2013 urban land conservancy atlas
TRANSCRIPT
AtlasPreserving Real Estate to
Build Stronger Communities
2013
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The Urban Land Conservancy AtlasMapping Investments and Opportunities in the Denver Metro Area
Updated March 2013
Authored by James W. Roy II
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About the Atlas
The purpose of this atlas is to display the impact of the Urban Land Conservancy’s (ULC) work in the Metro Denver area and the economic factors that prompt our attention with maps. Mapping Denver’s inequities spa-tially allows us to better understand our communities of focus, and pinpoint opportunities for impactful projects that support ULC’s mission.
ULC is a member of Mile High Connects (MHC), a col-laborative of experts in the fields of: transit, affordable housing, jobs, education, and health. MHC created an Equity Atlas, comprised of maps and narratives promot-ing transportation access to housing choices, good jobs, quality schools and essential services such as health care and fresh food.
The ULC Atlas compliments the MHC Equity Atlas’ ad-vocacy to action, and takes a closer look at the inten-tion of ULC’s investments in community assets. MHC framed these times in Metro Denver as a once in a life-time opportunity to build a transit system that supports all of Metro Denver’s residents, ULC will use this atlas to make key investments that focus on creating equity throughout Denver and its surrounding municipalities.
This Atlas also serves as an educational marketing tool for which potential partners can better understand our work and how we can work together to achieve over-arching goals.
About the Urban Land Conservancy
ULC is a nonprofit organization established in 2003 by local business leaders who understood the need to per-manently secure real estate asset and use real estate as a tool to benefit urban communities. In much the same
way that a land trust preserves open space for future generations, we preserve real estate assets in urban ar-eas to ensure their continued community benefit.
Our mission is to acquire, develop, and preserve com-munity assets in urban areas for a variety of community needs such as schools, affordable housing, community centers and affordable office space for nonprofits. Our assets consist of real estate and significant seed capital to be leveraged using public and private sources for future community investment and economic development.
Our work includes land banking and community-in-spired real estate development or, more concisely, com-munity development.
Land BankingWhen land is expensive, it is often not economically feasible to use it for essential community facilities. By acquiring (by gift or purchase) land and buildings at to-day’s prices, we ensure these properties will be available to serve urban communities in the future when the land would otherwise be too expensive.
Community DevelopmentCertain challenging community projects – for example, redeveloping a brownfield into an environmentally and socially responsible community – may require more capital, resources, and coordination than a nonprofit, for-profit, or governmental organization may possess. Our function is to provide the staff, expertise, and re-sources needed to facilitate the development of such projects.
Community Building
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How we work• Form long-term partnerships with nonprofit, for-
profit, and governmental organizations to assist ur-ban communities in addressing their real estate needs
• Acquire and hold strategic sites in anticipation of market changes
• Serve as or partner with the master developer on community developments
Mile High Transit-Oriented Development Fund
IntroductionULC, Enterprise Community Partners, the City and County of Denver, and several other investors part-nered to establish the first affordable housing Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) acquisition fund in the country. The purpose of Denver’s TOD Fund is to sup-port the creation and preservation of 1,000 affordable housing units through strategic property acquisition in current and future transit corridors. The Fund answers a basic real estate conundrum: when the economy is bad, property values are low and ripe for purchase, but access to capital is poor and affordable housing devel-opers are scarce. Now is the opportune time to invest in real estate around proposed transit stations in order to capitalize on current values and preserve affordable housing before RTD’s FasTracks is fully operational.
Benefits of the FundThe Fund is capitalized at $15 million, and is evolving to $30 million in total loan capital. This revolving loan fund will make capital available to purchase and hold sites for up to five years along current and future rails and high frequency bus corridors. The $30 million investment will leverage over $500 million in local economic devel-opment activity, serving many economically challenged neighborhoods in Metro Denver with construction and permanent job creation. The Fund will also directly benefit low-income households that on average spend 60% of their gross income on housing and transporta-tion expenses combined. By controlling these expenses and providing access to quality, environmentally-sus-tainable housing, the TOD Fund will make it possible for families to build wealth and access employment and educational opportunities. It will also provide employ-ers with access to an expanded workforce.
Critical PartnershipsThe partnership of government, quasi-governmental organizations, banks, nonprofits and foundations is a critical component of the TOD Fund. Enterprise Com-munity Partners, a national nonprofit, assembled the initial $15 million in capital that allowed the Fund to begin operations in April, 2010. City of Denver is the largest single investor, providing $2.5 million in top loss investment. ULC committed the initial $1.5 million eq-uity to the Fund and leads the real estate acquisition,
Courtesy of Robert Baird 2012
Land Banking
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emphasis on sites within a half-mile from current and future TOD sites. ULC will consider “super” project (i.e. TOD Fund) that are consistent with our mission, but may be out of our focus area. Each investment must have the potential to be impactful over the long-term and/or catalytic in nature. Unless a property/site is a TOD Fund supported site and/or is an impactful “super project”, ULC prefers to invest only if the property/site meets the following criteria:
For Current Investment Neighborhoods• Property is adjacent or close to other ULC invest-
ments to maximize community impact, to build on other investment, and to capitalize on existing com-munity relationships and partnerships
• The neighborhood/community continues to demon-strate a need for additional investment
• No other stakeholder in the community has the ca-pacity to make the investment
• Investment is done in collaboration and partnership with Strengthening Neighborhood and other strong community partners
• Property provides opportunity to generate income
For New Neighborhood Opportunities• New neighborhood/community is determined to
have the most compelling unmet needs of all poten-tial new areas under consideration that justifies in-vestment; neighborhood/community must serve high poverty or at-risk populations
• Investment is of a particularly high catalytic value and includes access to high frequency transit
• No other stakeholder in the community has the ca-pacity to make the investment
management, and disposition of assets for the Fund. ULC partners with other developers to achieve the goals of the TOD Fund to preserve and create afford-able housing and mixed-use developments.
