Housing and Regionalism Main Topics for Mayor Hancock at City Club

Denver's Mayor Michael Hancock has a particular passion for affordable housing, and he shared it with the September 20 gathering of City Club of Denver. Although a mayoral annual address is tradition, this was notably Hancock's fifth for the group. 

On the heels of Denver City Council’s vote to create the city's first dedicated affordable housing fund, it was understandably a main topic of the mayor's speech. Hancock shared how, in his youth as one of ten children to a single mother, public housing gave him stability that helped him to do better in school. We all know how successfully his story is turning out as he mayor of twenty-first largest city in the U.S.! 

Hancock also discussed the significance of regionalism for economic development initiatives. We are not just making our cities more competitive, we are developing the region as a whole, he explained. Colorado Business Roundtable also has a region-wide perspective.

The latest figures he mentioned illustrate why affordable housing and other resident concerns are already such hot topics -- each month, 4500 new residents move to this region and 1000 of those come to Denver. 

-COBRT


Originally published at denver.gov:

Mayor Hancock’s Statement on Denver’s First Dedicated Affordable Housing Fund

DENVER (Sept 19, 2016) – Mayor Michael B. Hancock released a statement following the Denver City Council’s vote to create Denver’s first dedicated affordable housing fund. The proposal was created through an two-year, in-depth community and stakeholder engagement process and was passed on September 19, 2016 by City Council in a 9-4 vote.  

“Tonight, our city took a significant step forward in keeping Denver accessible to our workers and families. I want to thank City Council for their support in creating Denver’s first dedicated fund for affordable housing, which embeds the value of a city for everyone into our foundation.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve accomplished with Council members Kniech and Brooks and all of our partners to keep our city uniquely Denver. From here, our work continues undaunted to spur the creation of diverse housing options throughout the city. Together, we will remain relentless in our pursuit to ensure that our people are able to build equity and wealth through homeownership.”

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For more about this story, see this article at The Denver Post