What We Do
Land Banking
When land is expensive, it is often unfeasible to use for community-oriented facilities such as affordable housing, libraries, schools, or nonprofit office space. ULC land banks parcels of land in Metro Denver to preserve the affordability of future developments for long term community benefit.
Community Development
Certain challenging community projects — such as redeveloping a brownfield into an environmentally and socially responsible community — require more capital, resources, and coordination than any single organization or entity may possess. ULC provides expertise and resources to community partners and facilitates the community development process.
Preservation
ULC preserves both commercial and residential buildings to promote long term affordability in an increasingly unaffordable city. Through the preservation of these spaces, nonprofits and residents can continue to rent affordably and remain in their communities.
We are in the community building business.
ULC will continue to play a unique and important real-estate role on behalf of the community by acquiring, developing, and preserving physical assets that are essential in meeting critical community needs especially in high poverty, low-income, underserved, at-risk communities.
78
Nonprofit Tenants
8
Schools Created or Preserved
2325+
Affordable Homes Completed or Underway
12
Properties in Community Land Trust
51+
Real Estate Investments
$177M
Invested
$1.2B
Leveraged in Community Development
2023-2025 Strategic Plan
Focus Area 1:
Innovative Real Estate Solutions
ULC welcomes and skillfully leverages opportunities to be unconventional, creative, and challenge the status quo when purchasing land and buildings to develop affordable, transit-accessible rental housing options and provide below-market commercial space to nonprofits and small businesses.
Focus Area Objectives
Focus Area 2:
Community and Partners
ULC will grow our community of development partners, vendors, contractors, and tenants that are BIPOC owned or led, and we will foster engagement with the communities and neighborhoods ULC serves.
Focus Area Objectives
Focus Area 3:
Organizational Strength & Sustainability Through Our People
ULC will ensure that its staff and board are reflective of the communities in which we operate, give its staff the resources they need to excel, and encourage an entrepreneurial mindset as well as a welcoming environment.
Focus Area 4:
Leadership & Advocacy
ULC will document and share our best practices in community land trust stewardship and real estate affordability, and advocate for policy outcomes.
Focus Area Objectives
Focus Area 5:
Environmental Sustainability
ULC will advance aggressive efficiency and renewable energy strategies in new construction and rehabilitation projects.
Focus Area Objectives
ULC Strategic Plans – Printable Versions
Focus Area Objectives
Focus Area 1: Innovative Real Estate Solutions
- Expand ULC’s impact and maximize utilization of new funding opportunities paired with existing strategies and resources.
- Deploy flexible financing and services to disrupt racial disparities in real estate and access to capital.
- Optimize the performance of ULC’s assets for maximum impact.
Focus Area 2: Community & Partnerships
- Develop a rich and diverse community of development partners, vendors, and contractors that reflect ULC’s commitment to equity and anti-racism.
- Expand relationships with nonprofit organizations.
- Cultivate alliances with local, state, and federal government entities to improve real estate funding and other opportunities.
- Grow relationships with funders to strengthen the financial health of ULC.
- Engage the neighborhoods and communities that ULC serves by co-creating solutions to promote real estate affordability, prevent displacement, disrupt gentrification, and combat a long history of racist policies and practices in the real estate sector.
Focus Area 3: Organizational Strength & Sustainability Through Our People
- Ensure that ULC’s staff and board are racially diverse and continue to identify BIPOC talent for the real estate industry and the community at large.
- ULC staff of every background will experience a welcoming and connected environment, where everyone has a sense of belonging and contributes to ULC’s collective impact and success.
- ULC staff have the resources, structure, information, and historical knowledge they need to thrive and excel at their jobs.
- Encourage internal entrepreneurial mindset and innovation in a way that empowers ULC staff to ideate and create solutions to ULC’s toughest challenges.
Focus Area 4: Leadership and Advocacy
- Document and communicate ULC’s legacy of community land trust stewardship and real estate affordability for the past 20 years as a replicable model.
- Communicate ULC’s success in creating permanently affordable real estate and help others replicate this success.
- Advocate for policy outcomes in real estate affordability, anti-racism, sustainability, human rights, CRA, and other issues pertinent to the communities that ULC serves.
- Lead the way in promoting ULC’s values of anti-racism and environmental sustainability in partnerships.
Focus Area 5: Environmental Sustainability
- Leverage ULC’s sustainability values to advance aggressive efficiency and renewable energy strategies in new construction and rehabilitation projects.
- Minimize the carbon footprint of ULC’s portfolio of operating properties.
- Incentivize tenants, partners, staff, and the community to join ULC in its commitment to climate goals.