Expanding TOD to Other MunicipalitiesMetro Denver is undergoing the nation’s largest public transit expansion with the addition of five new light rail lines that compliment the existing three lines already serving Denver and its south suburbs. Each of these new rail lines brings opportunity for transit-oriented development in the Denver Metro area. The structure of the TOD Fund offers a unique opportunity to expand into other municipalities in the metro area in order to complement transit oriented development and other activities around expansion of FasTracks. Our desire is to partner with municipalities to explore how this Fund can preserve and create affordable housing and stimu-late economic development along rail lines. We wel-come the opportunity to answer any questions about how an investment in this fund can help achieve com-munity development goals and strengthen Metro Den-ver’s communities.
ULC Site Selection Criteria
Investment StrategyULC concentrates its investments in targeted neighbor-hoods that have significant economic and social chal-lenges. These high risk neighborhoods include signifi-cant portions of Denver as well as sections of first ring suburban communities with similar challenges. We also focus our investments along transit corridors with an
Investment
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RTD FasTracks Layout
Map on page 6The RTD FasTracks program is an integration of several transit modes and other programs into a comprehensive region-wide system. Several transit technologies will be used as determined through the environmental process on each corridor. RTD has already been using buses and light rail to meet the Denver metro area’s transit needs. As part of Fas-Tracks, new technologies -- commuter rail and bus rapid transit -- will be introduced to the region. In addition to the new rail corridors, extensions and bus rapid transit, FasTracks includes new park-n-Rides, two new maintenance facilities, expanded bus service called FastConnects and the redevelop-ment of Denver Union Station.
-RTD FasTracks website
The RTD FasTracks Layout map shows the intended plans of the FasTracks system among high-frequency bus lines, routes that make stops at least every 15 min-utes during peak hours. FasTracks plans are subject to change due to funding and construction.
• ULC has significant resources to dedicate to estab-lishing a new long-term commitment
• Investment can be accomplished in collaboration and partnership with Strengthening Neighborhood and other strong community assets
Donated Properties• Donated properties will be accepted if:
• The property has a minimum size of 1 acre, OR
• The property has a minimum value of $50,000, and
• The property is located in the Denver metro unless
• The property is simply a candidate for liquidation with proceeds going to the mission of ULC and the donor places no restriction on sale
• The property has economically feasible development potential
• Donated properties will NOT be accepted if:
• The property has significant environmental issues
• The property requires servicing of significant debt or negative cash flow
Collaboration
Community Strength
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Urban Land Conservancy Investments
Map on Page 7This map contains ULC’s investments and opportuni-ties. The place marks of the real estate investments are represented by two different symbols, one of which rep-resents TOD investments, a specific type of investment focused on building affordable housing around reliable transit. This includes investments that have been sold to partners after our goals were met.
Currently, all of our investments lie within the City and County of Denver; however, we are focused on striv-ing to be a presence in the entire metro area. As MHC’s Equity Atlas revealed, disparities are not limited to the inner city. In fact, inequity reaches far into the suburbs as a result of these challenging economic times.
Opportunities are real estate findings that the ULC has pursued or researched. These opportunities may not materialize into investments if we determine they do not align with our mission. As a nonprofit we have made certain that we do not make real estate transac-tions for the benefit of the organization, we are solely focused on providing for other nonprofits and commu-nities of need. Even if real estate opportunities present great potential for being profitable, we will not pursue if it does not provide for the people that we intend to aid.
1. Tennyson Center for ChildrenIn January of 2011, Tennyson Center for Chil-dren (TCC) pur-chased the city block where it operates at 29th Avenue and Ten-nyson Street in northwest Den-
ver from ULC. Based on an innovative model in which ULC purchases urban assets in order to maintain, pre-serve or redevelop them for community benefit, ULC purchased the one-block, 4.12 acre campus in April 2005 and re-sold it to Tennyson Center for the original purchase price.
In further support of ULC’s mission, TCC agreed as part of the purchase that for 89 years, if TCC sells the
property, it will be sold to another nonprofit entity with an education-focused mission.
The purchase and preservation of Tennyson was com-pleted without taxpayer dollars and is a great example of how ULC maintains vital community real estate. Our work with Tennyson is a positive homegrown model for nonprofit real estate relationships.
