Struggling social media site Nextdoor published and raved about these 13 recent posts on their site.  They described the author as a ‘trusted neighbor’ who was ‘making a difference in the neighborhood’!  They also repeatedly encouraged the author to keep posting and asked ‘What will you share next?’ and displayed a large button to create a new post.  Then suddenly, the exact same posts that neighbors were ‘really interested in’ were banned with no notice and no warning as being SPAM even though Nextdoor had repeatedly encouraged the author to post such content on their site.

How could invited posts that were praised by Nextdoor become spam a few days later as alleged by Nextdoor?

A quick visit to an Internet search site revealed that Nextdoor has garnered media attention due to their horrendous content moderation typically by volunteers who rarely have related credentials and may have a personal agenda.

The three links below go into the content moderation nightmare at Nextdoor.

Toxic Moderators

Election Misinformation

Antithesis of Community Building

WARNING – Do not mention this article or post anything even remotely related to how Nextdoor ‘moderates’ the site in their main feed.  Doing so could result in account suspension or termination.

You can view the censored posts by selecting the category Banned Posts from the Deep Diving page at: https://savebelmarpark.com/deep-diving/

(As with all articles on SaveBelmarPark.com, some of the 13 recovered articles may be updated or corrected.)

The 13 posts that have been BANNED from Nextdoor received at least 20,000 to 30,000 views.  One post received over 6,000 views!  They also received hundreds of comments and hundreds more positive reaction icons from readers.  The author challenged the bans but without success so far.

Here is a list of 13 posts that Nextdoor raved about, asked for more and then banned!

1. Skinny Home in Lakewood costs ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
2. Is There A Glut of Luxury Housing?
3. The Action Center Move Raises Questions
4. Why Give a Month Free?  Why Not Lower The Rent?
5. 1/7th Acre Lot in Lakewood Costs Over ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
6. City of Lakewood Says There Is A Housing Surplus
7. Lakewood’s Up-zoning Reform Explained
8. Addenbrooke Park Mentioned As Site of New Mega Rec Center
9. Could the Pacific Palisades Fire Happen in Lakewood
10. Rec Center Subsidies vs Homeless Transitions
11. 10 to 20 Years for Affordable Housing?
12. Denver to Convert Unused Office Space to Housing
13. Rec Center Closure Facts – Part 2

The content moderation disaster gets worse!

Apparently, in the dark world of Nextdoor, it is not socially acceptable to shine a light on Lakewood city hall.  As you can see if you review these titles or read the posts, they may shed light on behavior that city hall might prefer does not get much attention.

But why would city hall have anything to do with posts on Nextdoor that are banned?  Well…….

Nextdoor actually suspended the author’s account temporarily for submitting the following comment simply asking for clarification from a city council member or anyone.

First, they removed the comment as disrespectful.  The author then posted the comment on Nextdoor’s main feed asking neighbors if they thought the comment was disrespectful.  Nobody thought so.  However, by discussing ND moderation in the main feed, the account was suspended.

For added context, various members of city hall had also been posting on Nextdoor that some people were spreading ‘rumors’ and ‘misinformation’ regarding possible rec center closures.  Although, the proposal to explore closing rec centers is clearly documented in City Council’s own master plan for Lakewood.  So simply quoting from that master plan risks being labeled by city hall as spreading ‘rumors’.  Simply trying to get the Ward 3 council rep to admit what is in the master plan resulted in the comment being banned and the Nextdoor account being suspended!

Further, city hall has multiple avid boosters who are also Nextdoor moderators or ‘team’ members.  There is even an unverified concern that one of these team members could be a hired lobbyist working on behalf of city hall interests.  Let’s just say the deck may be stacked against anyone who is not always totally in line with city hall when it comes to having a discussion.

The author escalated the concerns about this type of biased moderation to a supposedly separate Nextdoor communication channel and as of this writing has not received a response from that escalation channel.

So why use Nextdoor in the first place?  Because it has a focused local audience and is fairly convenient to publish on the site.

Also of note, the site is struggling financially.  For the first nine months of 2025, Nextdoor reported a loss of over $50 million dollars.  Since going public in 2021, they have not shown a profit.

Alleged Violations of the Law

Nextdoor is also suspected of violating state and federal privacy laws by allegedly sharing users’ location data with Microsoft.  There is a possible class action currently under consideration.

