectiva is redefining what anti-displacement looks like. Born out of local organizing in response to rising rents and disinvestment, the group combines traditional CLT homeownership with large-scale collaboration — partnering with developers and funders to create a 170-unit affordable apartment building that includes deeply affordable family units and a community-owned commercial space.
Even when it doesn’t own the land, Tierra Colectiva leverages partnerships to ensure residents have a voice in shaping their neighborhood’s future. With projects like a community food forest, new affordable housing sites, and advocacy around the city’s planned National Western Center expansion, the group is proving that community-led development can coexist with city growth — if residents have the power to help shape it.
Read the full story: Denver Land Trust Fights Displacement Whether It Owns the Land or Not
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