2. Transitional Housing at 3975 Colorado BlvdA real estate company donated this former Budget Mo-tel to ULC in 2006, and ULC sold the property to Colo-rado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) in 2012. ULC will partner with CCH for the redevelopment of this site to include a mix of affordable housing and other public uses. In the meantime, it is being operated by CCH as transitional housing. Located on a high frequency by route, this property will be an exemplar of transit-ori-ented development. Over 350 residents, all previously homeless or in transition (in many cases with children) are served annually. This site is two and a half blocks from a future light rail stop on the northeast corridor of FasTracks.
3. Habitat for Humanity Denver Home Improvement OutletULC helped finance the acquisition of Habitat for Hu-manity of Metro Denver’s Denver Home Improvement Outlet, located at 70 Rio Grande Boulevard, by provid-ing Habitat with a below market bridge loan. In April, 2008, the bridge loan was fully paid back to the ULC. This outlet continues to thrive in Denver.
4. Tramway Nonprofit CenterFormally the Phillips Center, ULC purchased the Tram-way Nonprofit Center, with the support of the Gary-Williams Energy Corporation in 2007 and is redevelop-ing this 115-year old, 95,000 square foot former Denver Tramway Company transportation and maintenance facility. Located in northeast Denver, the Tramway Nonprofit Center occupies a full city block and cur-rently houses the following seven educationally focused nonprofits: Byrne Urban Scholars, cityWILD, Civic Canopy, Denver Early Childhood Council, Babies to College, Early Excellence and GOAL Academy.
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ULC has invested over $600,000 into improvements and energy upgrades at the Tramway Nonprofit Center and continues to offer affordable office space for nonprofits. This historic structure is a long-term investment ensur-ing that important human services are available to the Cole neighborhood and other Denver residents.
5. Jody Apartments (TOD)Adjacent to the future Sheridan light rail station, Jody Apartments is a 62-unit multifamily community on two plus acres of land situated at Sheridan Station on the West Corridor of FasTracks. Jody will part of a large scale redevelopment that will incorporate affordable housing and other vital services in partnership with ULC, NEWSED, City of Denver, City of Lakewood and RTD. Jody’s 62 affordable apartments are owned and operated by NEWSED while ULC owns the land and has a 99 year land lease to guarantee long-term com-munity benefit.
At the Housing Colorado Conference in 2011, the Jody Apartments was selected to be a subject of a design charrette, as a part of an educational participatory expe-rience for conference attendees. The charrette brought together a team of affordable housing professionals in-cluding architects, planners, engineers, transportation experts, financial experts, developers, and construc-tion experts to tackle the redevelopment of the Jody
Apartments into a true TOD environment. As a result, a master plan was created to activate the station area as a mixed use development, with an affordable hous-ing component. ULC is working to implement the plan, fulfilling goals of creating a vibrant TOD neighborhood and healthy.
6. 25th & Stout DenverULC acquired this land through a real estate company donation in 2008. The property abuts Agape Church and is two blocks away from the 25th & Welton light rail station in a burgeoning Downtown Denver neigh-borhood. ULC’s partner is Northeast Housing and they have a redevelopment plan to build 9 “healthy homes” as a pilot project with National Jewish Hospital.
7. 2000 Block of GlenarmULC, in partnership with St. Andrews Church, bought two, 12,500 square foot parking lots at the 2000 block of Glenarm, one block from the transit stop at Welton and 20th. ULC in partnership with St. Andrew’s Church is land banking these lots with a vision for a mixed-use redevelopment in the future.
8. Holly SquareThe former Holly Square Shopping Center, located in the Northeast Park Hill neigh-borhood of Den-ver, was destroyed by arson in May
2008. The property was purchased in April 2009 by ULC with assistance from the City of Denver’s Office of Economic Development. The ULC oversaw demolition of the burned structures on the 2.6 acre site, resolved environmental issues, and launched a community vi-sioning process with the help of The Denver Founda-tion’s Strengthening Neighborhoods Program (SN) to re-imagine the entire six-block area including and sur-rounding the former shopping center in June 2009. The Holly Area Redevelopment Project (HARP) Visioning Process was a year-and half long open public process that led to creation of a set of “Good Neighbor Prin-ciples” as well as a set of broad design concepts that the ULC committed to using in selecting a developer or de-
Children in class at the Early Excellence Program
Sustainability
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Denver’s at risk children access to high quality educa-tion, comprehensive health care, and supportive envi-ronments.
9. Dahlia Apartments (TOD)ULC acquired this Northeast Park Hill property in De-cember, 2009. It was foreclosed upon in 2008 qualify-ing it for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The property consists of six buildings with a total of 36, 2-bedroom affordable apartment homes and serves over 100 residents. This property was the first to utilize financing through the TOD Fund.
