Denver Celebrates Grand Opening of The Hattie McDaniel

The Denver Department of Housing Stability (HOST) joined Elevation Community Land Trust, Shanahan Development, and community partners to celebrate the grand opening of The Hattie McDaniel, a new permanently affordable condominium development delivering 62 income-restricted homes in the heart of Five Points.

The project marks a major step forward in Denver's work to expand affordable homeownership, especially in neighborhoods facing displacement. HOST invested $4,965,000 in gap financing to make the development possible, transforming a former RTD parking lot at 29th and Welton into a vibrant, transit-oriented community. The Hattie McDaniel shows how public investment and strong partnerships can create lasting affordability in communities with access to jobs and transit and serves as a model for future affordable homeownership projects across the city.

Named in honor of Hattie McDaniel, the first African American woman to win an Academy Award, the development offers one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes affordable to households earning up to 80% of the area median income. Preference is given to buyers who currently live, work, or attend school in Five Points, or who have historic ties to the neighborhood.

"Five Points is more than its history: it's a living, breathing place full of incredible people who want to be a part of its future," said Mayor Mike Johnston. "Developments like The Hattie McDaniel create new opportunity for the neighborhood and ensures those who have long called it home can afford to continue doing so."

The Five Points neighborhood which has long been a center of Black arts, culture, and entrepreneurship has faced rapid changes over the past decade. The Hattie McDaniel directly supports anti-displacement efforts by creating stable, permanently affordable homeownership opportunities that help families build generational wealth.

"Our goal is to create homes that allow families with historical ties to the community to return and become part of the neighborhood's fabric again," says Stefka Fanchi, CEO of ECLT. "Either folks that currently live, work or have their children enrolled in school there, or whose parents or grandparents used to live there and were displaced."

The Hattie McDaniel is the third permanently affordable condominium community delivered in recent years by the partnership of Shanahan Development and Elevation Community Land Trust. These projects play a vital role in the city's housing ecosystem by creating an attainable entry point to homeownership while ensuring long-term affordability through the land trust model.

The development is one of many affordable housing efforts currently supported by HOST. Across the city, 1,141 affordable units with city financing are under construction or undergoing preservation at 15 sites, with an additional 555 affordable homes in the planning stage and expected to break ground within the next year. Learn more about this inventory at the Denver Affordable Housing Dashboard.