Denver mayor unveils 2026 goals
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Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Monday outlined his policy path for 2026.
Why it matters: This is Johnston's last full year to deliver on his promises before voters grade his record when he asks for a second term in 2027.
State of play: His 2026 to-do list aims to make Denver more vibrant, affordable, safe, inclusive, climate-resilient and child-friendly.
- He's pledged to:
🌃 Fill 3 million square feet of empty office and retail space downtown — chipping away at a 7 million-square-foot vacancy hole — through office-to-housing conversions, luring new businesses and repurposing buildings for uses like child care centers and artist studios.
🏡 Deliver 2,500 affordable units and permit 5,000 additional units overall. (Denver needs roughly 45,000 affordable housing units over the next decade to meet local demand.)
🚨 Cut gun-related homicides 10% citywide and reduce shootings by 20% in "high-risk" areas.
⛺ Make street homelessness "rare, brief and non-recurring" by reducing it 75% from 2023 levels, and sync 311, 911 and outreach teams to address every report of homelessness or distress "within one business day."
🌱 Install 5,000 clean-energy systems, from solar panels to EV chargers and heat pumps, and develop 50 acres of permeable surfaces and tree cover to cool neighborhoods and curb flooding.
🧒 Roll out a "comprehensive citywide framework" to increase affordable and reliable child care for infants and toddlers, expand after-school and summer programming for 3,000 more kids, and create work opportunities for 2,000 additional young people.
What we're watching: Johnston's ambitions coincide with economic headwinds, a hostile federal administration and a strong-willed City Council — all of which could complicate his agenda.