10. NEWSED Multi-Tenant NonProfit CenterOwned by NEWSED Community Development Cor-poration, 1029 Santa Fe Drive houses 5 nonprofit or-ganizations working in the Metro Denver community. The center was brought together through NEWSED’s offer of affordable rent and its desire to only house non-profit organizations. Derived from NEWSED’s mission, the center has a focus on serving low-income people through education, advocacy, and economic and social justice, in particular the local Latino community. The groups share facilities in the building and collaborate on social and economic issues whenever possible.
The Santa Fe Nonprofit Offices & Warehouse also func-tions as a ULC investment with the goal of preserva-tion and redevelopment. In partnership with NEWSED, ULC provided a $300,000 PRI loan at a 3% interest rate for two years, for this 31,000 square foot commercial/warehouse building. In order to preserve the building for long-term community benefit, ULC has the first right to purchase the land at the end of loan term.
11. Yale Commons (TOD)Purchased for $1.325 million in July, 2010, this va-cant 1.51 acre par-cel is adjacent to the Yale Light Rail Station along the Southeast Cor-ridor. ULC ac-quired the prop-
velopers for the site. The Boys & Girls Club of Metro Denver was selected as the first partner to construct the Nancy P. Anschutz Center which will compliment cur-rent assets in the neighborhood. Additional develop-ment will occur through the HARP process, enhancing existing community assets including a recreation center and public library.
ULC has also committed to providing a community benefit in the interim of development. As a result to this commitment, ULC partnered with the Prodigal Son Initiative (PSI), an organization that serves by giving youth positive tools to succeed and avoid gang affilia-tion. PSI has been a key part to the awareness of the unfortunate gang activity that led to multiple tragedies along with the arson of the shopping center. Terrance Roberts, the Executive Director of PSI, has worked hard with his staff to create a place for children to enjoy, help-ing to bandage the destruction with two full size basket-ball courts, a futsal (soccer) court, and two playgrounds for children of the Northeast Park Hill neighborhood to enjoy. Funding for the courts and playgrounds was provided by the Piton Foundation as a part of their Children’s Corridor Initiative, a commitment to provide
Rendering of Boys & Girls Club at Holly
Community volunteers assembling the sport courts at Holly
Good NeighborPrinciples
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erty utilizing the TOD Fund, and the affordable homes developed on this site will directly benefit low income households in their two greatest expenses; housing and transportation, while providing transportation access to services, education, health and employment centers. ULC is a part of Yale TOD Partners, a strategic alliance between RTD, Koelbel and Company and Mile High Development, to create a master plan for a transit-ori-ented community at the Yale Station. The Master Plan-ning site could include the entire area around the Yale Light Rail Station influence area bound on the East by Interstate 25, on the South by East Yale Avenue, on the West by Eudora Street, and on the North by East Vas-sar Avenue. The project is accessed from I-25 via the Yale Avenue exit and is approximately 9 miles southeast of downtown Denver. The Denver Tech Center is two light rail stops from the property and Downtown Den-ver is within eight stops.
Yale TOD Partners desires to develop the Yale Station area into a master planned TOD community with a mix of uses and concepts that utilize the entire site. To the highest degree possible, the architectural / construction design shall incorporate green building, i.e., E- Star and LEED certification, and other utility cost savings sys-tems.
12. Mile High Vista (TOD)
ULC purchased this two-acre parcel of land along west Denver’s FasTracks light rail corridor for $2.1 million using the TOD Fund. ULC will be the master developer of the site that will include the new west Denver library, a mixed-use workforce housing development with Del Norte Neighborhood Development, and a commercial building. This acquisition will provide enormous op-portunity for additional transit oriented development
along west Colfax and the future Knox and Decatur light rail stations on the West Corridor. ULC sees this site as a strategic gateway to the west Colfax Denver community, the mix of uses in this development will bring great economic benefit to the area which is essen-tial to the revitalization of the neighborhood.
The City and County of Denver has purchased a por-tion of the site to construct the new west Denver library and Del Norte has purchased a portion for the housing component of this development.
13. Delaware Station (TOD)
In June of 2011, ULC purchased land along Denver’s FasTracks Southwest light rail corridor that will be de-veloped into an affordable, mixed-use transit oriented development. This property will provide much need-ed workforce housing and retail opportunity directly across from the Evans Light Rail Station.
ULC purchased this 1 acre property for $1.2 million us-ing the TOD Fund. This site being directly across the street from the Evans Station will provide much eco-nomic opportunity in a prime location, giving people easy transit access for jobs and education opportunities. ULC expects this development to be catalytic to the area, encouraging additional community investment.
ULC is partnering with affordable housing developer Medici Communities LLC who was awarded low in-come housing tax credits (LIHTC) from Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) 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 develop-ment which 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% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Design Schematic of Housing by Del Norte
Rendering of the Evans Station Lofts by Medici
Housing
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Similar to ULC’s Jody Apartments, Blake was selected by Housing Colorado to become the subject of an intensive charrette work group at their conference in 2012. The charrette brought together a team of affordable housing professionals including architects, planners, transporta-tion planners, engineers, financial experts, developers, construction professionals, and architectural and plan-ning graduate students to tackle the redevelopment of the area. The charrette helped to dream a master plan that the ULC is working to implement, as to create a vibrant TOD neighborhood.
