New Affordable Housing Units Open in Sun Valley With Amenities

When the Denver Housing Authority began reimagining the historically disenfranchised neighborhood of Sun Valley, the goal was to build and create something that reflected the diverse community.

The final slate of DHA buildings will open this spring, starting with mixed-income development Joli, inching closer to that goal. However, more construction — and the return of displaced community members — is still to come.

The Housing Authority, a quasi-government organization, is the City of Denver's affordable housing partner, and runs public housing programs in the city. Since the 1950s, DHA has owned property in Sun Valley, including Sun Valley Homes — a 330-unit, barracks-style affordable housing complex. That complex was torn down to make way for DHA's new builds, which hold 965 affordable housing units across seven buildings, according to the organization.

Providing new housing is essential as Denver grows, but preserving generations of west Denver residents is also important to City Councilwoman Jamie Torres, a multi-generational resident of west Denver.

“My grandmother always referred to this area as the bottoms,” Torres recalled at a March 7 celebration of Joli’s grand opening. “When she described the bottoms, she described apple orchards, if you can even imagine that. …This was not always industrial. This was not always where our lowest-income residents could live. This will be a place where opportunity is grown.”

Located at 980 Bryant Street, Joli is an example of new opportunities in the Sun Valley neighborhood, which borders the South Platte River and Federal Boulevard and includes the Denver Broncos' stadium, Empower Field at Mile High.

The building has income-restricted housing units, market-rate apartments and a commerce incubator at the bottom where residents will receive support and space to start food-and-drink-related businesses. Joli’s units range from one-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom townhouses designed for families.

The Sun Valley project launched in 2014 after receiving a planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Along with Joli, the Sol and Flo buildings are almost complete and represent the final leg of the first part of DHA's new vision for Sun Valley.

“For decades, this community faced isolation, economic hardship and a lack of basic resources,” DHA CEO Joaquín Cintrón Vega said at the grand opening. “For too long, disinvestment dictated the neighborhood's future. …In 2015 we took a bold step. We didn't impose change from the outside. We built it together.”

Some city bond funding was used to help with roadway construction, and the authority has also invested in sidewalks, water pipes, bike lanes and storm sewer lines across the neighborhood.

Construction on Joli, Sol and Flo began in April 2023. As Joli opens its doors, the DHA is thrilled about the results.

“It is a promise fulfilled,” Cintrón Vega tells Westword. “Many years ago, we came to this community, we spoke about this huge, symbolic development project. This is satisfaction, because we are not only enhancing our credibility but our trust with the community.”

The Housing Authority's credibility was harmed in 2020, when the DHA relocated longtime Sun Valley residents to other housing options while the project was underway.

Sun Valley is often considered the most diverse neighborhood in Denver; over thirty languages are spoken by Sun Valley residents. Those displaced during construction were largely African and Asian immigrants and refugees.

Another blow came in 2023, when Denver Public Schools closed Fairview Elementary in Sun Valley due to low enrollment driven by the immense displacement of community members. Torres teased a mission to bring the school back at the Joli grand opening, however.

As each building is completed, DHA reaches out to former residents asking if they want to come back and what type of unit they might be interested in. Several former residents have already moved back into other DHA buildings in the area and more are on the way, according to DHA.

“Seeing the old Sun Valley come down, brick by brick, tree by tree, and even playground by playground, it was tough,” Alexandra Carrillo, a resident who was displaced and then moved back in, said at the grand opening. “I knew, deep down, that coming back here would be worth the wait. When I had the opportunity to visit Greenhaus and choose our future home, it became clear just how much of a blessing it was to return to Sun Valley from the old to the new.”

Greenhaus is an affordable housing development that opened in 2023. Carrillo and other community leaders have been working to ensure the community is still connected, though it hasn’t always been easy.
“Communities are not just made from buildings; they are made from connections to other people, and we have to continue to build entire developments in communities with that in mind,” Torres said. “I think about that every day with Sun Valley, because we moved just over 300 families out, and we're bringing back over 1,000 at the end of the day. I hope those 300 families come back.”

Joli was designed to allow for intergenerational living, such as units with multiple bedrooms with attached bathrooms and floorplans that go beyond the typical bedroom count of one to three bedrooms.

Each of Joli’s 133 units, including all 82 affordable residences, has a laundry room — and not just a tiny, stacked washer and dryer in a closet, either.

“The original Sun Valley homes did not have in-unit washers and dryers,” Erin Clark, chief real estate investment officer for DHA, said at the opening. “I get jealous of what we produce today. The apartments over in RiNo do not have what we have over here in Sun Valley. These are laundry rooms. These are full-size, stackable washer and dryers. A lot of storage space.”

The buildings also offer incredible views of the city skyline, community outdoor and indoor spaces that are on a similar level to those in non-affordable developments, and every unit has air conditioning, something Carrillo said was a big improvement for her family.
The units offer plenty of closet space, and several floorplans even have walk-in closets connecting the primary bedroom to a bathroom, a popular feature in new apartments.

The handful of four- and five-bedroom units are all under affordable housing restrictions, according to DHA, and these units must have children living in them to encourage the generational community in Sun Valley, Torres said.

Affordable housing units start at $730 per month for one-bedrooms, while the highest-priced market rate units are under $2,000. Parking, including EV chargers, is included.

The project has traditional apartments and seven live-work townhouses designed so families can operate small businesses from their homes and live there. That feature mirrors buildings like Mica RiNo, a new development next to Mission Ballroom that opened in 2023 with ground-level townhouses designed for entrepreneurs.
On top of putting the finishing touches on the Food Incubator and the Sol and Flo buildings, DHA is under contract with third-party, market-rate developers for three parcels of land that should add about 1,000 units to the neighborhood. The Housing Authority also plans to create a Riverfront Park connecting the development to the South Platte River nearby with open space and a community garden, although that project is not fully funded yet.

Sol, a mixed-income building, is expected to open on April 1. Flo will be a high-rise catering to disabled populations and residents aged 55-and-up, and is projected to open in July.

Joli will see its first residents move in on Monday, March 10. There is already a waiting list of over 700 people who want to fill the building’s 133 units, according to DHA.