We are writing to ask you to rank social housing as your top priority for the 2025 Vibrant Denver bond. We know that the bond process has been fast-paced and opaque. We also understand that there are many issues important to the residents of our city. But in Tuesday’s Executive Committee meeting, they said it’s time to pick your favorite children, and Denver can’t afford NOT to prioritize social housing.

Social housing meets all of the Executive Committees stated priorities: it is safe, equitable, and catalytic.It is also already recognized as a city priority. The City’s 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Plan lists $75 million for Social Housing. Community input has reinforced this – social housing was discussed at many of the community conversations around the bond, and “housing” appeared over 1000 times in the 6246 bond survey responses, including 300+ mentions of “affordable housing” and 60+ for “social housing.”

And, as many of you on council know, social housing is a named priority of multiple Denver City Council members. The need is urgent, and growing:

• More than 50 percent of Denverites rent their homes. Of those, half are rent-burdened, spending more than a third of their income on rent.
• One in eight Denver residents spends HALF of their income on rent.
• 2024 set a new record for eviction filings and 2025 is on pace to exceed that record.

The need for a bold response is clear, and social housing is the right tool. Local governments across the USA are demonstrating this model works: Montgomery County, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; both the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts.

This is Denver’s opportunity to do the same. The benefits of social housing are numerous. This type of housing is city-owned and open to residents with a variety of incomes, which helps to stabilize rents by protecting residents from the profit-maximizing behavior of private housing markets. Reducing rent burden will increase sales tax revenue, and with the city serving as a landlord, tenants’ rent can address the city’s budget deficit or can serve to fund future social housing construction—it is an incredibly flexible, self-sustaining model.

This moment calls for bold and inclusive investments that respond to the needs of all Denverites.The people of Denver want to address the housing affordability crisis plaguing the city. Will you help them? This is your moment to lead. When the Mayor’s office and the Executive Committee come asking for your top priorities, please ensure that the $100M for Mixed-Income Cross-Subsidized Social Housing is included in the final list of bond projects.

SHARE Denver
A Denverite-led coalition for Social Housing and Real Estate in Denver (SHARE Denver)