16. Curtis Park Community Center
ULC, with support from the City and County of Den-ver’s Office of Economic Development, acquired the Curtis Park Community Center in January of 2012. The property includes two buildings: a 13,000 sq. ft. com-munity center building (including a gym and training/meeting space) and a smaller administrative building (office space) of 5,700 sq. ft. It was owned for almost 70 years by American Baptist Church of the Rocky Moun-tain Region, who chose to sell it and support ULC’s mission of acquiring and preserving real estate for long-term community benefit.
The community center is located 5 blocks from several bus routes at East 30th and Downing and 4 blocks from the Welton and 29th light rail station in downtown Denver. It will serve as part of the Denver Shared Space Project (DSSP), offering the gym and meeting spaces for community use. ULC is working with several local nonprofits to office at this site including: Family Star Montessori Program who will be operating a high-qual-ity preschool program and African-American Leader-ship Institute, a 20 year old leadership development organization who will also be offering programming services.
14. Villa TODVilla TOD, located in Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District, is the fifth property ULC has acquired using the TOD Fund. ULC purchased this .31 acre property in August of 2011 for $1.35million, preserving 16 units of afford-able housing and 7,400 square feet of commercial space.
The preservation and structural imporvement of Villa TOD will boost the health of the neighborhood by pro-viding workforce housing, affordable office space for neighborhood programs as well as creating local jobs.
ULC will partner with NEWSED and Denver Inner City Parish (DICP) for the long-term management and use of the property. Both nonprofits have worked along the Santa Fe corridor for more than 35 years. DICP will be expanding their services to include housing assistance and this facility will be a natural extension of their cur-rent service area allowing them to fill a vital need in west Denver.
15. Blake TODBlake TOD is a 1.4 acre property at 38th Street and Walnut Street. This site sits adjacent to the first stop of RTD’s future East Corridor Commuter Line connect-ing Downtown Union Station to Denver International Airport. This property, which has been vacant for over a year, will be stabilized and eventually developed as a mixed-use site with an emphasis on affordable housing. Development at this site will be catalytic to the area, with much needed access to transit at the Blake Street Station scheduled to be operational in early 2016.
This property, purchased for $1.7 million in November of 2011, is the 6th acquisition using the TOD Fund.
Rendering of Blake TOD Area Master Plan
Preservation
StrongCommunities
13
17. 11th Avenue TODULC acquired 11th Avenue TOD in July of 2012 using Denver’s Transit-Oriented Development Fund. This is the 7th property acquired with the TOD Fund. ULC will partner with Rocky Mountain Communities who plans to construct 58 affordable senior homes less than 1/4 mile from the Sheridan Station on the West Rail Line. This 5 story building will have immediate access to rail transit as well as the bike/pedestrian path provid-ing seniors with access to healthy food, health services, jobs and educational opportunities.
18. Villas at Wadsworth StationThis 100-unit rental property located at the Wadsworth Light Rail Station on the West Corridor of FasTracks. ULC is partnering with Rocky Mountain Communi-ties and Colorado Resources & Housing Development Corporation in the management and eventual transfer of property ownership. Located at 1330 -1337 Yukon Street, The Villas include two apartment buildings and a community facility built in 1971.
ULC purchased The Villas at Wadsworth Station in or-der to preserve critical workforce housing at a transit site. This 100 unit preservation is ULC’s first acquisi-tion in Lakewood, Colorado and makes the case for a regional transit-oriented development that can create and preserve affordable housing and other community assets at transit sites. Rocky Mountain Communities.
19. Park Hill Village WestIn partnership with The Piton Foundation and Gary Community Investment Company (GCIC), City of Denver and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), purchased 9.4 acres of land at Smith Road and Colorado Boulevard in Northeast Park Hill to develop 156 permanently affordable apartments and additional assets to benefit the community. This is ULC’s largest land purchase and the largest acquisition using Denver’s $15 million Transit-Oriented Devel-opment (TOD) Fund, the country’s first fund created specifically to preserve and develop affordable housing near public transit.
The property, called Park Hill Village West (PHVW), is located in an area of northeast Denver where many fam-ilies lack access to affordable housing, high-performing schools and quality healthcare. ULC is working in part-nership with The Piton Foundation and recently formed GCIC, to ensure community development occurs along the commuter rail line that will link historically isolated neighborhoods with better access to jobs, education, health care and other services.
“This first investment by Gary Community Investment Company is representative of our intention to augment the philanthropic strategy of Piton with a set of invest-ment and business development strategies that promise a brighter future for children living in the Denver low-income communities that we have been focused on for decades,” said Sam Gary, founder of Piton and GCIC.
PHVW is located at the 40th/Colorado station on the East rail line of FasTracks. This commuter rail travels through an area of Denver that Piton has targeted be-cause the neighborhoods are home to nearly 35,000 children living in poverty. The East line, which is cur-rently under construction, is expected to open in 2016 and run between Denver Union Station and Denver In-ternational Airport.
