ULC January 2015 Newsletter and 2014 Review
- 6 New Acquisitions
- Park Hill Village West
- Mile High Vista
- Holly Square
- Thriftway in Westwood
- New Legacy Charter High School
- TOD Fund
- Denver Shared Spaces
- Housing Study
- Staff and Board
ULC invested $9 million in acquisitions that will leverage an additional $6 million in construction and development investments. New properties include Thriftway in Westwood, Social Enterprise Foundry in Sun Valley, Dayton Legacy in Aurora, Downing Nonprofit Tower in Denver and 2 land assemblage purchases to maximize development at Yale Station on the Southeast Line and Sheridan Stationon the W Line.
The first phase of construction began with 156 affordable apartments by DelWest Capital, expected to be open in 2016 as the East Rail Commuter Line begins operations. ULC also completed an extensive community process that resulted in 3 master site plan scenarios for the remaining 6.7 acres.
The impressive Avondale Apartments opened at Mile High Vista! These 80 affordable apartments with 10,000 square feet of commercial space were beautifully constructed by Del Norte NDC who now calls the site home to their offices. Coming this spring will be the grand opening of the Corky Gonzales Denver Public Library that will be adjacent to the apartments. The third and final phase of redevelopment of Mile High Vista will get started later in 2015, contact ULC’s Debra Bustos if you are interested in being a development partner at 303-377-4477. Hard to believe this lively site was just a parking lot not long ago!
Holly Square in northeast Park Hill completed a new walkway to increase connectivity and secured funding for an overlook to be constructed in 2015. These new elements will tee up the next phase of development. In partnership with the Holly Area Redevelopment Project (HARP), ULC has released a Request for Statements of Interest for the redevelopment of the basketball and futsal courts. 2015 looks to a busy year at Holly!
The old dangerous Thriftway property in Westwood is no more! After a challenging acquisition, ULC successfully demolished the old building and worked with Westwood Unidos and the community on creating an interim use for the site so it can become a safe and active place for Westwood residents. Big shout out to the Denver Office of Economic Development for their support at Thriftway and many other significant investments in Westwood as part of their JumpStart 2014 plan! Construction of a new futsal court and community gardens is set to begin in spring of 2015 thanks to funding from Healthy Places Westwood.
Dayton Legacy will soon be the home of the New Legacy Charter High School! ULC, New Legacy and Mile High Montessori celebrated the groundbreaking of the new school which will provide a 2 generation education for pregnant and parenting teens and young children. The school will be open for the 2015-2016 school year, ULC is thrilled to be a partner in bringing this critical asset to Aurora!
The Denver Transit Oriented Development Fund goes regional! The TOD Fund has expanded to support acquisitions at station areas beyond Denver thanks to Enterprise Community Partners! ULC fully expended the Denver TOD Fund last year, proving the model and making the case for a regional resource for affordable housing preservation and development.
Denver Shared Spaces (DSS) continues leading the shared space movement with nonprofits in the Denver region. 2014 brought several new shared spaces through DSS including Veteran Services Center, Center for Peacemaking and ULC’s Social Enterprise Foundry and Downing Nonprofit Tower. DSS provided critical technical assistance in the improvement of several other shared spaces in order to maximize collaboration and impact of nonprofits in our community.
Housing Colorado released the 2014 report on the economic impact of housing: Driving a Vibrant Economy: Housing’s Role in Colorado’s Economic Success. This report follows the 2010 and 2012 reports, all demonstrating the critical importance of affordable housing development to Colorado’s economy and employment base.
With so many new investments, ULC expanded the team by 5 including Kellie Myers, Property Manager, Amanda Roy-Bangoy, Office Manager, Sarah Harman, Senior Development Associate, Rebecca Landau, Property Manager and Trisha Wolfe, Accounting Manager. We opportunely had Laura Williams and Jonathan Smith support our work as interns as well!
Our Board of Directors lost a founding member last month. Peter Bowes sadly passed away in December, we will be forever grateful for the 50+ years of real estate experience he brought to ULC, and the gentle approach he brought to even the most complex real estate transactions. He will be missed by so many.