Vibrant Bond Approved to Buy Old CDLE Office for Affordable Housing
Published on June 01, 2026
Denver— Denver’s Department of Finance (DOF) today announced that Denver City Council has approved a $4.5 million purchase of 251 E. 12th Ave. in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood for future affordable housing, marking the first affordable housing project for the Vibrant Denver Bond.
“A Vibrant Denver is one where parents spend more time walking their kids to school or the playground and less time worrying about making the rent,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “This site is perfectly situated for working families and is an ideal use of the Vibrant Denver Bond. I’m grateful to voters for making affordable housing a priority and to Council for partnering with us in this vision.”
As part of the Vibrant Denver Bond, voters approved $45 million for the city to invest in affordable housing. With this funding, the city has flexibility to acquire land, purchase buildings, and/or prepare sites for the development of affordable housing.
This particular site at 251 E. 12th Ave. was selected based on a range of criteria, including the documented need for more affordable housing in the area, its ability to keep residents in their neighborhood, the low purchase price combined with the nearly acre of land on which the building resides, and the site’s proximity to transit, schools, childcare, parks, playgrounds, libraries, grocery stores, and employment opportunities, all within one mile of the property. This includes the nearly complete Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project, which will provide affordable and convenient access to jobs and community services along the corridor.
The building, once home to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), has been vacant for several years after the state downsized its office space. With City Council’s approval, the city anticipates closing on the property by the end of June. The city will then issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for development services to turn the site into affordable housing.
Approved by voters in 2025, the $950 million Vibrant Denver Bond program is delivering 58 projects across Denver by 2031, including libraries, parks and recreation centers, cultural facilities, affordable housing, streets, bridges, and traffic/pedestrian/cycling safety improvements, a family health clinic, and a children’s advocacy center.
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About Denver GO Bonds
General obligation (GO) bonds are a long-term debt instrument issued by state or local governments to fund public capital improvement projects such as roads, bridges, bikeways, public facilities and parks. This includes restoring, replacing and expanding existing capital assets. Local GO bond programs are authorized by Denver voters every 4-10 years and repaid through property taxes. Denver’s bond programs include Elevate Denver, a 10-year, $937 million general obligation bond program approved by voters in 2017, RISE Denver, a five-year, $260 million general obligation bond program approved by voters in 2021, and Vibrant Denver, a six-year, $950 million general obligation bond program approved by voters in 2025. For more information, visit denvergov.org/gobonds.
About Denver’s Department of Finance
Committed to being the best financially managed city and county in the nation, the Department of Finance (DOF) unifies the financial and accounting functions of the City and County of Denver and provides residents easy access to key financial data through Transparent Denver. DOF is divided into the Office of the CFO and seven divisions, including the Assessor’s Office, Controller’s Office, Budget and Management Office, Capital Planning and Real Estate, Cash and Capital Funding, Risk Management and Worker’s Compensation, and Treasury. For more information, visit Denvergov.org/finance.