You can't put down roots in a place you can't afford.
The 1840 Equity Project creates owner-occupied, financially attainable, agri-inspired communities for Colorado’s essential workforce.
The people our community dependson cannot afford to live here. There is an entire generation who work hard, pay taxes, start families, and show up every day — and still cannot afford to plant roots in the communities they sustain. They earn too much for subsidies, but not enough for market-rate housing.
They are the missing middle, and they are being priced out of the market. The gap between what they earn and what ownership costs is not a personal failure. It is a systemic one—and it is widening.
Housing costs have rapidly outpaced wages for an entire generation.
The problem isn’t budgeting. Affordable housing and home ownership is already out of reach for millions of Americans. The median renter in Colorado Springs earns $58,325 a year—$20,000 short of the $78,693 needed to afford the average rental, leaving them house poor.
If we don’t focus on solutions for Colorado's housing crisis, it will create devastating human, societal, and economic ripple effects for generations to come.
THE GAP
$150k+
> The income now needed to buy an average local home. Only about 30% of area households earn that much.
This means nearly 70% of the people who live and work here can't afford to buy here.
THE SHORTAGE
27,700
> The number of homes Colorado Springs is short today, with 60,000+ needed by 2035.
Lack of supply keeps prices high and ownership out of reach for many families.
GENERATIONAL COST
36%
> The percentage of local renters who earn enough to comfortably afford the average rent. Most can't — let alone save to buy.
An entire generation is being locked out of the home-buying equity that builds and passes down wealth. Without equity, a family can work for decades and still own nothing to show for it.
Source: City of Colorado Springs, 2025 Regional Housing Needs Assessment, December 2025.
The 1840 Equity Project is more than a housing development.
It is a new approach to solving America’s housing crisis.
Unlike traditional affordable housing programs or market-rate development, we close the gap between what essential workers earn and what ownership costs, while stewarding the land and building the social fabric that sustains communities for generations.
The 1840 Equity Project is a master-planned, mixed-use residential neighborhood built around a community-based working farm.
This agrihood (short for agricultural neighborhood) prioritizes sustainability, health and wellness, and a connection to nature while integrating:
Workforce housing
First-time homeownership opportunities
Community-centered agriculture
Outcomes include:
Access to equity through homeownership
(critical for long-term wealth building)Creation of local jobs and economic activity
Usage of land in a way that compounds value over time
Less financial stress leads to increased individual and family well-being
