Investing in housing

Grant funds secured

The city has pursued several grant opportunities as a key strategy to build the housing fund and support our affordable partners in constructing affordable units for the community. Since the adoption of the plan, Wheat Ridge has secured over $9 million towards affordable housing, including:

Amount	Purpose
$2 million	U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – supporting preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), directed to Foothills Regional Housing (FRH) to preserve the affordability of Fruitdale School Lofts, a 16-unit apartment building.
$4.5 million	Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) — supporting new senior and family affordable housing development
$50,000	Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) – funding a housing impact fee study.
$2.6 million	Colorado Energy Office (CEO) – Supporting zoning code updates, rebate programs for qualifying ADUs and multi-family developments, and soft costs assistance for affordable projects.

These grant funds will be used to acquire and preserve NOAH units, fund public improvements for affordable housing, complete a zoning audit to implement goals from both the City Plan and AHS, and evaluate a housing impact linkage fee through a nexus study.