If you had a Nextdoor account and a Microsoft Office or Outlook account anytime since 2022, you may be able to join the proposed class action at: https://www.classaction.org/nextdoor-data-privacy

(Note: This and any posts from SaveBelmarPark.com are sometimes updated with new information or corrections at SaveBelmarPark.com typically on the Deep Diving page.)

Here is the future of zoning reform in Lakewood. Many demographics are impacted by unaffordable housing today.  But simply building structures closer together is a nice gift to developers.  Developers will typically produce housing that is priced at the going market rate.  That market rate is often not considered ‘affordable’.  Here’s is how upzoning often works.

(This is a hypothetical example of how a developer might increase density without providing units that are affordable. The actual numbers or building depictions could vary somewhat depending on local conditions. All possible scenarios are not represented by just this one example.)

“According to a US Census Bureau poll in summer of 2021, Colorado ranked first for housing instability for older adults in the US” https://www.coloradocoalition.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/COAffordableHousingCrisis_StrategicInvestmentReport_CCH_2023.pdf

Lakewood’s Future Plans for closing rec centers were approved by a vote of city council as part of the Imagine Tomorrow plan! These plans are published in detail by the city and are made available by SaveBelmarPark.com at the following link since the AWS hosting provider the city uses has been unreliable of late as widely reported in the national news: https://savebelmarpark.com/download/appendixGreccenters.pdf

Key Facts:

1) The rec centers cost millions of dollars per year to run but only 50% of that cost is recovered by user fees. There is ZERO cost recovery for repairs, maintenance and indirect costs from services provided by the city. (Adopted by city council.)

2) The rec centers also need $42,287,529 of repairs over the next 5 plus 20 years to fix deficiencies identified by consultant firm Bureau Veritas. (Adopted by city council.) 3) The maintenance expenses cited above represent a whopping 47% of the actual replacement cost of the five major rec centers!

3) While the city did consider walkability to parks, walkability to rec centers was NOT considered as part of the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan. (Derived from the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan.)

4) Councilors Paul, Shahrezaei, Vincent, Franks, Janssen, Strom, Mayott-Guerrero and Able voted in favor of the plan which includes the proposal of closing multiple rec centers and building a single megacenter at Addenbrooke Park as explained in detail in Appendix G of Imagine Tomorrow. (Public vote records.)

5) Councilors Olver and Springsteen voted NO. Councilor Stewart did not vote.

6) City Council approved the following recommendation: “The city should explore how to reduce the cost burden associated with operating older recreation facilities. One recommendation is to eliminate several centers in the city’s portfolio and replace them with one destination recreation center that provides most of the amenities the community desires in one central location.” (Adopted by city council.)

7) Addenbrooke Park was identified as an ‘ideal’ location for a new mega-rec center to replace the closed rec centers. (Stated in Appendix G and adopted by city council.)

These basic facts are numbered 1 through 7. They are sourced directly from Imagine Tomorrow and Appendix G and from the votes recorded by city council approving the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan. If anyone states these facts are misinformation, they should specify which fact they disagree with and why. Some sources have mentioned rec centers cannot be closed without funding to do so! While there may be paperwork and procedural formalities, the suggestion that ‘funding’ is needed to close rec centers that lose millions of dollars per year and have way below 50% cost recovery when maintenance expenses are included in projections implies a culture of mismanagement. If rec center guests simply were asked to pay the actual cost of using the rec centers, there would be no talk of closing them unless the public decided rec centers are not a good value. Because rec centers are heavily subsidized over 50% basically as a charity funded by taxpayers, nobody knows whether the public values them enough to pay for the actual cost of using them. The question should be asked whether Lakewood is trading homelessness and housing affordability to subsidize rec centers. Considering rec centers lose millions per year, if cost recovery were simply increased to 100% from user fees, the funds now used to subsidize rec centers could be used to assist homeless persons. Example: Grant or loan $5,000 to homeless persons who are employed but cannot afford the first and last month’s rent plus deposit to lease an apartment. That money would cover last month’s rent plus deposit. The unhoused person would need to pay the first month’s rent. Considering rec centers lose at least $3 million per year, transferring that loss to assist homeless could help transition 600 persons per year into rental housing. (The calculation is simply 3,000,000/5,000.) Lakewood’s point-in-time count of homeless persons found 329 individuals on January 22, 2024. (https://www.denvergazette.com/2025/06/08/lakewood-residents-vexed-over-countys-rising-homelessness-b0bda036-03d2-447f-abfc-38de3dd4a92c/) So housing Lakewood’s homeless might be greatly improved if the rec center tax payer funded subsidies were instead used to get people off the street, out of tents, out of vehicles and into housing! Of course, people wonder what happens if and when rec centers are closed. Will they sit there forever as vacant, rotting unused buildings? Will they be demolished to make way for parks, housing or something else? Yes, it is totally reasonable that the rec center buildings may be demolished if they are closed. However, as of Nov 2025, various Lakewood staff members and council members have denied any plans to date to close or demolish rec centers. Please read Appendix G before you accept the outlandish accusations from staff and councilors that all of this is ‘rumors’ and misinformation. The link below is repeated from the top of the posting and contains the full content of Appendix G: https://savebelmarpark.com/download/appendixGreccenters.pdf

