Denver Celebrates 82 New Affordable Apartments at The Rose on Colfax

Published on January 24, 2024

Mayor Mike Johnston and Denver’s Department of Housing Stability today celebrated the grand opening of The Rose on Colfax, a new 82-unit apartment community. Developed by Mercy Housing Mountain Plains, the project provides 82 income-restricted units exclusively for low- and moderate-income households, as well as an early childhood education center for tenants and the greater community. 

“The new Rose on Colfax is a great example of a public and private partnership that will help make Denver more affordable to residents, including making sure hardworking families who need access to childcare can get access right on site,” Mayor Mike Johnston said. “These are the kinds of projects we want more of to reach our goal of 3,000 units of permanently affordable housing each year."

Located at 8315 E. Colfax Ave., The Rose on Colfax is one of two sites acquired by the City and County of Denver in 2017 with the vision of ensuring affordability and community-serving uses along the rapidly changing corridor. Mercy Housing Mountain Plains was selected through a city procurement to develop the property into affordable housing, with a community-serving use occupying the ground-floor commercial space. The property was transferred to Mercy Housing earlier through a sale agreement approved by Denver City Council.  

The five-story development offers 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units that are income restricted for a range of tenants at different income levels. Approximately one-fifth of the units (16) are restricted for households with incomes of up to 30% of the area median income (AMI). Other units are restricted at varying AMI levels, up to 70% AMI. A land use restriction on the property ensures affordability for 99 years. 

“The Rose on Colfax is part of Mercy Housing’s unique focus on providing affordable housing and childcare services that brings stability for vulnerable families and individuals, ultimately helping them succeed,” said Shelly Marquez, president of Mercy Housing Mountain Plains. “Mercy Housing is seeing several positive impacts for residents at our other developments across the country that provide similar childcare accessibility, including Decatur Place in Denver, and hopes to build more affordable communities with co-located childcare in the future.”

Mile High Early Learning will operate the new, 5,600-square-foot Mile High United Way Early Childhood Education Center, located on the first level of the building, and provide comprehensive education, health, and family support services for children ages six weeks through four years through Head Start and Early Head Start. It will also include an additional 2,400-square-foot outdoor play area. Funding for the early childhood education center was made possible through Mile High United Way donors, Mile High Early Learning, and the investment of philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott, who announced a $20 million investment in Mile High United Way in 2021.

“This part of Denver is considered a childcare desert, which means either there’s no childcare or there’s more than three children needing a spot for every licensed spot available,” said Dr. Pamela Harris, president and CEO of Mile High Early Learning. “Many of the families we serve experience housing instability along with challenges of accessing quality, affordable early care and education. The Rose on Colfax will support families by meeting these two critical needs. We’re excited to have this amazing partnership with Mercy Housing.”

The property will have onsite resident services, including health navigation assistance, behavioral health services, financial literacy training, job training, resume assistance, after-school and youth programming, and food and nutrition education. Mercy Housing will survey residents to understand the additional services it can provide onsite to support residents. For more than 40 years, Mercy Housing has integrated health and community services with many of the 350 affordable housing properties that it owns and operates in 21 states. This has proven to help stabilize and support individuals transitioning from homelessness and help low-income families to thrive.

Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) provided $3.5 million in development financing toward the $29.4 million project. Other public financing partners include the Colorado Housing & Finance Authority and the Colorado Division of Housing. In addition, the Denver Office of Children’s Affairs invested $572,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the early childhood education center.

The Rose on Colfax is the latest city-supported affordable housing development to begin construction in Denver. A total of 2,078 affordable units that have received city financing are currently under construction at 28 sites throughout Denver.