What can an WDSF+ ADU accomplish?
Explore WDSF+ ADU homeowner stories
Outcomes Include:
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Participants who have completed their builds are renting their ADUs for an average of 29% AMI for their unit size.
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Multiple families have worked together to use an ADU as a first-time (co) ownership opportunity by pooling adult children’s income and parents home-equity.
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ADUs enable wealth-building by passing the family house to adult children, or working across generations to co-build as an investment in the family property.
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75% of participants from 2020-2023 are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and People of Color Households, 50% are women-headed households, and 73% are low-income households.
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WDSF+ ADUs help address doubled-up and temporarily housed families at risk of homelessness; more than 50% of West Denver homeowner were doubled up in 2019.
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ADUs are housing that enables inter-generational childcare, aging-in-place, and supportive housing for loved ones who would otherwise struggle to live independently.
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36% of current WDSF+ units are family-sized 2-3 bedroom ADUs. When homeowners downsize into an ADU, it opens up their family-sized primary dwellings for rent.
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All WDSF+ ADUs are built to high energy-efficiency standards, are solar-ready, and support environmental best-practices as infill development.
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All WDSF+ units designed to ANSI Type B Adaptable Design Standards, supporting diverse mobilities and abilities.
Hear from Participants
Miguel is an ADU homeowner who used his 1 bedroom ADU to downsize and age in place, while providing his adult children deeply affordable rent in his main house.
Denver homeowners are working with the ADU Pilot Program to house family and community members affordably
Explore their stories and the flexibility an ADU provides
Co-building across generations
A 3-bedroom ADU financed across generations enabled first time co-ownership for a family that was tripled up with 7 (soon to be 8) people in a 3-bedroom house.
The younger generation moved in the same day as their final walk through and are excited to connect newly installed solar panels thanks to a grant from SPARCC.
housing children + grandchildren
The Martinez family is working with their son to build a 2 bedroom ADU that will house him and his daughter, currently doubled up in their Athmar Park home.
The ADU will enables their son and granddaughter to stay nearby, grandparents to stay involved with their granddaughter, and provide an investment opportunity for their son.
Planning for the future
This homeowner built a three-bedroom ADU and is housing his nephew and a roommate - a full time student.
“Yeah, I feel a lot more stable now... I got laid off about two months ago. Having the ADU and knowing that I was going to have rental income really helped me plan for the future.”
Aging-in-place
Jose and his daughter Lorena built an ADU to support her father aging-in-place as her family moved into the main home.
“It's a no brainer, this is the best thing that can happen in a place like Denver where housing is scarce and it's at a premium. I mean to have additional space in our home where I grew up - where my dad has been for decades - it's just wonderful.”
First-time co-ownership
The Ibarras have been working towards their goal of building an ADU behind their house, originally built by Habitat for Humanity, for several years.
By teaming up across generations, these two will enable first-time co-ownership opportunities for son Claude, while providing more space in the main house.
Caring for an aging mom
Jose, a retired city zoning inspector, entered the program in 2023 to build a 1-bedroom ADU to house his aging mother. As her primary caretaker, having his mother live in the backyard rather than across town will enable Jose to more regularly check up on her, enjoy her home-cooked meals, and keep her from feeling isolated.
Housing family
Nadine, a school district employee, will house her daughter, son in law, and grandchildren in a 3-bedroom ADU in Athmar Park.
This will bring the younger family back to the neighborhood from Lakewood, and help them to meet savings goals towards their dream of homeownership. Nadine’s daughter and son-in-law will benefit from built-in-childcare with grandma next door.
A place for parents
This homeowner built a 1 bedroom ADU to support and house her mother as she ages. Until her mother is ready, her ADU is housing a family friend and her young child.
My first main priority is to always have a place for my mom, and for her not to have to worry about it... I could only see a positive for me.
enabling independent living with a disability
This homeowner built a 1 bedroom ADU to support her niece.
With this ADU I will be able to help Holly move towards independence. She's got a disability, but she completed school, and she now has her first full-time job. For Holly, this is a opportunity to live on her own. She can live independently, but if she needs a little bit of support, I'm nearby.
preventing displacement
This homeowner built a studio with her adolescent children in mind.
"This program has given me hope for the future. It has allowed me to secure a future not only for my retirement but also for my growing children who are entering into adulthood, and giving my family the opportunity to support each other and remain in our hometown where we were born and raised."
Housing new neighbors
Yoseph and his young family completed a 3-bedroom ADU in fall of 2023. The unit is currently being rented at an affordable rate to a recently arrived El Salvadoran family of four that was previously sharing a 1-bedroom apartment in the neighborhood.
The parents can walk to work at a restaurant on Federal Blvd, and their children are able to stay in the same schools they attended previously. Yoseph, himself a first-generation immigrant, chose to rent to this family, knowing the challenges families in their position face when seeking housing.
Caring for family
This public school art teacher – and her partner who works for a homelessness focused non-profit - built a studio ADU to house her brother, who has struggled with housing and employment stability in the past but loves his current work as a bike mechanic at a local non-profit.
Living in an ADU behind his sister’s house has given him an opportunity at independent living and shaved more than an hour off his bike commute from his parents’ home, where he was previously living. The family has also worked with a lawyer to draw up an equity-sharing arrangement, giving him the option to build wealth while living in the ADU and use it as a springboard towards other life goals.