Colorado
Can Colorado cities prevent thousands of apartments from losing affordability protections?
Nine years ago, one of Silverthorne’s few income-restricted housing properties was sold to a private firm. The sale — at a price that was double the property’s assessed value — raised worries in the high-cost mountain community that the new owner of the Blue River Apartments might lift rent caps that had kept its 78 units affordable when the requirements lapsed.
That expiration had been set for this year, and local officials were sufficiently concerned that they struck a deal with the new Greenwood Village-based owners to extend the affordability protections through at least the end of 2025, in exchange for $650,000.
But if the town had known about the sale ahead of time back in 2015, said Ryan Hyland, Silverthorne’s town manager, then officials could have tried to cobble together the money to buy the apartment complex — or arrange its sale to someone else.
As Colorado faces a tidal wave of expiring affordability requirements in the coming years, state lawmakers hope to give local authorities the opportunity Silverthorne didn’t have. House Bill 1175, which has already passed the House, would grant municipalities a right of first refusal to buy subsidized-housing properties when they come up for sale and would also require more notice of expiring affordability covenants.
Once the owner reached a price with a private buyer, the town or city — or a group acting on its behalf — could step in and match the offer, ensuring the units wouldn’t convert to market-rate rents once affordability requirements expire.
“When those expire, (the new owner) could be charging market rents. That’s a smart business decision, if you’re purchasing a property and if you’ve got that on the horizon,” Hyland said. “As you can imagine, there’s those types of deals that happen and the local government has no idea they’re happening, so there’s no opportunity for conversation.”
In the case of Blue River Apartments, as the initial expiration date approached, the president of Tralee Capital in 2020 told the Summit Daily that he wasn’t ready to say how the rental rates would change.
The bill passed the House 38-23 earlier this month and is now headed to the state Senate. It’s the second attempt by a group of Democratic lawmakers to pass a right-of-first-refusal policy, which they say would give local governments the chance to protect renters from for-profit developers that purchase properties and hike rents.
The first swing at passing the policy was a more expansive approach that also would have applied to sales of market-rate buildings. It passed the legislature last year after extensive debate and negotiations.
But business groups successfully lobbied Gov. Jared Polis to veto it, sparking sharp criticism from the Democratic legislators who backed it.
The veto spurred supporters to narrow their approach this year. They focused on preserving the state’s existing subsidized housing stock, which is in danger of shrinking in coming years, said Rep. Andy Boesenecker, a Fort Collins Democrat.
Colorado is home to roughly 111,000 subsidized units with affordability requirements, according to Colorado Housing and Finance Authority data. It’s expensive and complicated to build subsidized housing projects, and developers lean largely on federal tax credits to make the financing work.
Those tax credits include requirements that rental rates be capped based on certain income levels.
But the requirements are time-limited, often lasting at least 30 years. In the coming decade, 15,000 affordable units here will no longer be subject to the caps that keep them within reach for lower-income Coloradans.
That doesn’t mean those properties will immediately be sold or switched to market-rate rents or prices. But the looming expirations are a warning sign for housing advocates as they scramble to protect the state’s affordable housing stock.
When subsidized properties with expiring affordability requirements are purchased by private companies, “we see quick and significant increases in rent — we see less of an investment in maintaining the property and caring for residents,” said Kinsey Hasstedt, the senior program director for state and local policy at Enterprise Community Partners. “So we are trying to disrupt that.”
AAron Ontiveroz, Denver Post file
Sherelle Slater and her daughter Charlie play outside of their apartment in Denver this 2015 file photo. They lived in income-restricted housing on 52nd Avenue near Federal Boulevard. Denver City Council later approved an expanded ordinance that aims to preserve affordable housing, including by giving the city a right of first refusal to buy expiring properties. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post file)
Preserving housing or chilling markets?
Opponents and skeptics, representing business groups and property owners, have argued that the bill would hamper development in the state.
“Our biggest fear all along with this has been: Are we going to create a chilling effect on capital and the markets, and then we won’t get the results that we want, which is more housing in the marketplace?” said Ted Leighty, the CEO of the Colorado Association of Home Builders, in testimony during an initial committee hearing in February.
