Colorado Educator Housing Summit

     Last week I had the honor of speaking at the Colorado Educator Housing Summit.  The Summit was put on by Paula Davis, a fellow with the Donnell-Kay Foundation, to address the growing issues of teacher salary and teacher retention.  
    As outlined in the report that spurred the Summit titled "Affordable Housing Solutions for Teachers," the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Denver is $1350 while average teacher salary is $50,250.  While I have heard that statistic before, I certainly don't know any teachers making even close to that much.  I fought tooth and nail to get $40,000 my final year as a full time teacher.
     While I was privileged enough to get to present about Equity for Educators, there were also five other panelists and a representative from the Denver Mayor's Office discussing the other efforts being made to help teachers afford housing.  Here's what they are all working on:

1. Landed
Landed is a company based originally in San Francisco that is currently in the process of expanding to Colorado.  Their silent second investor program puts up the remaining 10% of a down payment on a house if an educator can come up with the first 10%.   Check out their website for more information.

2. Denver Affordable Housing
     Jerry Glick of the Columbia Group LLP and Urban Ventures LLC presented on the affordable housing that he and his partners have been funding in and around Denver.  They specialize in repurposing abandoned structures for residential use.  At right are the Highland Terrace Lofts located in the Highlands neighborhood in Denver.  The complexes are mixed-use designating a certain amount of units to be affordable.

3. Custer County Schools
     Custer County School district, with the help of superintendent Mark Payler, repurposed an old preschool building to be affordable rental units specifically for their teachers.  They did this with the aim to recruit new teachers and retain those who were struggling to afford the rent prices of the mountain community.

4. Roaring Fork School District
     Roaring Fork School District is another one in Colorado to be helping their teachers.  They approved a $122 million bond for affordable housing for educators.  In addition, Habitat for Humanity is building an affordable housing complex in Roaring Fork that will help teachers struggling to find housing.

     Not only was I so excited to get to present at this event, but I was thrilled to see all of the efforts being made both in the rental and ownership arenas for teachers.  Email me directly if you would like to see a copy of the affordable housing report.