APARTMENTS

Property values on the mind

One comment to the county, as compiled in a December county sta report, claimed that if the apartments are built, nearby property values will be “eroded by potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Several research studies don’t back that assertion.

Some studies have found that Low-Income Housing Tax Credit developments in “higher-income” areas are associated with house price declines, according to the nonpro t Urban Institute.

But results have varied. A New York University study on New York City found that a ordable housing developments have led to increases in property values in many cases.

“ e completion of LIHTC projects is associated with an immediate positive and signi cant ( xed) e ect, indicating that prices surrounding that enroll a high number of students who are the rst in their family to go to college and communicate to those students that they are welcome on campus. e most symbolic bill, however, prompted a more complicated conversation about whether creating a rst generation-serving designation would lead to those schools getting more state funding. In a state that the tax credit housing rise more than prices in the larger neighborhood,” the study reads. “After completion, the degree to which prices in the vicinity of tax credit housing exceed those in the larger neighborhood rises by 3.8 percentage points.” e impact can also change over time, says the study, which looked at counties in 15 states.

A 2017 Stanford Graduate School of Business study found that LIHTC construction in neighborhoods with median incomes above $54,000 leads to housing price declines of approximately 2.5% within 0.1 miles of the development site.

“ ese declines, however, are only seen in high income areas with a minority population of below 50%,” the study says.

“At distances of 0.3 to 0.4 miles away from the LIHTC site, there are modest declines in house prices right away, but they fall over time. It appears the housing market very quickly ‘prices’ the impact of LIHTC very locally, but it takes 5 to 10 years for the house prices 0.3 to 0.4 miles funds its public colleges near the bottom of the nation, any hint at changing the distribution of money raises concerns for university leaders.

Faced with opposition from larger schools that serve fewer rst-generation students, the sponsors pulled House Bill 1114 before it went to vote on the House oor.

Bill co-sponsor state Rep. Rick

Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican, said he wants to talk more with university leaders and bring the bill back next year. He said it troubled him that the opposition centered on funding concerns when the bill didn’t call for any changes to the higher education funding formula. At the same time, he said he un- away to fully adjust.”

Road signs mark the intersection of state Highway 83 (noted by the sign as Parker Road) and Scott Avenue, where a proposed apartment complex may be built.

A study on Alexandria, Virginia, found that a ordable housing in higher-income neighborhoods has a “positive and highly signi cant e ect on surrounding home values, as does a ordable housing in lowerincome neighborhoods.” e study adds: “We nd that affordable units in the city of Alexandria are associated with a small but statistically signi cant increase in property values of 0.09 percent within 1/16 of a mile of a development, on average — a distance comparable to a typical urban block.”

“ is calls into question prior ndings that a ordable housing in highincome areas necessarily causes nearby property values to decline,” the 2022 Urban Institute study says.

Locally, in 2010, the median single-family home price in metro Denver was about $200,000. It was roughly triple that as of 2022, according to Colorado Association of Realtors data.

Worries of crime

Many comments submitted to the county mentioned crime as a concern with the proposed apartment complex.

e Stanford study also looked at the impact of a ordable housing development on local crime rates in certain cities.

“We nd both violent and property crime decline in low income areas, regardless of minority share. However, in higher income areas we do not see any increase in crime, rather property crime may even fall slightly,” the study says.

Lawsuit filed

More than 100 area residents recently led a lawsuit against Douglas County’s elected leaders for allowing the development to move forward.

Residents of e Pinery brought the lawsuit, arguing the proposed development does not meet the county’s approval requirements and that it is “incompatible with the existing character” of the area.

e Douglas County commissioners voted 2-1 on Jan. 10 to allow the development to move forward. e lawsuit, led in February, asked a court to reverse the county’s decision and stop the development.

For a look at the lawsuit and the county’s approval requirements, see Colorado Community Media’s previous story at tinyurl.com/PineryApartmentLawsuit.