Colorado Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Create Affordable Modular Homes
Colorado lawmakers recently introduced House Bill 1282, also known as the Innovative Housing Incentive Program, which, if passed, will create a $40 million loan program to assist modular home manufacturers with wages and operating expenses, including payroll, inventory, and materials, The Colorado Sun reports. The latest measure comes in response to a statewide housing shortage that caused the prices of homes in mountain towns to double in just the last two years.
Lawmakers hope to use hundreds of millions of dollars in coronavirus aid to create more affordable housing, and many feel that factory-built homes could be a fast and cost-efficient solution.
The bill proposes the creation of a program within the Office of Economic Development and International Trade that would give grants or loans to new or existing businesses to develop innovative housing solutions, including modular housing. Modular housing is built in a factory before being shipped to a neighborhood to be assembled.
Only a small handful of companies in Colorado currently build homes in factories. One of them is Fading West Development in Buena Vista, which will build approximately 250 homes in 2022. The construction cost for the company’s modular houses is 15-30% lower than traditional homes.