From recycled plastic to front doors: 3D-printed homes factory comes to Colorado

Move over hammer and nails.

A California-based company is betting that the future of homebuilding in Colorado will come from massive 3D printers, not traditional construction sites.

Azure Printed Homes officially opened its new 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in east Denver on Tuesday, marking a major expansion into Colorado as the state deals with a growing affordable housing shortage.

Gov. Jared Polis joined state and business leaders for the ribbon-cutting, calling the technology a potential game-changer for housing costs and construction timelines.  

"It's cool to watch this technology," Polis said. "They use little plastic pellets from recycled water bottles and boom! Out the other end come fully equipped homes."

Inside the factory, Azure uses large-scale 3D printers and automated steel framing machines to build customizable, fire-resistant modular homes. The company says some units can cost under $100,000 and be ready far faster than traditional builds.

"You can order one today and move in next month," said Azure co-founder Gene Eidelman.

By manufacturing homes indoors rather than on weather-delayed job sites, Azure says it can dramatically speed up production, a key selling point as Colorado faces high housing costs across urban, mountain and northern communities.

"Coloradans are demanding a solution to address the high cost of housing," Polis said. "People need to be able to afford to live in our great state."

The new Denver facility is expected to eventually produce up to 7,000 housing units each year for Colorado and neighboring states, while also bringing at least 50 manufacturing jobs to the region.

Eidelman said the expansion reflects an industry overdue for modernization.

"One hundred years ago we had the horse and buggy, and a carpenter with a hammer and nails," he said. "One hundred years later we're driving EV vehicles and still have a carpenter with a hammer and nails. It's time for our industry to change."

Azure's Colorado expansion is backed in part by a $3.8 million loan from the state's Affordable Housing Financing Fund, created after voters passed Proposition 123 in 2022 to support innovative housing solutions.

Company leaders say Colorado's housing policies and demand made the state a natural choice for growth, with hopes the factory will help deliver faster, more affordable and more sustainable housing options in the years ahead.