As housing costs continue to climb across metro Denver, Elevation Community Land Trust and the City of Aurora are partnering to create permanently affordable homeownership opportunities over the next five years for at least 50 Aurora families living at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income, equating to a household of four earning no more than $74,240 annually.

On May 20, the City of Aurora became Elevation CLT’s first municipal partner when Aurora City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Elevation CLT. The partnership will allow Elevation CLT to acquire and remodel a mix of single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes that can be purchased by qualifying Aurora residents.

“We are thrilled that the City of Aurora sees value in creating permanently affordable housing for its residents, and we are excited to begin working alongside them as our first municipal partner,” said Stefka Fanchi, President & CEO of Elevation CLT. “Through this partnership, we will put homeownership within reach for more families and help create healthy, stable, inclusive neighborhoods in Aurora for today and tomorrow, so that our families can earn the equity and opportunity that ownership provides.”

To further support low-income homeowners, Elevation CLT will steward them through the purchase and ongoing ownership of their homes by providing pre-purchase counseling, resident stewardship, first-time mortgage facilitation, home maintenance and financial counseling. In addition, Elevation CLT and the City of Aurora will work together to ensure homeowners have access to supportive services like health care and healthy food, early childhood education, workforce training and placement, and wealth-building opportunities.

“This partnership is a great tool in Aurora’s efforts to make sure we continue to focus on affordable homeownership opportunities for everyone living in our city,” Aurora Mayor Bob LeGare said. “We are excited to see how the land-trust model can be a benefit to the city and the region, and can help people achieve their dream of homeownership.”

Over the next four years, Elevation CLT is poised to create homeownership opportunities for more than 700 Colorado families. In addition to partnering with the City of Aurora, Elevation CLT anticipates announcing municipal partnerships with the City of Denver, the City of Fort Collins, Boulder County and the City of Loveland in the near future.