But supporters say preserving subsidized housing is particularly important now — not only because of the expiring affordability requirements but also because of Polis’ preferred solution to the housing crisis: more housing, built more densely, across Colorado cities.
While some of the advocates backing the right-of-first-refusal bill also support Polis’ land-use reforms, that policy approach, if successful, will take years to bear fruit. They repeatedly have stressed the need to provide help in the meantime, given the severity of the state’s housing affordability crisis.
“We have to start by preserving the existing affordable housing that we have,” Hasstedt said. “Otherwise, we’re just going to keep digging the hole deeper, and we’re never going to get out of it.”
The change in approach, along with amendments made during the bill’s journey through the House this year, has successfully neutralized some of last year’s opposition, including from groups representing bankers and title insurers.
But other old foes, including the Colorado Apartment Association and the powerful business group Colorado Concern, remain opposed. So do Republican legislators, who view the bill as an encroachment on property owners’ rights.
“If you’re thinking about investing $20 million into an affordable project in Colorado, then you’re still concerned about having this cloud on the title of what you develop, and (some may decide) to go elsewhere because of it,” said Drew Hamrick, the senior vice president of governmental affairs for the apartment association. “We still believe and worry about the stigmatizing effect it has on housing investment.”
Hamrick argued that the policy would depress prices on developments because would-be buyers wouldn’t invest as much time or money in researching and bidding on properties that may end up being owned by a local government anyway.
He said he supported another piece of the bill that would give local governments a “right of first offer” on for-sale, market-rate properties. But he was flatly opposed to the rest.
Other groups and entities seeking changes to the bill have links to high-profile developers and property owners.
The path to governor’s desk
The bill now heads to the Senate, where the broader measure passed last year after delays and negotiations. If the new version passes, the bill will enact the first statewide right of first refusal of its kind in the country.
Some cities, counties and housing organizations have a version of the policy, and lawmakers in Maryland have advanced legislation that includes a right of first refusal for tenants to buy their residences.
Denver also has a similar policy that seeks to preserve subsidized housing properties. Renee Gallegos, the deputy director of housing opportunity for the city’s Department of Housing Stability, said it had been used twice in recent years, via a nonprofit partner, to buy properties and sell them as condos with affordability requirements.
Should HB-1175 clear the Senate, the final say would again rest with Polis.
In his veto letter last June, he said he didn’t support a right of first refusal “that adds costs and time to transactions.” Sponsors this year have worked to trim the timelines in the bill, expediting sales as well as local governments’ decisions on whether to exercise their right to step in.
In a statement to The Denver Post on Friday, Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said the governor “appreciates the dialogue happening with sponsors and all stakeholders” and that Polis “will continue to monitor this bill as it moves through the legislative process.”
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Colorado
Avalanche vs. Kings Game 2: Key takeaways as Colorado wins OT thriller, takes 2-0 series lead
DENVER — When getting good looks but failing to finish against a locked-in goalie, it’s not easy to stick to a game plan. But instead of pressing, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar’s group showed maturity, even after the Los Angeles Kings’ Artemi Panarin scored what could’ve been a back-breaking first goal of Game 2 late in the third period.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog buried a perfect pass from Martin Nečas three minutes after Panarin scored. Then Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner, giving Colorado a 2-1 win and 2-0 series lead.
“I liked our mentality again tonight,” Bednar said, adding that he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort. “That’s how we have to win. It’s good practice. It’s something we’ve been talking about all year, the importance of defending, and I’m happy with the commitment that we’re getting from our guys.”
The Avalanche led the league in goals scored this season, but they also were stingy defensively, allowing fewer goals than any other team. Through two games, they’ve shown a willingness to play tight-checking, low-scoring games and get the results they need.
“We have absolutely no problem playing this way,” said Landeskog, who scored from the slot after Nečas caught the previously-impenetrable Anton Forsberg out of position and set his captain up for an open look. “If you get a little impatient with it, you start forcing plays. And I thought tonight, we just kind of kept it going. Kept trusting our forecheck, and finally, we ended up getting rewarded for it.”
