A new online portal run by the state intends to streamline the process for developers applying for affordable housing funding and tax credits in Colorado.

Housing Hub Colorado — a collaboration between several state agencies, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, and Denver’s Department of Housing Stability — aligns application timelines and information for different entities that offer funding to developers building affordable rental housing.

“Colorado is breaking down barriers to more housing people can afford and this one-stop shop will help make that possible in more communities across our state,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This effort will save people, and local communities, time and money when building new homes in Colorado.”

Image

State agencies supporting the project include the Department of Local Affairs and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Funding sources for affordable housing come from the state’s local affairs department and Denver’s housing stability department.

“A strong economy depends on good-paying jobs and housing Coloradans can afford,” Eve Lieberman, executive director of the economic development office, said in a statement. “By simplifying the process of applying for funding, we are reducing time and cost burdens for communities and developers and accelerating the creation of homes near jobs and industry.”

Colorado is breaking down barriers to more housing people can afford and this one-stop shop will help make that possible in more communities across our state.

The Housing Hub is the first initiative to come from the Colorado Housing Consortium, a collaboration between over 100 entities in the private and public sectors looking to accelerate more affordable housing development in the state.

A survey of those who applied for affordable housing tax credits in the last two years found that 85 percent of respondents wanted to see a statewide application to improve the process of applying for funding, according to a press release from Polis’ office. Applying through multiple funding sources dragged on build timelines and put affording housing projects at risk, according to 65 percent of survey respondents.

“There is no greater need in Denver and Colorado than affordable housing, and no greater obstacle to our success than time,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement.

A second phase of the project will include a common application accepted by all agencies.

Polis has made “More Housing Now” a key goal throughout his second term as governor. Demographers estimateColorado needs about 100,000 more units to meet the housing demand in the state.