The city of Aurora’s commitment to increase affordable housing within the next three years was recently accepted by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) as part of its implementation of Proposition 123.
Proposition 123 was passed by Colorado voters in 2022 and provides a dedicated revenue source to communities that commit to creating affordable housing units. The funding that will be provided to the city of Aurora will depend on additional program applications submitted to and accepted by DOLA and the Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
In January 2023, Aurora City Council passed a resolution affirming the city's commitment and desire to receive funds from the Statewide Affordable Housing Fund. The city has committed to creating 550 units per year for three years, for a total of 1,650 new affordable housing units, by Dec. 31, 2026.
“We know that affordable housing is not a unique issue to Aurora,” said Jessica Prosser, Aurora’s Housing and Community Services Director. “But at a local level, the financial resources coming from Proposition 123 will be incredibly important in helping close the gap of affordable housing units in Aurora.”
In December 2020, the city adopted the Aurora Housing Strategy, which identified a gap of over 7,500 affordable housing units, and has been working to allocate available resources toward closing the affordable housing gap, including gap financing through loans for developers interested in creating and/or preserving affordable housing. Since adopting the housing strategy, the city has created over 2,000 new affordable housing units, such as the most recent projects of Sapling Grove Apartments and Liberty View Apartments.