Episodes

To address the shortage of affordable housing, Colorado must do more than build new units. That’s why this episode is focused on increased efforts to preserve the affordable housing that’s already standing. There are two kinds of affordable housing that the state is at risk of losing: housing that is built with government subsidies, and privately owned apartments that happen to have below market rents – often referred to as naturally occurring affordable housing. When it comes to the privately ...

More and more people in Colorado’s resort and rural towns fall into what’s called “the missing middle.” People who have good jobs, earning decent wages, but who are nonetheless struggling to afford housing where they live. They often earn too much to qualify for federal affordable rental housing programs, which limit eligibility to those whose incomes fall under a certain threshold. On the flip side, they are cost burdened by increasingly expensive and scarce housing. Colorado is leading the ch...

In greater Denver, American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disparities in all forms of housing, according to a 2022 assessment. On average, they are four times more likely to experience homelessness and face high rates of rental housing discrimination. That, on top of centuries of forced migration and harmful federal policies, has led to immense housing inequities. This is why groups like Native American Housing Circle are so essential. The Native-led grassroots coalition of provider org...

The Fair Housing Act, passed in 1968, outlawed housing discrimination. However, more than 50 years later, the homeownership rate between white and Black Americans remains nearly unchanged. On top of that, communities that faced discriminatory policies in the past still feel the impacts today. According to research from the University of California, Berkeley, people living in historically redlined neighborhoods are highly vulnerable to air, water, and noise pollutants as well as other health pro...

On our second episode focused on responses to homelessness, we hit the highway, away from Colorado’s densely populated cities and downtowns to rural communities in the southwestern part of the state. The affordable housing crisis is just as dire in cities like Durango or Cortez, but in many cases, they face greater challenges when it comes to increasing the supply of affordable housing. When it comes to reaching people, rural housing insecurity tends to be more hidden away; it’s not uncommon fo...

Housing insecurity is on the rise in the U.S. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more than 770,000 Americans were experiencing homelessness in January 2024—the largest number ever recorded since HUD began gathering data in 2007. The main factor driving housing instability in this country is the shortage of affordable housing. Like everywhere else in the nation, Coloradans are feeling the effects of this housing shortage, but what t...

The state’s Affordable Housing Task Force says that Colorado has a housing shortage of about 325,000 units. That deficit has contributed to rapidly rising housing costs over the last decade plus. And the demand only continues to grow. How can the state keep up with that demand, while also keeping up with the cost of building and the time it takes? Innovation. From 3D-printed units to panelized housing to shipping container construction and tiny homes, Colorado has established funding sources to...

For the last 50 years, CHFA, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, has worked alongside partners and communities in pursuit of the vision that everyone in Colorado will have the opportunity for housing stability and economic prosperity. In this first episode of The Buildout, we chat with Cris White, outgoing executive director, about his more than 30-year career at the organization and all of the changes and growth he’s seen. Cris takes us back to CHFA’s first partnership after the 1976 Big Th...

Introducing The Buildout, a new podcast from CHFA, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. For 50 years, CHFA has worked alongside partners and communities in pursuit of the vision that everyone in Colorado will have the opportunity for housing stability and economic prosperity. Now, we’re uplifting the stories of those partners: people and organizations tackling some of the toughest housing challenges in the Centennial State. Over the course of eight episodes this season, The Buildout will take...