“Not only will 156 new affordable homes be built at this rail station, ULC sees this as a model for community-
Transit Oriented Development© Piton Foundation / Brigid McAuliffe 2011
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driven real estate development. Our partnership with the City of Denver and HUD provides the opportunity for new housing, and Piton and GCIC will work with us to address a variety of community needs, making this a truly transformational development,” said Debra Bus-tos, director of real estate for ULC.
Affordable Housing in Denver
Map on 14Through the Office of Economic Development of the City and County of Denver, we were able to acquire an inventory of affordable housing across the entire Metro Denver area. This has been key to ULC’s community research and placing our focus in areas that will ben-efit most from our work. The data provided by the City included restricted affordable rental, and for-sale units with the name, address, mix of affordable units, targeted demographic, number of bedrooms, source of funding, owner, size of the development, and the date that afford-able housing credits expire.
The map shows restricted affordable rental housing by size of the development along with restricted affordable for sale housing as yellow squares. Most restricted af-fordable rental housing is concentrated within the city, which presents the ULC an opportunity to think region-ally. The map also has the FasTracks TOD layer to show affordable housing around existing or future reliable transportation. Moving regionally, the ULC would like to focus on providing affordable housing around these
key areas so low-income families have reliable access to food, healthcare, education, and jobs.
Why does ULC focus on TOD?
Affordable housing in transit oriented developments is reaching a point of high demand. As the advantage of TOD living becomes apparent to a greater number of people, we must remain focused on growing equitably. Low-income families need to have access to communi-ties in and adjacent to TOD sites because of the direct impact it has on their quality of life. Many of these fami-lies rely on public transportation as a fundamental re-source to their daily lives. Convenient access to public transportation is a real advantage for people in order to save money and time.
We had the opportunity to speak with a Sun Valley resi-dent, Keysha, who described a challenging example of housing that does not benefit from reliable transporta-tion. Keysha is a single mom with four children and no access to a car, giving her the unfortunate experience of trying to work and raise a family with non-TOD trans-portation. She deals with late buses, complicated bus transfers, burdened grocery shopping trips, and must rely on public transportation to get to hospitals when her children are sick. Despite all of that, Keysha’s atti-tude remains positive because of her love for her chil-dren, the Sun Valley community, and having quality affordable housing. “I was homeless at one point... and that was a lot tougher than this,” she says.
Community
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Buses have been tricky for Keysha as they are not as reliable as she feels they should be. During inclement weather things are even worse. She told us of instances in which buses were over twenty minutes late, and when they arrive they are too full to get on with her children and stroller. She is forced to make quick bus transfers which involve her leaving her children on the bus to chase another down, only then to turn around and hold both buses at the stop long enough to make the transfer with all four children.
Grocery shopping is an exhausting experience. Travel-ling to the closest full size grocery store is difficult to time correctly because the bus that services her neigh-borhood stops running around 8:30pm. She used to take her children with her, but realized that she can be more efficient and quick if she leaves them home, which creates an almost unbearable feeling of anxiety.
Keysha recollected about a time when one of her chil-dren had the flu and was running close to a 107 degree temperature. Snow was falling as she made the thirty minute walk with her child bundled up tightly in a stroller. After being seen by the doctor, Keysha walked back home the same way she came.
After all of this, Keysha says with a smile “I love my com-munity, it’s calm, I feel stable, and I love my place.” She doesn’t want to move, she wants her children to do well in school and to make permanent friends. Four years ago, she was homeless for seven months. That experi-ence has given her a positive look on her new life and she really looks forward to the benefit that the future adjacent light rail station will bring to her community in the coming years.
Housing that does not benefit from reliable TOD access severely limits opportunities for low-income house-holds, placing extreme restrictions and strain on already
vulnerable families. There is a fundamental need to provide well-connected housing options to all income levels, particularly for low income families who depend on public transportation for their livelihood. Equitable development is key to healthy communities and cities. We need to assure that families like Keysha’s have the opportunity to live in areas that will allow them to save money and time, while easily and inexpensively access-ing education, employment, services, and ultimately a higher quality of life.
Expiring Affordable Housing
Map on page 15Analyzing the City of Denver’s affordable housing data further allowed us to extract and display the restricted affordable housing that is recently expired or expiring soon. As affordable housing tax credits expire, it’s im-portant for organizations such as the ULC to be con-cerned. We want to ensure the city is not at risk of losing valuable affordable housing. Knowing the details of the expiring developments allows us to pinpoint properties
Equitable Growth© Piton Foundation / Brigid McAuliffe 2011
Affordable Housing
Preservation
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we may want to take action on. Sometimes expiring de-velopments are owned and operated by nonprofits with distinct intentions to renew their housing tax credits, this does not concern ULC as much as a for-profit de-veloper who may own an tax credit housing develop-ment.
The map shows expiring affordable developments by size, similar to the affordable housing inventory map. The place marks are also defined by year of expiration, the more red the square is, the sooner it is expiring. The FasTracks layer is also included to ensure Denver is not at risk for losing affordable housing in key TOD areas.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Foreclosure Risk AssessmentMap on page 18The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a foreclosure risk as-sessment in 2008, forecasting communities at the high-est risk of destabilization through foreclosures. In this study, as a part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and the Neighborhood Stabilization Pro-gram, HUD established very specific targeting respon-sibilities for state and local governments. ULC has also used this data to target communities of need through-out Metro Denver, focusing on areas with the greatest percentage of home foreclosures and highest percentage of subprime mortgage loans.
