Dear HBA Members,
It’s hard to believe that summer is more than half over, and the start of school, election season and many key events at the HBA are just around the corner.
Next Thursday, August 8, kicks off the 2024 Parade of Homes with our annual Industry Night celebration at The Aurora Highlands. This event provides a great opportunity to celebrate our industry, network with colleagues and enjoy a great venue at Aurora Highlands’ Winged Melody Park. Tickets and sponsorships are still available by clicking here. If you haven’t done so yet, please grab your tickets and come join us next Thursday. The Parade of Homes runs from August 8 to 25, with homes open from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. More information about the 2024 Parade is available at www.paradeofhomesdenver.com .
Another important upcoming event is the HBA’s first ever golf tournament to support the Emerging Leaders Program. The tournament is set for Friday, September 20, at Arrowhead Golf Course. Details and registration links are coming soon, so please watch your emails for more information. The tournament will raise funds for future Emerging Leaders to attend the International Builders Show, helping expand their knowledge and experience of our industry. Emerging Leaders are nominated by Board members, HBA employees, past Emerging Leaders, and Council chairs. The annual class of 12 to 15 individuals meets regularly to get a 360-degree view of the HBA federation so they have the tools to become future leaders within our industry.
The HBA’s 2024 Housing Affordability Bus Tour is set for Thursday, August 29. Last year, the tour matched 45 elected officials and government staff members with industry leaders to visit Denver Urban Cottages, On2Homes, Maiker Properties and Crossing Pointe Developments. The bus tour allowed our industry to build relationships with these local government partners and educate them about our industry’s commitment to housing attainability and the challenges we must address to provide a wide variety of housing options. The agenda for this year’s Bus Tour is still being finalized, with likely stops in Denver, Erie, Thornton and Adams County. The tour will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m on August 29, and there’s still space available by RSVP’ing here if you would like to join.
We all know this is going to be a historic election season, and while the attention of most voters is on presidential politics, both the Metro Denver and state HBAs are preparing for November. The Metro Housing Coalition is preparing for a handful of impactful local races, including commissioner elections in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, as well as municipal races in Castle Rock, Erie, Parker and Superior. The MHC will be conducting candidate interviews in August and will provide a list of endorsed candidates soon afterward.
At the same time, the Colorado Association of Home Builders’ team is focusing on races for the state Senate and House. The CAHB’s Political Funding Committee (PFC) recently met to review results from the June primary election, where the HBA-endorsed candidate prevailed in 13 of 15 races. More about the 2024 primary election is available in overview by clicking here. Turning toward November, I recently participated in candidate interviews through the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, allowing the HBA to have a voice in selecting the chamber’s endorsed candidates while being able to interact with many of our business community partners. Those endorsements are critical for building a balanced, business-friendly legislature. The state PFC will meet again leading up to the 2024 general election and will continue making endorsements and contributions to candidates who support our industry.
It's critical that we elect business - and housing-friendly leaders to the state legislature so that we can build more partnerships to help address Colorado’s housing challenges. This will continue to be important as we prepare to address critical housing issues like construction-litigation reform. Last session, the broad-based Homeownership Opportunity Alliance coalition got close to passing meaningful reform that would help bring more condos to our housing mix. Unfortunately, the powerful trial lawyer lobby in the state House blocked the effort. We are working on new ideas and strategies to push forward next year, and hopefully this election day will bring more fair-minded legislators into the Capitol to make a difference for future homebuyers.
In closing, please take a moment to check out all of the HBA’s events at hbadenver.com/events. There’s always something happening at the HBA that will support your career, your company and our industry as a whole. It’s through your support and participation that the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, our members and industry are successful. Have a great rest of your summer, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
