Denver's Mayor Michael Hancock is proposing an innovative partnership to bridge the gap between how much those existing vacant homes cost and how much many people can actually afford.

"If it's not impacting you personally, you know a friend, relative, coworker priced out of the market," said Hancock, in Monday's State of the City Address. "We know many residents need an affordable option today, not a year from now."

"It frustrates me to the point where I cry myself to sleep sometimes because I don't know what to do," said Lashella Shelton one of those residents. "I qualify for affordable housing, but I can't find any."

Hancock announced a new pilot program, a partnership to open 400 existing, vacant apartments to low and moderate income Denver residents.

Erok Solivan, the executive director of the Mayor's Office of HOPE (Housing and Opportunities for People Everywhere), said that the city will pool resources to create a rent buy-down fund to make higher-end apartments more affordable for families making between 40% to 80% of the area median income (about $35,000 for a family of four and $48,000 for a family of four, respectively).

"The goal is to open up some vacant units currently outside their income by buying down the cost of the rent," said Solivan. "Denver has some of the highest inventories for apartments for families with the highest incomes and some of the lowest inventories for families with some of the lowest incomes."

The goal would be to have a three-year pilot program, but at a minimum, families would have a year of participation. More information about applications and eligibility will come out in about two months, Solivan said.

By Premji