The data includes a category called Estimated Foreclo-sure Abandonment Risk Score. The score is not the ac-tual level of problem in each neighborhood, but instead an indicator of a risk of problems. The score is created
from a combination of indicators including: the decline of home values from the Office of Federal Housing En-terprise Oversight, percentage of loans made between 2004 and 2005 from the Federal Reserve Home Mort-gage Disclosure Act, unemployment rates in counties as of June 2008 from the Labor Department, and resi-dential addresses identified as being vacant for 90 days or longer as of June 2008 from the United Stated Postal Service.
This data can be considered outdated in 2012 because of the improving economy, however the predictions were accurate and many of these communities are still in need of assistance with affordable housing and pro-grams to assist people threatened by foreclosure. HUD has made these data readily available so local govern-ments and nonprofits like ULC can pinpoint where our investments will be most impactful. The financial crisis of 2008 created long lasting issues within our communi-ties, understanding the factors that generated the crisis is a first step to addressing problems. HUD has done a tremendous job guiding us to the areas that need us most.
Foreclosure in the City and County of Denver
Map on page 19In the State of Colorado, we have faced foreclosures at an alarming rate in past years; however, signs of recov-ery are apparent. During 2011, foreclosure filings fell 25.3 percent from 2010, the lowest annual total since 2006 (DOH, 2011). Similar results have occurred with foreclosure sales. In the City and County of Denver, the
Vision
© Piton Foundation / Brigid McAuliffe 2011
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2011 foreclosure filings totaled 3,434 while 2010 faced 5,053, a 32 percent change for the better.
Foreclosure filings provide ULC the ability to under-stand the communities that allow us to carry out our mission. From 2005 to 2011, there were over 31,510 foreclosure filings in Denver County, as shown on the foreclosure map. However, it is important to understand that filings are not sales. Foreclosure filings can be miti-gated and stopped from becoming sales with assistance from programs like the Colorado Foreclosure Preven-tion Task Force and the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline.
The pattern of foreclosures directly reflects the predict-ed foreclosure issues from the previous map of HUD foreclosure risk. Affordable housing options give fami-lies facing foreclosure viable options to retain the value of their homes and community.
VisionGoogle Earth Image U.S. Geological Survey. 2013 TerraMetrics
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Denver Shared Space ProjectMap on Page 21ULC is a founding partner of the Denver Shared Space Project (DSSP), a nationally recognized, public-private partnership that promotes best-practices in the creation and operation of shared space centers in Denver. To-gether with the Piton Foundation and the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships, ULC supported the establish-ment of the project in 2009. Since that time, this collab-orative effort has grown to include partners from vari-ous City of Denver agencies, commercial real estate and development, and nonprofits serving the community.
Across the Denver community, nonprofit organizations are looking for ways to do their work more efficiently and effectively, reducing duplication and ensuring that maximum resources can go into providing services and promoting their missions. Shared space centers are buildings that house two or more organizations and provide healthy, efficient, quality, mission-enhancing
workspace. More than just offices, these facilities can become sustainable centers for communities to work and grow together. By supporting and growing these kinds of spaces, the Denver Shared Space Project fits with ULC’s overall mission of supporting affordable community and nonprofit space for community benefit.
DSSP focuses on• Providing a web-based tool for resources and help in
finding and filling space
• Facilitating forums to connect with and learn from other shared spaces in Denver
• Funding personalized consulting to help create and optimize shared space centers
• Connecting government, businesses, and funders to support shared space efforts
The map illustrates both DSSP’s current reach into the shared space community as well as opportunities for growth through deeper connections with as yet unin-volved shared spaces. Twenty-four emerging and exist-ing shared space centers were involved in DSSP’s pro-gramming in 2012. These centers represent more than 200 tenants that include private nonprofit and for-profit organizations as well partnerships or tenants from the public sector.
Snapshot of 2012 Achievements • Opened the new Colorado Collaborative for Non-
profits, a vital hub of support for the nonprofit sector across Colorado
• Passed first broad-based policy around government support of shared space in the nation
• Enhanced development and operations of 8 shared spaces housing over 80 nonprofit tenants through in-dividual and group consulting support.
• Provided an ongoing forum for resources, support, and sharing of best practices amongst 24 shared spac-es representing nearly 200 organizations
As the project has grown, so too has ULC’s commit-ment to the effort. In the fall of 2012, ULC partnered with the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships to hire a full-time Shared Space Coordinator to help manage and administer the project’s work. For questions or more information, please contact the Shared Space Co-ordinator, Megan Devenport, at [email protected] or visit denversharedspaces.org.
Photo Credit: Cheryl Spector, 910 Arts
Collaboration
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[Aug
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2011
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Reg
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25
School Performance RatingsMap on page 19Quality schools and educational programs are an asset to all communities, ULC is dedicated to working with partners around the Metro Denver who are devoted to providing equal education opportunities for all.