Is Lakewood ‘s well known and respected Action Center ready to abandon some of their most vulnerable clients? Specifically, their 14th Ave area community of socially vulnerable persons and move to a location with a lower need for Action Center services.

This fact is based on the Centers for Disease Control Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/place-health/php/svi/svi-interactive-map.html

Lakewood has endorsed this Index because they tout it extensively when they claim their support for ‘equity’ in their Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan and especially Appendix E.

‘Equity’ is only applied selectively by Lakewood. For example, the 10 or 15-minute walk distance to a park goal is considered necessary for ‘equity’ but no similar city wide standard has been defined for rec centers even if it were for a 30 or even 60 minute walk or 15 minute bus ride or whatever.

Maybe rec centers are only necessary for residents of Lakewood who can drive to a rec center instead of walk? Especially, now that we know the possibility of replacing some or all rec centers with a single new megacenter at Addenbrooke Park is an item for review in the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan with extensive details in Appendix G of that plan. Although various denizens of city hall have issued denials that Lakewood has any plans to comply with their own master plan regarding the rec center details they adopted and that the mayor signed.

So that’s why it is OK to consider closing rec centers and having one mega center since ‘equity’ doesn’t apply to rec centers. It doesn’t matter if low-income residents can’t walk to the mega rec center because all of the better off residents can drive there in ‘just’ 10 minutes according to Appendix G that actually itemized driving times. Plus the city has mentioned in their master plan that the mega rec center could be so impressive, it would be a regional rec center and might draw patrons from outside Lakewood. But don’t forget, the city has no plans even though city council has taken no steps to modify or repeal any of it.

Now Lakewood has another life stress to put on low-income residents. The new location of the Action Center means some of their most vulnerable clients will be left to access the more distant Action Center site at the Emory location.

The Action Center is a well-respected, top quality local charity with a perfect 4-Star rating at Charity Navigator. The point of this post is not to question that. Simply to ask whether their new location might make it more difficult for some existing clients in neighborhoods of highest social vulnerability to access The Action Center as easily as they do today at the 14th Avenue location.

They may have to possibly ride public transportation to the new location. For some persons dealing with various challenging life issues, riding RTD can be a big ask due to the complexity and security risks of riding RTD.

There is no direct bus service from the old neighborhood to the new location. It requires multiple bus rides, over 20 stops and 3 connecting walks to get there according to google maps. Anywhere from 44 minutes to 75 minutes each way not counting waiting at bus stops.

So the deal makers in Lakewood could be underestimating what they are going to impose on some of Lakewood’s most vulnerable citizens.

Their minions have even insulted those who may wonder about the wisdom of this move and have suggested anyone not onboard with the move ‘lacks empathy’ and is not a ‘decent person’. Folks, that is not the attitude of people who are objective about the impact of their actions on the most vulnerable in Lakewood.

https://www.denverpost.com/2025/11/05/lakewood-city-council-emory-elementary-deal/

Lakewood tries to convince the public including low-income residents that they have their backs. But now we wonder from the Social Vulnerability Index if Lakewood has their backs when it comes to serving the most vulnerable in the city.

The included images show how The Action Center move will trade an apparently excellent location for client access with a new location that may be quite inconvenient for some.

In the included images, the dark blue color is significantly more socially vulnerable according to the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). The solid blue image indicates the current Action Center W 14th Ave location which is surrounded by high social vulnerability neighborhoods. They clearly need The Action Center.

The multi-colored image shows the new Emory location which serves neighborhoods primarily of much lower social vulnerability. In terms of the CDC index, they have measurably less need for The Action Center. The lighter shade colors are areas of reduced social vulnerability.

Will the parties reconsider whether the new location is truly in the best interests of those currently served at the 14th Ave location?

