Parker Struggles to Add Condos Amid State Laws and Rising Costs

Condominiums are nearly impossible to find in Parker despite a building boom across Douglas County's fastest-growing town. Right now, there is only one new condo complex under construction in Parker: the Hunters Chase Condominiums. Sales chief Nate Forse said the development has been in the works for about a decade, delayed by red tape, and is now attracting strong interest, noting "there's really nothing [else] in this $400k price point."

Parker resident Patricia "Patti" Kane put the frustration plainly: "It would really be good if we could have some more condos. And I know the state is working on it to change the legislation, but with all the wonderful building around here, there's no condos."

Mayor Joshua Rivero says the root of the shortage is a demographic reality: residents are "aging in place," staying in their homes instead of moving into smaller properties. "We are aging in place. People are moving to Parker and they're not leaving," he said. That pattern locks up single-family inventory and prevents the market from producing the mid-priced, owner-occupied units that first-time buyers and older residents both need. "So we need more housing choices. Those housing choices need to be 55 plus. Those housing choices need to be owner-occupied condominiums. Unfortunately, with current state law, that is an incredible challenge," Rivero said.

The state law in question is the Construction Defect Action Reform Act. CDARA was designed to protect homeowners from shoddy construction by giving builders notice and an opportunity to repair defects before lawsuits. But Rivero and Parker Economic Development Director Weldy Feazell say the law still creates too much risk for builders, effectively pushing them toward single-family and apartment rental projects where legal exposure is lower.

Feazell said there is clear demand but developers are choosing not to build condos. The economics simply do not pencil out. "It's very expensive. You have insurance costs, insurance risk. You have construction costs that have not stabilized … And then you have the construction defects law in Colorado, which contributes to all of that in some way," Feazell said.

Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1272, known as the "Colorado Dream Act," into law on May 9, 2025, with the aim of remedying the documented shortage of for-sale multifamily housing in Colorado. Construction professionals had cited Colorado's climate for construction defect litigation as a barrier to condominium development, and the bill attempts to provide a more predictable litigation framework for builders to encourage construction of condominiums and townhomes. Whether it is working in Parker is another matter. Feazell said it is too early to tell what impact the new rules will have. "Well, at this point, it has not moved the needle for somewhere like Parker … I think once the law settles in a couple of years, we may see more. But right now it has not done that," she said.

The town has tried to prime the pump on its own. Parker offered redevelopment incentives for a project that includes condos on a piece of town-owned property downtown, but that work has been pushed back to 2029. "I think it'll come, but the market's just not there yet," Feazell said.

Feazell is clear that no single municipality can solve this alone. "It's going to have to be a regional solution, with many people regionally coming together to figure out how we fix this … It's got to have multiple partners working on this to come up with a real solution," she said. For Parker, a town of more than 65,000 residents that Mayor Rivero says could eventually grow to 85,000, the clock on that regional conversation is already running.