Colorado has controlled the series at five-on-five. The Kings’ only two goals have come on power plays, and Colorado had 79.05 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five Tuesday, per Natural Stat Trick.
It was an odd night that included a broken glass delay, a choppy first period and a waved-off goal after a puck got lodged in the side of the net. Let’s dig into all of it.
Roy plays hero
With goalie Patrick Roy and forward Peter Forsberg’s retired numbers hanging in the Ball Arena rafters, it was probably a bit disorienting seeing a Roy score on a Forsberg in overtime. But that’s what happened when trade deadline addition Nic Roy backhanded a loose puck past Anton Forsberg’s left pad, punched the air and jumped into the glass in celebration.
The goal was Roy’s second overtime goal in his career. He scored the Game 4 winner for the Vegas Golden Knights in their 2021 conference final series against Montreal. That goal also came at the net-front.
“I like to be in (that) area, and a lot of those (overtime) goals are scored there,” Roy said. “So I try to be there as much as I can.”
“He’s a really smart player,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “It might not be everyone’s first pick (to score), but it takes a full team to win in the playoffs.”
Josh Manson fired a shot from the point to create chaos around the net ahead of Roy’s goal, and Bednar also credited Nazem Kadri with making a slick play to get the puck to his defenseman.
Physicality and a penalty parade define the first
D.J. Smith didn’t quite get his exact wish of his players hitting Colorado’s defensemen more in the first half of the first period, but he did get big hits. Shortly after Colorado’s Josh Manson laid a massive body check on Scott Laughton, Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson hit Martin Nečas in the neutral zone, seemingly catching him in the head.
Nečas went down, bloodied, and chaos ensued. Brett Kulak went after Anderson. Scrums broke out next to the Kings net. Sam Malinski brought down Quinton Byfield, and Mathieu Joseph did the same to Artturi Lehkonen. Anderson did not get a penalty for the hit, though he and Kulak were handed matching roughing minors. Kulak got an extra penalty for a cross check. (Nečas briefly left the game, presumably because he was pulled by a concussion spotter, but returned.)
“There were big hits,” Bednar said. “We gave some. We took some too, but it’s all right. That’s what’s going to happen this time of the year. You’re playing a big, strong, physical team, and sometimes I like it. Can wake some guys up if they’re not going, and you can ramp up your competitive spirit.”
It was the most dramatic stretch of a rugged first period that included seven minor penalties. The string of infractions slowed some of the momentum Colorado gathered from a furious start. The Avalanche led 9-0 in shots through the first 6:04. The period ended with Colorado leading 14-6 in shots.
After Anderson’s hit, scrums broke out after seemingly every whistle. At one point Jeff Malott caught Cale Makar with an elbow. Nečas also took a chance to hit Anderson toward the end of the period.
“There were a bunch of melees on the ice today,” Bednar said. “It felt like playoff hockey, which is the way you want it to feel. It tests your team, and it’s why it’s the most fun time of the year to play in the playoffs.”
In total, the period took around 45 minutes. The Kings got big saves from Anton Forsberg, allowing them to stay in the game and shift it into a rugged style that favored them, at least temporarily. It wasn’t enough in the end.
“To a man, this team’s playing hard,” Kings coach D.J. Smith added. “We have to find a way to win, though.”
Goalies continue strong start to the series
Darcy Kuemper started the year as Kings starter, but Anton Forsberg became their go-to goalie during their late-season playoff push. He has continued his strong play into the first round. In Game 1, he made 30 saves on 32 shots. He was sharp again Tuesday, helping the Kings withstand Colorado’s early onslaught of shots. Colorado gave him a tough look early in the second. Kadri fed Landeskog on the slot, and Forsberg managed to parry it away. Late in the second, he got in front of turnaround shots from both Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche eventually beat him in the third when he overcommitted to Nečas, who instead passed to Landeskog in the slot.
He finished the night with 34 saves. He wasn’t quite able to make a 35th, giving up the game-winner to Roy.
