The City of Denver recently announced a new effort to combat the price of housing. Single-family developments will be charged an additional 60 cents a square foot while multi-family projects will be charged an additional $1.25 per square foot. Most commercial projects will be charged $1.70 a square foot. In addition, all property owners (residential and commercial) will be charged an extra half-mill of property tax. These new revenues will help Denver increase its funding for owner-occupied and for rent affordable housing portfolio.
The fees were determined after two studies were conducted. One was completed by California consultant to calculate how high of a fee could legally be levied on new development; the other was a feasibility study conducted by the City to determine how much it could reasonably charge before creating a negative impact on development.
These concepts will be included in an ordinance that will be voted on by the Denver City Council in August. If approved, the new fees and tax increase will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017. Denver voters gave the City the ability to raise property tax without a vote in 2012.
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