A different future for Denver’s housing is possible
Permanently Affordable.
Community-governed. Built for Denver.
Everyone deserves a safe, stable home they can afford – a place to build community and create long-term stability.
SHARE Denver is a growing coalition working to scale social housing in Denver and create more homes that remain affordable for generations.
The Challenge
Denver needs more tools to address housing affordability.
Rising housing costs, a shortage of homes available to people with lower incomes, and record-high eviction filings show that Denver’s housing challenge continues to outpace the tools we have today.
51% of Denver renters and 21% of Denver homeowners spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
So how do we fix it?
We can build on what Denver is already doing and create another path forward with Social Housing.
What is Social Housing?
Housing designed to stay permanently affordable.
Social housing is deeply affordable housing that is publicly or community-owned and designed to support long-term stability. It can take many forms – including municipally owned housing and community-governed models – but all approaches approach a form of housing that serves communities long-term.
Permanently affordable
Homes remain affordable long-term, rather than having affordability requirements that expire.
Community-governed
Residents have meaningful opportunities to participate in governance and decisions about their housing.
For a mix of incomes
Social housing can serve households across income levels, including low-income households.
Publicly or community-owned
Homes are held for long-term community benefit rather than market speculation.
High-quality and sustainable
Housing can built and preserved across Denver neighborhoods, with access to transit, schools, parks, and other public amenities.
No corporations. No national developers. Just Denverites investing in Denver.
This isn’t just an idea
Social housing is already working.
Communities across the U.S. and around the world are using different versions of social housing to create and preserve permanently affordable homes.
Seattle Washington
Voters created a publicly owned social housing developer focused on permanently affordable, mixed-income housing
Montgomery County, Maryland
Public financing tools support long-term affordable housing production and preservation at scale.
New York
The Mitchell-Lama Co-ops are state-supervised developments that offer below-market purchase price housing for low and middle-income families.
Social Housing is already taking root in Denver
Denver communities are already advancing community ownership and permanently affordable housing through models including:
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Tierra Colectiva Community Land Trust
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Queen City Cooperative
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East Colfax Community Collective’s mixed-income housing trust
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MonteVista Mobile Home Park in Westwood
The opportunity is to build on these efforts and bring permanently affordable, community-governed housing to large scale.
Our Vision
We are exploring how Denver can create a dedicated funding source capable of sustaining this work for the long-term and support Denver communities for generations.
Build
Support new, permanently affordable housing developments across Denver.
01
Preserve
Protect existing affordable housing and help prevent displacement
02
Support
Provide training, technical assistance, and support for meaningful resident governance.
03
Join us
SHARE is bringing together residents, organizers, housing advocates, and organizations to explore what it will take to bring social housing to scale in Denver.
Sign up for updates about social housing in Denver, upcoming events, and opportunities to get involved.
