Chants in several different languages could be heard in the streets and alleys in the East Colfax neighborhood Saturday morning.
Protesters marched from New Freedom Park to Yosemite and 14th Streets along the Denver-Aurora border to voice their displeasure over plans to build luxury condominiums in the area.
The Aurora Planning Commission approved plans in April to build 44 luxury condominiums at Yosemite and 14th Streets. The lot is vacant except for an abandoned building. A representative for the applicant of the site, which was listed as Yosemite Colfax Square LLC., said the cost of the homes would likely start at $600,000.
Nebiyu Asfaw, an immigrant from Ethiopia, has lived in the area for 30 years. He said East Colfax is the center of affordable housing in metro Denver and the project would only add to the ongoing housing crisis.
"How many more luxury condos does Denver need? I mean, how many more $700,000 condos do we need in this town? Is there a place for the poor and the working class in this town?" Asfaw said. "The working class, the poor, the immigrants are on the brink and the soul of this town, Denver, Aurora, has always been its economic and social diversity. We're losing that."
East Colfax is home to immigrant and refugee communities in metro Denver.
Some of them have to work multiple jobs in order to afford rent and support their families. Roberto Salazar said he emigrated from Mexico for a better life and used to live in Thornton. He moved to Aurora because the rent was cheaper.
Salazar had been working in the U.S. since he was 19 year old until an accident left him disabled. Now he lives off social security and disability.
"I have to live with my family to be able to pay for my rent and my food," Salazar said. "We had four people living in the house. I had to move in with another one of my grandkids and son. Now there's two of us living together. He also cannot afford to pay rent by himself."
Thai immigrant Ramzam Bi is a mother of four and works one job. She said when she moved to Aurora rent was $700. Now, it's $1,100. She said she would like to live in the neighborhood, but has thought of moving because of crime in the area. The high rent in other areas have also made it impossible for her to move.
"We want to move to another place. But, it's very expensive," Bi said through a translator. "So that is why we cannot go to other places because this area is a little bit cheaper."
Brendan Greene, who is co-founder and executive director of East Colfax Community Collective, said he believes the city of Aurora is not listening to the community despite claiming that affordable housing is a top priority. The East Colfax Community Collective co-led the march with members of the Grassroots Leadership Council.
"We're seeing that just this past couple months, the City of Aurora has approved a slew of different projects that are high-end luxury condominiums or townhomes, and they're not listening to our community," said Greene, who has been an East Colfax resident for the last eight and a half years. "So, how does putting a set of luxury condos that are gonna sell for $600 to $700,000 a piece in the middle of housing that is for largely lower-income communities who are making any, you know, less than $35,000 a year, how is that helping our housing crisis? We would say it's not."
Greene says there will be more protests planned in the future. He didn't give any dates as to when they will occur. But, he says they will be planned based on the construction progress at the site.
Correction: An earlier version of this story contained the incorrect spelling of participants in the march: They are Ramzam Bi and Brendan Greene. The protest was co-led by East Colfax Community Collective and members of the Grassroots Leadership Council.