For example, if you owned a popular restaurant that was thriving, would you be so eager to move to a new location knowing the demographics were not as favorable in the proposed new location? Even if you were lured by a ‘deal’ on the building at a new location? You know what they say when it comes to real estate – location, location, location.

Here is a look at some recent increases of life stresses on low-income residents and some others:

1) Closure of most area Safe Parking facilities for those living in vehicles.

2) Proposed replacement of city rec centers with just one rec center in a non-walkable distant location as adopted by a vote of city council.

3) Closing The Action Center’s mission critical location and moving to a location further from the most vulnerable neighborhoods and arguably with less need for such services. We wish the best for everyone!

Is Lakewood, Colorado trading recreation center subsidies for homelessness? The question should be asked whether Lakewood is trading homelessness and housing affordability to subsidize rec centers. Keep in mind Lakewood rec centers can cost more than for-profit centers like VASA Fitness depending on the membership level. Plus Lakewood subsidizes the rec centers to the tune of several million dollars per year that tax payers fund regardless of whether they ever visit a rec center. Lakewood rec centers adult cost per month: $32 VASA Fitness adult per month: $20 – or just $10 for one location only. Chuze also starts at $9/month. The argument for asking this question is that it makes more sense for Lakewood tax payers to help unhoused persons who have jobs get into housing vs giving other Lakewood residents discounts on swimming and recreational activities. Lakewood’s rec centers are estimated to lose in excess of $3 million dollars per year that are not covered by user fees. Lakewood has over $42 million in future repairs and maintenance over the next 5 plus 20 years identified by consulting firm Bureau Veritas as reported in Appendix G of the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan. Plus operational costs and various indirect costs. The maintenance expenses cited above represent a whopping 47% of the actual full replacement cost of the five major rec centers! It gets worse! Lakewood taxpayers have to pony up millions every year to subsidize these money pit rec centers and they don’t even have to pay property taxes! So why do they lose soooo much money? Where is all that money going? As a result of the massive cost overruns and ongoing repairs and maintenance, Lakewood has proposed exploring the closure of rec centers as part of the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan but has no clear timeline for making decisions on which rec centers might be closed or when. Rec centers are heavily subsidized and well over 50% of operational and maintenance costs are funded by taxpayers instead of users. Considering rec centers lose millions per year, if cost recovery were simply increased to 100% from user fees, rec centers would then be properly funded and the funds now used to subsidize rec centers could be used to assist employed persons who do not have housing. City rec centers are a hold over from the playground movement of the 1800’s. By 1906, 26 US cities had public playgrounds. That movement morphed into the physical education movement in the US. This then morphed into school buildings being used as rec centers at night in some cities. At some point, cities funded dedicated rec centers. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/youth/recreation-movement-in-the-united-states/ What changed is that we now have a for-profit rec center industry in the US funded by the private sector. Examples: VASA and CHUZE fund their rec centers from user fees, why can’t Lakewood? Next point – Instead of subsidizing rec centers, why not loan the money to working persons who cannot afford the last months rent plus damage deposit to rent an apartment. That would help get them off the street. That way, the money could also be paid back AND rec centers would be properly funded via user fees. A common dilemma cited that contributes to homelessness is that landlords typically require two months rent plus a damage deposit of any prospective tenant. That amount of upfront cash exceeds the savings of many persons who have jobs and monthly income. So that scenario can force people who lose their housing onto the street. Even though they have income, some cannot afford to pay for the upfront costs of a new lease somewhere else. Suggestion: Loan $5,000 to unhoused persons who are employed but cannot afford the first and last month’s rent plus deposit to lease an apartment. That loan money would cover most or all of the last month’s rent plus deposit. The unhoused person would need to pay the first month’s rent in order to obtain a lease. Considering rec centers lose at least $3 million per year, transferring that $3 million to assist employed unhoused persons could help transition up to 600 persons per year into rental housing. (The calculation is simply $3,000,000/$5,000.) Lakewood’s point-in-time count of unhoused persons found 329 individuals on January 22, 2024. (https://www.denvergazette.com/2025/06/08/lakewood-residents-vexed-over-countys-rising-homelessness-b0bda036-03d2-447f-abfc-38de3dd4a92c/) In other words, the current taxpayer subsidy of rec centers would more than pay to assist all unhoused persons in Lakewood who have jobs to get back into housing. So Lakewood is in an excellent position to potentially assist many unhoused persons by simply requiring rec center users to pay the actual ‘fully burdened’ cost of using rec centers and transfer the subsidy paid by tax payers to assist unhoused residents in the city. Lakewood says they support homeless residents? City council members have preached that at public meetings. Do they really? 1) Should Lakewood stop subsidizing rec centers and fund them 100% via admission fees? 2) Should Lakewood use the taxpayer savings to help get unhoused working people into rental units? (FYI – The man in the photo is Timothy Harris who was interviewed by the Denver Gazette in the article linked above.)

