Denver Incremental Developer

South Broadway Christian Church (23 Lincoln St, Denver 80203). Castle-looking church at NW corner of Lincoln St and E Ellsworth Ave, Stewart Hall (basement of historic church building; enter through red door off Lincoln St, up ½ flight of stairs, through double doors, halfway down hallway until single door on left to historic building, a few paces beyond on the left is a staircase down to the basement, another left, through the single door and through the double doors on the left; contact Thomas at 720.600.4680 or DM on Strong Denver Slack for assistance); parking in the lot to the north of the building, on left side of Lincoln St

The term “incremental” is a way to refer to the scale of buildings that we are primarily focused on. Small-scale buildings is another way to describe them. Typically these structures will house anywhere from a single unit (as an ADU) to small multi-family buildings on a single or double lot. We will primarily discuss buildings that can be constructed using the IRC (International Residential Code, residential building code) vs the more rigorous IBC (International Building Code, everything other than small residential buildings), while learning about the opportunities available with each. Additional descriptions may include neighborhood-scale, infill development, mixed- or multi-use (yes, their different), live-work and retail-scale commercial space.

We will learn about the full array of topics from idea conception to project exit or management, and everything in between. You do not need to know anything about any of this in order to attend; knowledge can be gleaned by curiosity, patience, interest, and a desire for learning. We may incorporate frameworks or materials from established developer support networks like Incremental Development Alliance or Neighborhood Evolution. We will not limit the vastness of where we can learn, while we will focus on those that are contributory (rather than extractive), complimentary (rather than disruptive), and humane (versus corporate, capitalist). We are here to create wealth for ourselves, our neighborhood and city through incremental improvements and small-scale bets that strengthen where we live, work and invest.

Four primary groups of people are the focus:

• Those who want to be physically part of the process: the developer, contractor, landowner, etc.
• Local, small-scale investors
• Those who wish to participate as an allied professional, contributing their services to the creation of small-scale housing: designers, legal/entitlement, financial, etc.
• Supporters of neighborhood scale housing options that fit in the existing context of their neighborhood, who would like to see these options created, for themselves or others

We anticipate interest from the full spectrum of interests: curious and interested to experienced and professional.

Between in-person events, we have a presence on the Strong Denver Slack workspace, with the permanent #sp-denver-incremental-dev channel. Feel free to become a user by starting with the Strong Denver Slack User Agreement {linked to that page}.