Housing is an element that, from a macro-level, helps measure the wellbeing of a state’s economy. From a micro-level, it’s an essential element that influences everyone’s day-to-day lives from career choices to deciding where to establish roots. Colorado is determined to create more housing now, so residents have the freedom to choose where they want to live in the communities they love and close to where they work.
State programs are working to harness the potential of innovative off-site building technology by incentivizing the industry’s growth across Colorado. Funding from Proposition 123 (Prop 123) and the Innovative Housing Incentive Program (IHIP) is being invested into housing projects and housing manufacturers, including the largest one-time investment by a state government into the industry to date. Eight manufacturers were recently awarded $38 million in low cost loans.
Through off-site housing manufacturing, housing components are built in factories. As the parts are constructed, the housing site is prepared to be ready for delivery of the project. This can reduce the time it takes to complete a development, yielding more housing units faster and more efficiently. Today, offsite housing manufacturers are exploring new, innovative ways to manufacture the parts of multifamily and single family housing. These include the manufacture of mass-timber panels that have the potential to reduce carbon emissions and lower construction costs, and 3D printing using robots. With state support, Colorado manufacturers are pioneering many of these impressive technologies.
A twist on the term “Tree House”
Timber Age Systems manufactures panelized homes using timber harvested during much-needed wildfire mitigation work in southwest Colorado. The wood is used to create cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, and Timber Age builds structures to Passive House specifications using all natural materials. Mass timber products like CLT have the potential to reduce carbon emissions and lower construction costs if produced at scale. In Colorado, harvesting from fire prone forests also helps increase the market for trees harvested from wildfire mitigation work across Colorado. Timber Age Systems expects to produce 122 units per year, and was previously awarded an IHIP grant of up to $680,000 and $3.8 million from Prop 123.
"As a small business intent on elevating the communities in which we live, work, serve and play, Timber Age depends on collaboration,” Kyle Hanson, founder and CEO of Timber Age, has said. “The Proposition 123 funds are a great example of how public-private partnership can quickly accelerate the manufacturing and delivery of attainable, sustainable, and high-performance housing while creating a replicable model for healthier communities across Colorado."
3D printing and construction with the help of robots
Alquist 3D prints 3D structures using a robotic arm with a focus on creating lower-cost housing and infrastructure while serving economically distressed and underserved communities. The company’s process replaces traditional methods of using bricks or lumber to frame the walls of a house with layer upon layer of specialized concrete, also known as 3D concrete printing. Alquist created the first owner-occupied 3D-printed home in the United States.
In late 2023, the State announced that Alquist 3D chose Greeley for their headquarters where they will work on homes for the Habitat for Humanity housing development project, Hope Springs. Alquist is also partnering with Aims Community College to create a program that will train students on how to use and manufacture Alquist printing robots, which could lead to a job with the construction company.
To support Alquist 3D’s work, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits for the company over an eight-year period and a performance-based Strategic Fund incentive over a five-year period.
In addition to Alquist 3D, OEDIT is also supporting StructureBot—a Colorado Springs-based startup that sells and leases robots to general contractors and other companies to construct homes, as well as a pilot program to build a small number of homes. In 2023, the company was awarded funding for the construction of 36 housing units.
Addressing housing insecurities with off-site building technology
As the use of off-site building technologies grows, they can help increase the supply and affordability of housing. Azure Printed Homes was awarded a $3,898,000 loan from Prop 123 earlier this year and is the first company to print complete prefab small homes using primarily recycled plastic polymer materials with a patented 3D printing process. While they specialize in accessory dwelling units, secondary dwelling units with complete independent living facilities for one or more people, their printing process provides a solution for making more affordable and sustainable housing accessible in Colorado. Azure Printed Homes is projected to create 352 units per year and the company's printing process can be transferred to small pop-up facilities to create multiple units close to their destination. The company recently announced a new manufacturing plant to be built in Bennet, Colorado.
HEIBAR (formerly known as Precision Building Systems), offers yet another example of modular housing. HEIBAR homes are built in a factory and then shipped for installation. The company awarded a grant of up to $1.05 million for the construction of 285 housing units. In Denver, in addition to large multifamily developments, HEIBAR produced over 160 sleeping cottage units for people experiencing homelessness.
State and industry leaders are optimistic about the role of innovative housing methods like these to help increase the multifamily and single family housing supply, improve building efficiency and quality, and provide more affordable options for housing. More housing will also benefit Colorado’s economy by providing new employment opportunities. The state’s $38 million investment in loans for manufacturers, is projected to support the production of over 4,700 units per year once all manufacturers are up and running and create 1,280 jobs.
To continue advancing off-site building technology and fostering sustainable housing solutions statewide, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) recently announced that 2025 Proposition 123 funding will prioritize housing projects that use Colorado produced off-site building technology when it is cost competitive with traditional construction. We are looking forward to seeing Colorado’s continued efforts to create more housing now and see these homes take shape in the coming years.