– Addenbrooke Park in Lakewood, Colorado located at 600 S. Kipling Parkway, should be reviewed as a location for a new, regional recreation center according to a majority vote of city council.

– The city should explore how to reduce the cost burden associated with operating older recreation facilities. One recommendation is to eliminate several centers in the city’s portfolio and replace them with one destination recreation center that provides most of the amenities the community desires in one central location. (Adopted by City Council)

– Staff proposes hiring a consultant to conduct a feasibility study of the Addenbrooke Park location (Adopted by City Council)

– Elements of the study should focus on cost savings associated with closing facilities… (Adopted by City Council)

– Once the results are provided, an informed decision could be made on whether a new regional facility is worth pursuing. (Adopted by City Council)

– Reducing the number of facilities will reduce both the operating costs and the maintenance demands and will reduce expenses for the city. (Adopted by City Council)

– With the city set to invest just under $40 million in recreation facility maintenance over the next 20 years, an argument can be made that investing in a new state of the art recreation center is a better use of funds. (Adopted by City Council)

– The goals and recommendations of the plan will be pursued by delegating each plan action to a staff representative along with a timeline for completion. (Adopted by City Council)

These bullet points have all been adopted by a vote of city council. City council is trying to hide from their votes.  According to the language approved, they are required to assign a staff member to each action item. They are required to provide a timeline for completion. Have they done the feasibility study of a mega rec center at Addenbrooke?

City council adopted all of this on May 22, 2023 as part of the Imagine Tomorrow Master Plan.

Appendix G contains the additional details regarding the proposed closing of recreation centers and the possible cost savings, etc. and a link to it is provided below.

This is the truth. Not rumors. This is simply what they have voted on and approved and now some people just want relevant answers. Nobody knows where the city stands on assigning the REQUIRED staff members and producing the REQUIRED timeline(s).

So far, the city won’t say anything explaining the status of the Appendix G requirements they approved other than they have ‘no plans’ to close rec centers.

They are currently hiding from their own official actions by avoiding the concerns and saying no rec center closures are planned. But they have no answers to the current status of the specific requirements that they approved. It would be very easy to provide a relevant status report to the public on this naming the staff members assigned and the timelines and an update on the consultant’s review. Why are they hiding from their own votes? What are they hiding? https://savebelmarpark.com/download/appendixGreccenters.pdf

Could a fire like the Pacific Palisades disaster happen in Lakewood? That fire burned over 6,000 structures and there were over 12 fatalities.

Lakewood is legalizing the placement of some housing structures closer together than under previous zoning restrictions. This is called ‘densification’ because it results in more people living closer together. High-density communities have a higher fire risk. If even a single structure ignites, the entire community could be lost due to structure-to-structure fire spread according to: https://www.nist.gov/el/fire-research-division-73300/wildland-urban-interface-fire-73305/hazard-mitigation-methodology-19

Examples include Pacific Palisades, Marshall Fire near Boulder, CO, Black Forest Fire in Colorado, Paradise Fire in California and others.

Here are some concerns and similarities of Pacific Palisades to Lakewood:

– Lakewood also can have very dry conditions from drought.

– Lakewood also can have high winds sometimes for extended periods of times.

– Lakewood area also has criminals who have been arrested for setting fires.

– West Metro’s 2023 Compliance Report p.8 showed a 17 minute response time in 2022 which did not achieve their goal. Their goal was to respond several minutes sooner.

– Blanket rezoning of the city adopted by city council in 2025 to ‘densify’ housing will reduce the space between some homes. That will increase the risk of rapid fire spread as with Pacific Palisades.

Questions-

1. Will Lakewood wait to implement the citywide blanket rezoning until the fire department can consistently achieve their response time goals?
2. Or will Lakewood throw caution to the wind and allow housing densification to happen without requiring improved fire protection potentially endangering all of us who live or work in Lakewood?
3. Will Lakewood obtain and publish assurances from major insurance companies that ‘density’ will not result in higher premiums due to the fire risk of closely placed structures?
4. Or, are Lakewood residents OK with higher insurance premiums as a possible side-effect of zoning changes made by city council to accomplish ‘densification’?

