John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... The nonprofit Urban Land Conservancy announced today that it paid almost $1.2 million for about an acre of land along Denver’s FasTracks Southwest light rail corridor that will be developed into an affordable, mixed-use transit oriented development.
This is the fourth property ULC has acquired using Denver’s Transit-Oriented Development Fund. The parcel will provide workforce housing and retail opportunities directly across from the Evans Light Rail Station.
The TOD Fund was set up specifically for acquiring and preserving land for workforce housing near existing or future light rail stops and high frequency bus routes. It is financed in part by the City and County of Denver and Enterprise Community Partners, which also is the administrator of the fund.
“This site being directly across the street from the Evans Station will provide much economic opportunity in a prime location, giving people easy transit access for jobs and education opportunities,” said ULC’s President and CEO Aaron Miripol. “We expect this development to be catalytic to the area, encouraging additional community investment.”
ULC is partnering with affordable housing developer Medici Communities LLC , which recently was $1.045 million annual low income housing tax credits from Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for the project. The LIHTC program provides the private market with an incentive to invest in affordable rental housing.
Medici’s Evans Station Lofts will be a five-story development that will include 50 residential workforce units and 7,100 square feet of retail and commercial space. This project will be the first family LIHTC project at an existing light rail station along RTD’s FasTracks, and will serve households with incomes ranging from 30% to 60 percent of the area median income.
Denver City Councilman Chris Nevitt represents the district where the land was purchased and welcomes the prospect of development in the area. “The city and the community have spent so much time and energy planning for development in this area. We’re very excited that actual development will now be taking place – particularity this kind of transit oriented development.”
Established in 2003, Urban Land Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that uses real estate as a tool to benefit urban communities. ULC acquires, preserves and develops land for urban assets such as workforce housing, nonprofit office space and schools. For more information, go to www.urbanlandc.org.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com
Interesting. That’s 5 significant projects in the area.
Steve, in which area? Evans Station?
1. Lumberyards and Shattuck are on hold.
2. South Broadway reconstruction is going well, this phase is Wesley to Yale.
3. Evans’ “straightening” between B’way and Santa Fe is only a couple of months from starting. Watch for a couple of homes and business being scraped off to eliminate the jog to the north. The sidewalks connecting Broadway to the Evans Station will be greatly improved.
4. Gates redevelopment has stalled out.
What else?