Company's modular apartments could help solve Denver's affordable housing crisis with "a framework that can be repeated"

A new report by the National Multifamily Housing Council says it will take 93 years to solve the Denver metro area's affordable housing deficit. Modular technology could help speed up the process and play a significant role in the solution.

An apartment complex being constructed near Denver's Santa De Art District is among the city's modular affordable housing complexes. It was designed and manufactured offsite and this week the modules are being set into place. Just six months from now, there will already be people living in them.

The project will create more than 50 affordable homes and is development company Blue Room Housing's very first project.

"I think I felt this sense of responsibility to try to use my experience to come up with something new that could be a systemic solution," said Minyoung Sohn, the founder of Blue Room Housing.

Each module with housing units arrives almost entirely complete and significantly cuts down the time it takes for construction. 

"We think this is about 10% less to build, but more importantly, each traditional stick build will likely cost more over time."

That's because they believe they'll get faster at construction with each development. Time is money, and the goal is to pass savings down to residents. 

"Over time, modular is going to be cheaper, faster, higher quality, and ultimately that's what you need to bring supply on to make it."

The development group's goal is to eventually get rent down to just $200-$300 per month. 

"That would be thousands of dollars that they can save."

For now, it's a big milestone for the company -- and what could be the future of affordable housing. 

"We want to create a framework that can be repeated across Denver and across Colorado, because the housing shortage would not be resolved one building at a time."