Introducing the East Colfax MINT!

Celebration and community control as Aurora and East Colfax are in the national spotlight

We were in Denver this Saturday as Kavya and Jason joined over a hundred East Colfax neighborhood residents and partners to celebrate the launch of the East Colfax Mixed-Income Neighborhood Trust. The East Colfax MINT, or EC MINT, is the fifth MINT in the nation, and the first in Colorado, and just made its first acquisition with a 23-unit apartment building at 1371 Xenia.

It was in the courtyard of that apartment building where we gathered as residents and leaders shared what the EC MINT means to them and what is possible for their neighborhood.

Photo of residents gathered at 1371 Xenia on Saturday, September 22nd

“The EC MINT has emerged out of necessity,” said Carson Bryant, the MINT director, “the necessity to combat the housing crisis in our community with a durable, potent solution that shifts the control of housing into the hands of the community. The EC MINT is doing more than meeting the immediate need for housing stability – it is building the long-term power for this community to shape its own housing destiny.”

Hear what Brendan Greene, co-founder and Executive Director of East Colfax Community Collective, and Kavya shared at the celebration:

For those who haven’t been following, the East Colfax Community Collective, or EC3, is a community group focused on supporting local residents and business owners as they face the pressures of outside investment and gentrification. Two years ago, EC3’s membership selected the MINT model as one of two priority strategies for fighting displacement, and Trust Neighborhoods has been working with them ever since. EC MINT will be managed by EC3, with its governance structure including real estate experts, leaders of local grassroots organizations, and renters.

Context on East Colfax Corridor

EC MINT’s focus area is the East Colfax Corridor in Denver and Aurora. East Colfax occupies an important niche in the Denver MSA, as it is proximate to major workplaces and borders higher-income areas but still offers below average rents. This affordability contributes to its role as a landing spot for many low-income families, particularly immigrants and refugees, in the Denver metro.

East Colfax, and EC3, found itself in national prominence in recent weeks following a presidential debate reference to Aurora: “[The gangs] are taking over the towns. They are taking over buildings. They’re going in violently.” As the New York Times reported, this came out of the excuse of a negligent, out-of-state owner in Aurora of a building in East Colfax.

Unfortunately, owners like this are too familiar to residents of East Colfax and EC3, and owners like this and excuses like this are part of why the creation of the EC MINT is so needed and so powerful.

Alongside replacing this kind of negligent ownership, East Colfax residents face a very real risk of displacement as their neighborhood has seen continued investments in recent years. A short walk from the Xenia apartments shows new apartment buildings and for-sale townhouses.

In this context, the EC MINT has been set up to do what MINTs do:

• Continue to make the neighborhood a better place to live through improving housing quality

• Help prevent displacement through affordable rents, and

• Build community power

For residents of East Colfax, this neighborhood holds real meaning and a sense of belonging. EC MINT Trust Stewardship Committee member, Htoo Paw, spoke about arriving to this neighborhood from a refugee camp in Thailand, and how the neighborhood is one where “cultures coexist and languages are intermingled”; it has served for so many families as their “first destination and our first new home.” Residents want to be part of making this community an even better place to live.

Htoo Paw, sharing her personal connection to EC MINT (Photo credit Mitchell Weldon)

First acquisition: 1371 Xenia

1371 Xenia is a 23-unit building in the heart of EC MINT’s focus area and is the MINT’s platform acquisition. Located on the block that EC3 was founded, the building holds a special place for the team and EC3’s members who voted to pursue a MINT. Located in Denver and only steps away from Aurora, 1371 Xenia is home to many low-income residents as well as immigrant and refugee families that have lived in this building and neighborhood for several years. The building’s location is especially attractive for residents given its proximity to local parks, schools, retail, jobs, and high-frequency bus transit.

EC MINT purchased Xenia for ~$3 million, with a mix of seed capital from Colorado Health Foundation and Gary Community Ventures alongside acquisition loans from Mercy Community Capital and the Colorado Housing Accelerator Initiative. Common Good serves as the building’s property manager and EC MINT will soon begin critical repairs to improve the quality of housing for all residents. 

What’s next

This is a big moment for EC MINT, but it’s also just the beginning. EC MINT aims to own 100 units within the next year, and 1,000 units over the next decade. Trust Neighborhoods and East Colfax Community Collective now turn our attention to raising long-term impact capital to support this growth, beginning with a funder symposium in Denver on October 30th. This is both an opportunity for current funders of the work to share how they participated and what has made them invest in this work, as well as a chance for interested funders to learn, and, we hope, be part of this growth. 

If you want to join us in Denver on Oct. 30, or want to discuss further how to support this project, please reach out to Cali at cali.slepin@trustneighborhoods.com. 

Kavya, Katrina, and Cali from the Trust Neighborhoods team, and Carson from the EC3 team, posing at Mango House, a food hall on East Colfax Corridor focused on refugee and immigrant chefs

EC MINT in the news

Video / NBC 9 News, “Local group announces launch of East Colfax Mixed-Income Neighborhood Trust” / link

Video / ABC 7 News, East Colfax Community Collective celebrates $3 million purchase of Denver apartment building / link

Video / CBS News Colorado, “Housing collective celebrates purchase of Denver apartment building” / link

Article / Denver Post, Apr 21, “East Colfax communities in Denver and Aurora try to ward off “the classic gentrification story”/ link