“We’re right there, playing well,” Forsberg said. “We’re fighting hard. We just have to stick with it and turn this around.”
Across the ice, Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves. Panarin beat him with a dangerous shot from the slot for the lone goal he allowed in regulation, but overall he continued to give Colorado the dependable goaltending expected of him. His highlight came when he stopped Quinton Byfield on a penalty shot. He robbed Byfield again in overtime, making a glove save on a shot off the rush.
A penalty, a penalty shot and a long wait
Jeff Malott took an ill-advised boarding penalty on Artturi Lehkonen in one of many instances of the Kings’ fourth line toeing the line of too much physicality. The Avalanche were in position to gain the lead — or at least some momentum — but Cale Makar mishandled a puck at the blue line, leading to a Quinton Byfield breakaway. Makar got called for a hook as he raced back to catch the forward, and the referees awarded a penalty shot.
Byfield tried to beat Wedgewood glove side, but the goalie made the save. The crowd erupted in excitement, but that came with an unexpected drawback. Fans banged on the glass behind the Kings’ bench, and a pane of it shattered. Kings coach D.J. Smith got smothered with shards. It caused a 19-minute stoppage for clean up.
If the Wedgewood save was going to serve as momentum for the Avalanche power play, the delay stopped that. Nathan MacKinnon got called for interference on Alex Laferriere shortly after play resumed.
“I think the flow would kind of come and go a little bit,” MacKinnon said. “Not ideal with the glass, but it was the same for both teams.”
“They just handled it better coming out of that,” Bednar added.
MacKinnon and Bednar both felt the Avalanche were able to push the pace more in the second half of the second period.
Another waved-off goal
Sam Malinski fired a shot toward the net to start the third period. It got caught in the side of the net, but not on the inside. Malinski thought he scored, and the goal horn went off. After review, though, it was clear the puck was lodged on the side of the cage.
It was the second Avalanche goal waved off in as many games. Logan O’Connor had a goal waved off for goaltender interference last game.
Panarin shows why Kings traded for him
The Kings acquired Artemi Panarin from the Rangers to bring a gamebreaking offensive talent into a lineup that lacked it. He validated their trust late in the third period. He played his normal shift with the top power-play unit, then stayed on with the second grouping. Trevor Moore found him with a pass in the slot, and he buried it.
Colorado’s top skilled players had more chances than Los Angeles’, but Panarin came through when he got his best look of the night. He also scored the Kings’ only goal of Game 1.
(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — Spring brings the first fresh produce, which means it will soon be time for farmers’ markets to kick off around the area.
For those in Southern Colorado who want to buy their products from local vendors and growers, check out the list below.
North Colorado Springs
Western Museum of Mining and Industry
- 225 North Gate Boulevard, near the I-25 exit
- Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Runs from May through September
Briargate Farmers Market
- 7610 North Union Boulevard, near Briargate Boulevard
- Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Runs from May 27 through Sept. 30
Cordera
- 11894 Grandlawn Circle, near Briargate Parkway and North Union Boulevard
- Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Runs from May 24 through Sept. 6
Colorado Farm and Art Market
- 7350 Pine Creek Road, near East Woodmen Road and I-25
- Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Runs from June 20 through Oct. 17
Banning Lewis Ranch at Vista Park
- 8833 Vista Del Pico Boulevard, near Dublin Boulevard and Marksheffel Road
- Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Runs from May 28 through Aug. 27
Backyard Market in Black Forest
- 6845 Shoup Road, near Black Forest Road
- Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Runs from May 23 through Oct. 17
South Colorado Springs
Colorado Farm and Art Market
- 132 West Cimarron Street, at the corner of Sierra Madre Street, Downtown
- Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Runs from June 17 through Oct. 21
Old Colorado City Farmers Market
- Bancroft Park at West Colorado Avenue and South 24th Street in Old Colorado City
- Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Runs from June 6 through Oct. 17
Colorado Springs Sunday Market
- Acacia Park 115 East Platte Avenue, Downtown
- Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Runs from May 10 through Oct. 25
Southeast Farmer’s Market
- 2050 Jet Wing Drive, near Chelton Road
- Sundays from 11 a.m. through 3 p.m.
