When it comes to housing in Denver, it’s no secret that prices are sky-high.
In the Denver metro area, single-family homes hit a record median sale price of $615,000 in February, according to the Colorado Association of Realtors.
Prices for rent are no better. Rental payments for apartments in the Denver metro area during the first quarter of 2022 averaged $1,765 a month, according to the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.
Meanwhile, parts of Denver — particularly in the predominantly Latino neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria Swansea (GES) — have seen rapid gentrification and displacement take place in recent years thanks to major projects like the state’s plan to expand and sink I-70.
Despite the cost of housing and gentrification in Denver, housing nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment believes housing should be obtainable and available for everyone —regardless of where someone lives, one’s color, or any disabilities someone might have.
Over the past five years, Brothers has led the charge to help marginalized, low-income Denverites achieve community ownership of land, homeownership and housing sustainability.
Through the GES Affordable Housing Collaborative — made up of Brothers and other housing nonprofits — Brothers has brought homeownership and affordable housing to GES residents. Brothers is also constructing Valor on the Fax along East Colfax — a 72-unit affordable housing development for people with acquired brain injuries.
“Helping to provide safe, accessible and healthy housing to underserved, disabled and marginalized communities is something that Brothers has been doing for more than 50 years,” says Jeff Martinez, president of Brothers. “We strive to find innovative solutions to the region’s most pressing housing challenges.”
In 2017, the GES Affordable Housing Collaborative received funding from entities like the Colorado Department of Transportation, the city of Denver and the Colorado Division of Housing. The funding paved the way for Brothers to bring 10 affordable housing units to the GES area.
In 2020, Brothers set a modular duplex at 4675 Fillmore St., bringing two homes to the neighborhoods on behalf of the collaborative, and purchased/remodeled another home to sell to GES residents. The next year, Brothers set another modular duplex at 4401 Milwaukee St. — adding two more homes to GES neighborhoods. Construction is also underway for five new townhomes at 4401 Josephine St.
Each of the homes are sold to income-qualified GES residents who are facing displacement and gentrification and are placed into the Tierra Colectiva Community Land Trust to preserve affordability.
“Because they’ve faced decades of housing, social and economic injustice, Brothers has prioritized the provision of housing for our neighbors in GES,” Martinez said.
More than half of homeless people and others living in unstable housing situations suffer from a traumatic brain injury at some point in their life, according to a meta-analysis of studies from six countries — including the United States. Brothers is working to be part of the solution to that problem.
Located at 7900 E. Colfax Ave., construction is underway for Valor on the Fax, a supportive housing community for Coloradans facing housing insecurity because of acquired brain injury or related disability. Valor on the Fax is being constructed by Brothers in partnership with the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado (BIAC) — which provides help and services for survivors of an injury to the brain.
BIAC will provide comprehensive services to future tenants of the community while Brothers will manage the property and provide housing resources to tenants who will receive housing vouchers to help pay their rent.
“Valor on the Fax is the first of its kind community in the nation to assist individuals with acquired brain injury and related disability, “Martinez says. “Through five decades, we’ve been proud to be at the forefront of innovative housing solutions that help our neighbors and highlight the caring communities that we serve.”
