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Ten new Denver teachers will receive free rent for a year on a new luxury apartment building on the city's northwest side, a novel but incremental approach to a problem where soaring housing costs are making it difficult for teachers to live close to work.
Grand Peaks, a real estate investment firm founded by former employees of Denver Public Schools, is donating 10 apartments in the 533-unit Skyline at Highlands development in Jefferson Park, where teachers can live rent-free from August through July.
Sarah Hazel, president and CEO of the Denver Public Schools Foundation, said the foundation selected the 10 teachers in a random lottery from among about 215 who applied. Only teachers with zero to three years of experience were eligible.
“I had my Oprah moment and emailed these 10 winners to tell them the amazing news,” Hazel said. “The reactions we got were things like, 'This is a life-changing event for my family,' and 'You have no idea how much this means to me.'”
Grand Peaks President Mark Swerdlow said the company's founders, the Simpson family, wanted to do something for Denver teachers after reading news about the pay gap and struggles to find affordable housing. The average rent for an apartment in the gentrifying city was $1,875 a month in the first quarter of this year, according to The Denver Post.
“This property is not an affordable housing project, but it seemed like a very simple and natural thing for us to do to provide affordable housing for teachers,” Swerdlow said.
Hazel said he hopes increasing access to affordable housing will encourage early-career teachers to stay in Denver and pursue the teaching profession.
“Affordable housing is one of the barriers that Denver teachers face, and having Denver teachers living in the Denver community is good for Denver and good for our students,” she said. “I hope other businesses look at this and think, 'Wow, how can I replicate that?'”
Five of the apartments are studios, typically renting for $1,725 to $1,900 a month. The other five are one-bedrooms, typically renting for $2,300 to $2,450 a month. Last year, the average salary for a starting teacher in Denver was $54,141.
DPS leaders have floated the idea of providing teacher housing multiple times in recent years, but no projects have come to fruition. In 2018, following opposition from neighbors, the district backed off an idea to convert a then-vacant elementary school into rental apartments for teachers. Instead, the district leased the former Rosedale Elementary School building to the Archdiocese of Denver, which now houses St. John Paul the Great Catholic High School.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Melanie can be reached at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
Denver 7+ Colorado News Latest Headlines | July 2, 7:00 AM
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