- Runs from June 14 through Oct. 11
Fountain
Fountain Community Market
- Metcalfe Park, 618 East Ohio Avenue, near Fountain Mesa Road
- Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Runs from May 30 through Sept. 26
Woodland Park
Woodland Park Farmers Market
- At Memorial Park, 117 Center Avenue, near East Lake Avenue
- Fridays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Runs from June through September
Pueblo
Pueblo Farmers Market
- Mineral Palace Park, 1604 North Santa Fe Avenue, at West 15th Street
- Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon
- Runs from May 2 through Oct. 31
Colorado
Thornton marks 70 years: Exhibit traces Colorado city’s roots from developer’s dream to thriving suburb
Seventy years ago, a housing developer looked at an empty stretch of land north of Denver and saw the future. What Sam Hoffman built there became the city of Thornton — and a free public exhibit is now telling that story for the first time in a generation.
CBS Colorado is excited to shine the spotlight on Thornton, as Colorado marks 150 years as a state.
“The history of Thornton is really the history of suburbia,” said Lance Jones, the historian and curator of the city’s 70th anniversary exhibit. “Thornton was planned. Thornton was intentionally created as a city.”
Hoffman, Jones explained, recognized an opportunity in the postwar boom. “He realized the Denver Metro area was going to really explode and he wanted in on the ground floor,” Jones said. To sell his 5,000 planned homes, Hoffman turned to an unlikely marketing asset — Hollywood.
Three of his employees happened to be the brothers of Jane Russell, one of the biggest film stars in America at the time. “She was an A-list actress. I mean, she was really top of the game,” Jones said. Hoffman asked the brothers if their sister might make an appearance, and she agreed.
“One day in 1954, his grand opening celebration, she came out. And a lot of people came out to see her — big, big crowd,” Jones said. “Thousands of people showed up to see her, to get a glimpse, to take a picture.” Russell would return to Thornton more than three decades later, appearing at the opening of the Thornton Parkway interchange in 1986.
The homes Russell helped promote were advertised at $9,950, with a down payment for GI’s of $532.30 and a monthly mortgage of $65. Jones noted those were not trivial sums for working families of the era. “That represented a big chunk of the average person’s paycheck. People would have to save up for that,” Jones said.
A Denver Post clipping from Jan. 31, 1954, on display at the exhibit, documents the arrival of the city’s first residents. “This is one of the first families in Thornton moving in,” Jones said. “This was a unique thing. They created the city. It just sprang from nothing.”
By 1956, residents had established enough civic infrastructure to pursue formal incorporation. “There were a lot of civic organizations, a lot of clubs, a lot of veterans organizations — it was a big joiner kind of town,” Jones said. “And, eventually, in 1956, they were able to get incorporated.”
That civic spirit, Jones argued, never left. “The culture here in Thornton kind of developed from that. It’s still a city with a lot of civic involvement, a lot of events, a lot of cohesion.”
The exhibit highlights several residents whose stories reflect the city’s early character. Among the artifacts is a cheerleading uniform that belonged to Loretta Garcia — the first baby born in Thornton after its incorporation. She and the city share the same milestone birthday. “Thornton is 70, and so is she,” Jones said. Garcia was delivered at home on Rowena Street because the trip to a Denver hospital was considered too far. “The doctor came up here and delivered her at home.”
Another featured resident is Norma Ellman, a Thornton High School teacher, who in 1956 traveled to California to compete on a CBS game show called “High Finance.” She won the equivalent of what Jones estimates would be more than $1 million today. The victory was significant enough that the mayor authorized Ellman to present the show’s host with a key to the city of Thornton.
Jones said the exhibit is designed to connect newer residents with the people who built the community, noting that from its earliest days Thornton had a strong Hispanic presence that continues today alongside a growing diversity of other ethnicities.
“The younger people really do need to hear from the folks who made Thornton, Thornton,” Jones said. “You have to know where we came from to know where we’re going.”
The 70th anniversary exhibit is free and open to the public at the Thornton Arts and Culture Annex. Visit this page for days and hours.
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