ULC has a proven track record of working with educa-tional programs and nonprofits to improve communi-ties that desperately need educational attention. Qual-ity education provides the means to emerge from low incomes and foster the potential for leadership amongst our youth.
ULC has benefitted tremendously from being able to represent school ratings spatially. The Piton Founda-tion is a leader in data and research, educating residents through data analysis and display for the purpose of community growth and engagement. Piton has been an important ally and partner to ULC, and their available resources were crucial to the educational data provided in this Atlas.
The Colorado Department of Education also has a great tool for analyzing school performance and growth on their website, called SchoolVIEW. With data collected from SchoolVIEW, the ULC was able to average the percent proficient scores on math, reading, and writing of each school in Metro Denver, and geocode it to rep-resent it spatially for ULC to accurately identify com-munities in need of educational assistance. ULC is able to provide and manage space for educational programs to thrive and make a difference in the lives of children across the city.
The map shows School Performance Framework ratings in Metro Denver. Many of the low-income and HUD risk areas are plagued with low proficiency scores. Map-ping this data can be a first step in solving the problem. We must understand the complex relationships that ac-company poor school ratings. ULC is working to assist quality educational programs by finding effective real estate solutions to continue their invaluable work in Denver’s communities. We have many successful edu-cational partners and will continue providing real estate solutions.
“Education and health care are the civil rights issues of our generation”
Piton Foundation CEO Terry Minger
Education Partnerships
26
Hospital Coverage for Low Income Populations
Map on page 21Hospital coverage is another indicator important to ULC. Analyzing the distance of hospitals to various parts of the city reveals an alarming tale. Many low-income populations are faced with the problem of poor access to health services. Many low-income individu-als in these areas rely on public transportation to get to needed health services, sometimes the easiest hospital to get to is not the closest based on transportation con-nections.
Denver Health is Denver’s ‘safety net’ hospital, provid-ing much needed affordable care to the Metro Denver residents. Low-income patrons, many of which are un-insured, have found comfort in the services that the hospital provides. Denver Health has also taken great strides to provide health care to low-income areas by conveniently placing clinics in the neighborhoods that need it most. While these clinics have offered great ben-efit to the communities in which they preside, it is im-portant to understand they do not have the ability to service every population lacking access to healthcare.
ULC uses health indicators to evaluate community need with the intention of providing solutions to gaps in hospital coverage. We will work with organizations to provide real estate solutions to improve health coverage in Denver’s communities. We are able to provide afford-able space and connect organizations to a network of services and support through our partners.
This map shows the distance from each hospital in Met-ro Denver with poverty population density. Clinics are also labeled. The most startling gaps reside in west Den-
ver between Federal and Sheridan Boulevard and the Montbello area in east Denver, north of I-70.
Poverty population density was obtained from the Cen-sus’ American Fact Finder website as population in pov-erty by census tract. The data was then normalized by percentage of block group population to its census tract.
Since 1860, Denver Health has played a crucial role in providing and sustaining health care, which has resulted in Denver gaining the rep-utation as one of the nation’s healthiest cities. Today, Denver Health continues to care for the needs of vulnerable special populations includ-ing the poor, minorities, non-English speakers and refugees. In 2008 Denver Health served approximately 160,000 people, including 25% of Denver’s residents and 35% of Denver’s chil-dren. More than 85% of them were low income or “working poor”.
Denver Health Foundation
Community Health
27
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gov
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28
2013 Board of Directors
2013 StaffAaron Miripol
Debra Bustos
Christi Longsdorf
Cindy Everett
James Roy II
Karly Malpiede
Stephanie Tamblyn
Emily DeSimone
Courtney Clapp
Megan Devenport
President & CEO
Director of Real Estate
Operations & Communications Director
Senior Associate
Associate
Associate
Asset Manager
Office Manager
Staff Accountant, The Denver Foundation
Denver Shared Space Project Coordinator
Rus Heise
Myrna Hipp
Anne Garcia
David Fine
Tom Gougeon
David Younggren
Diane Barrett
Scott Beasley
Peter Bowes
Sue Casey
Ismael Guererro
Beverly Haddon
Tim Howard
Rick Pederson
Mark Smith
(Chair) Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets
(Chair-Elect) Former Deputy Director, City of Denver, Office of Economic Development, Former Chair, Denver Housing Board of Commissioners
(Treasurer) Rose Community Foundation
Partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge
(Former Chair) President, Gates Family Foundation
(Former Chair) Senior Vice President, Gary Community Investment Company
Special Assistant to the Mayor for Transportation and Development
Principal, Inverness Properties LLC
President, Bowes and Company
Former Denver City Councilwoman
Executive Director, Denver Housing Authority
Chief Executive Officer, Stapleton Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities
Vice President, Gary Community Investment Company
President, Foundation Properties
President, East West Partners
UrbanLandC.orgTwitter.com/UrbanLandCFacebook.com/UrbanLandConservancy303.377.4477