The city of Lakewood, part of the Denver metropolitan area, is experiencing rapid growth resulting in high demand for affordable housing opportunities. Lakewood's 5-year housing and community development strategy brings needs and resources together to meet the following goals for low-, very low-, and extremely low-income persons:
The Consolidated Plan includes an action plan combining funds from the HOME Investment Partnership and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs totaling $3,525,000. Funds are targeted for single-family housing rehabilitation, emergency home repairs, resident initiatives, services to the homeless, neighborhood cleanup, infrastructure development, and neighborhood revitalization.
Two neighborhoods have been targeted for housing and community development activities: Molholm and Edgewood/Mt. Air. This includes redevelopment along the Colfax corridor to revitalize this area for neighborhood businesses and to prevent further decline.
Lakewood's Housing and Community Development Plan was open to public comment on November 14, 1994, through January 10, 1995. A public hearing was held on the plan, draft plans were distributed to all agencies applying for funds, and draft plans were placed in public libraries and city buildings for review. A number of citizen comments were made on the plan, particularly at the November 14th hearing.
In addition, the Strategic Planning Division of Lakewood's Community Planning and Development Department has been charged as lead agency for coordinating the city's housing and community development plan. Several activities have been undertaken to enhance communication between Lakewood and housing providers, service agencies and neighborhood organizations, including the establishment of a CDBG funding review committee. Comments on the plan were solicited through newspaper advertisements. Requests for proposals for eligible projects were made to address national objectives and local priorities. Meetings were held with representatives of public housing, senior citizens, minority groups, and residents in Lakewood's low- and very low-income neighborhoods. Government agencies and local nonprofit organizations were surveyed about housing and community development needs and priorities.
The economy of the city of Lakewood has recovered from a recession in the late 1980s and is now very strong. Single-family home construction has increased dramatically, and rental vacancies are extremely low. Both single- and multifamily home prices and rents are high. A primary reason for the increased housing cost is demand created by a large number of people moving into the area from out of State. In addition, finding developable land is difficult, there is a current construction labor shortage in the Denver area, and lumber costs are high.
Housing demand is so high that many homes are sold without even being listed for sale. This increase in demand has also led to an increase in resale price. In 1990 the average resale price was under $100,000 compared to $139,188 in 1994. Vacancy rates for multifamily units are 2.8 percent, making it very difficult to find rental units. According to the city's Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy, 36.3 percent of the 51,809 households, fall into the three low-income categories: low-, very low-, and extremely low-income.
In 1990 the minority population was 15,282. Persons of Hispanic origin are the largest minority with almost 11,000 persons; Asian and Pacific Islanders number just over 2,500; and approximately 1,000 persons are black. The minority population has increased more than 73 percent from 1980 to 1990 according to the U.S. Census. The census tracts east of Wadsworth Boulevard and north of Jewell Avenue have a minority makeup of over 18 percent, compared to 12 percent for the city.
West Colfax Avenue was designated a State Enterprise Zone in 1991. Businesses in the zone can claim a variety of credits for qualifying activities by investing in this area. The Molholm and Edgewood/Mt. Air neighborhoods have been targeted by the city as the main areas for community redevelopment.
The city of Lakewood recognizes that, over the next 5 years, citizens in most income groups will experience some housing difficulties. The most affected are extremely low- and very low-income renters.
There are over 4,100 extremely low-income (0-30 percent of median family income) households in Lakewood. Renters account for 70 percent of the extremely low-income and are the people who face the most danger of becoming homeless. Sixty-nine percent of the extremely low-income owners and renters pay more than 50 percent of their income for their housing.
Of the 5,107 very low-income (31-80 percent of median income) households, 73 percent have housing problems, primarily excessive cost burden. Rehabilitation needs are also critical for very low-income homeowners.
There are over 9,500 low-income (51-80 percent of median income) households in Lakewood. Among them, a greater percentage of homeowners have housing affordability problems than do renters. Maintaining the quality of housing stock, especially in northeastern Lakewood, is important to preventing neighborhoods from becoming unstable.