The average insurance premium in Colorado is $4,072 for $300,000 of coverage. Densification could boost pemiums even higher in Lakewood. https://csuredi.org/redi_reports/homeowners-insurance-trends-in-colorado-implications-of-natural-hazard-dynamics/ 4) Will Lakewood guarantee water delivery has been tested and that engineering concerns of some water district providers have been resolved? Even when there’s not a shortage of water in nearby reservoirs, a sudden surge in demand for water can overwhelm municipal water systems and lead to a drop in water pressure, causing fire hydrants to run dry. The Los Angeles wildfires in January offered a painful illustration of this lesson. https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/06/03/what-makes-some-homes-neighborhoods-more-likely-survive-wildfire-new-research-offers

This post is not saying densification should not happen. But city hall’s current mad rush to densification should be put on pause until the obvious fire safety and insurance cost concerns are remediated. The ‘densification’ zoning changes are being made supposedly to promote housing affordability. For housing to be affordable, people have to be able to afford insurance. If you cannot afford the insurance as part of overall home ownership expenses, you will not be able to get or retain a mortgage loan. If you can’t get a mortgage loan, you then can’t buy the home and then the whole point of rezoning all of Lakewood to accomplish ‘densification’ collapses.

That is why the insurance cost issues and fire risks have to be addressed before going forward with ‘densification’.

A major supporter of Lakewood’s extreme citywide ‘densification’ admits it won’t help produce much affordable housing for at least 10-20 YEARS!

Folks – now you know the claim that we need ‘densification’ to promote affordable housing is completely fake. Why is it FAKE. Because people are buying into the expectation that ‘densification’ will help make housing affordable in the foreseeable future. Not in 10-20 years! Repeat – It is a fake claim because proponents are not telling everyone it won’t even matter for at least 10-20 years!

Now the TRUTH has come out. Now that we know you have up to 20 years to get this done, here is a methodology to eventually purchase a home whether it be condo, town-home, mobile home, single family, etc.

These are some tips that I have used and I am happy with the results. I’ve lived in multifamily housing most of my life and still do. I know what I am talking about. Here is an alternative plan to buy a home in 20 years and maybe less.

Save your money. Don’t buy new cars every 3-5 years. Don’t buy a super-expensive vehicle. Don’t buy tobacco, weed or any of that stuff. Don’t go to Starbucks. Always make coffee at home instead. Always have a roommate in order to cut your housing cost in half. Strive to set aside 25% or more of your income towards your future home purchase and invest a conservative portion of that in diversified mutual funds or ETFs. Avoid taking expensive vacations. Minimize how often you eat at restaurants. Delay having kids or don’t have kids. Get a skill that pays well from attending community college. Monitor the real estate market online and learn about it. Talk to a realtor to learn more. Heck – consider getting a real estate license so you can keep the commission yourself when you buy your home. Use Quicken software and setup a budget and track your expenses compared to the budget every month. Read books on personal finance and investing.

If you are not already doing most of these steps, it may take considerable effort to get on track, but stay the course. Best to you.

178 new apartments for only $14 million? Why doesn’t Lakewood do something like this to make housing more affordable?

Lakewood also has an office vacancy rate which was in excess of 22% in 2024 according to: https://www.commercialcafe.com/office-market-trends/us/co/lakewood/

Example: The Academy Park Plaza building appears to be vacant with over 54,000 square feet on offer. https://www.denvergazette.com/2025/11/19/downtown-denvers-petroleum-building-gets-14m-for-office-conversion-from-ddda/

Yet Lakewood has a plan to upzone the entire city to allow increased housing density supposedly to make housing more affordable.  Research has already proven increasing density makes housing more expensive; not more affordable. 

News Flash to Lakewood City Council – The housing affordability crisis needs realistic solutions. Denver is actually doing something now.

We assume there may be additional costs, but the fact remains that converting unused office buildings to housing could be a near-term solution to increasing the amount of housing available. Exactly how much, if any, will ultimately be affordable is still unclear. But we would not have to wait 10 to 20 years to find out.

Lakewood’s housing authority DBA Metro West Housing Solutions is funded through a combination of public and private partnerships, including tax credit equity from FirstBank, tax credits awarded by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), and additional funding from local government entities such as the City of Lakewood and Jefferson County. Lakewood, are you listening?