More temporary housing beds that are linked to support services are needed for people that are homeless in Lakewood. Currently three shelters serve Lakewood: Family Tree's Women in Crises shelter, Gemini House, and Jeffco Action Center. These three shelters provide beds for a total of 65 persons per night. Jeffco Action Center turns away over 150 persons a month from its shelter. A continuum of support services, including case management services, is critical to break the chain of homelessness. Subpopulations including families, individuals, youth, persons with severe mental illness, domestic violence victims, and persons suffering drug addiction are in need of support services.
Currently, 1,315 low-income renters receive housing assistance in the city of Lakewood, including 415 elderly households and 900 families. Waiting lists for Section 8 rental Housing are currently closed because there is a pool of applicants waiting to fill the limited openings for each program. There is a severe shortage of affordable large-family units partly due to a low turnover of tenants. The waiting period for three- or four-bedroom units can be 3 to 5 years or longer.
Of the city's 51,809 housing units, it is estimated that between 11,000 and 15,000 units occupied by low- and very low-income households contain lead-based paint. This is roughly 25 percent of the city's housing stock.
Lakewood's Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan for the years 1995-1999 coordinates resources to help low-, very low-, and extremely low-income persons meet their housing and economic opportunity needs.
The city of Lakewood and the Lakewood Housing Authority expect to receive funds from the following programs to carry out their plan:
First Priority: Provide assistance to low-income renters. Rental rates are at all-time highs. Rental assistance to all low-income household types (including large, small, elderly, and disabled households) is a high priority. In 5 years, the city of Lakewood hopes to raise the number of households assisted to approximately 1,500. Currently, the Lakewood Housing Authority manages 532 Section 8 Certificates and Vouchers, 209 Public Housing Units, and 18 units of Section 8 New Construction. Additional Section 8 Certificates and Vouchers will be sought.
Second Priority: Preserve and add affordable rental units. Affordable housing units will be added or retained by utilizing three programs: HOME, CIAP, and Industrial Revenue Bonds. The Lakewood Housing Authority received CIAP funds to modernize 33 public housing units in 1995. It hopes to add eight low-income rental units through the HOME Program. Lakewood's goal is to preserve or add 300 low-income rental units within 5 years.
Third Priority: Retain stock of affordable owner-occupied housing units. Repairing physical defects for owner-occupied households is a high priority because maintaining the structural integrity of houses is the best method to retain the existing stock of affordable houses. Since affordable homes for lower income persons are concentrated in northeastern Lakewood, activities are concentrated there. These activities range from rehabilitation to enhancing the neighborhood appearance. After 5 years, the goal is to have a visible impact on the neighborhood's appearance that will help stabilize the neighborhood. Lakewood is currently focusing its efforts in the Molholm neighborhood. Efforts will begin to shift to the Edgewood/Mt. Air neighborhood in 2 years.
First Priority: Homeless prevention. In addition to the goal of increasing Section 8 Certificates and Vouchers to assist 1,500 households within 5 years, Lakewood hopes to provide assistance to 150 households through other programs to prevent homelessness.
Second Priority: Transitional housing. To help persons who become homeless, there is a need to provide temporary housing and support services. Lakewood's goal is to acquire 30 additional transitional housing units and to continue to support the agencies that provide transitional housing and a continuum of care.
First Priority: Revitalize neighborhoods. The 1993 Neighborhood Assessment identified seven neighborhoods with the greatest community development needs. The following activities are targeted to impact revitalizing these neighborhoods: redevelop infrastructure, increase parkland, improve and install road medians, neighborhood planning, cleanup, tree removal and replacement, and other revitalization activities.
Second Priority: Revitalize Colfax corridor. The Colfax corridor, which generates over one-quarter of Lakewood's sales tax revenue, has undergone economic and physical decline. A 1993 study, the Colfax Revitalization Plan, developed a strategy to support and improve businesses and neighborhoods in the Colfax corridor. The plan identified a number of activities that will improve and strengthen this area. They include infrastructure improvements, a Gap Loan Program for small businesses, a business facade program, which will provide incentives such as grants and design assistance to Colfax businesses, and median improvements. West Colfax Avenue has been designated an Enterprise Zone with the potential for business and other investment.
Lakewood's action plan defines the proposed uses of its 1995 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds of $3,119,000. Approximately $1,875,000 of the total is from a Section 108 Loan and Economic Development Initiative Grant, and $100,000 is program income from the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. Some of the proposed activities are:
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within another of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 9 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).
