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Urban Land Conservancy

Founded	2003
Focus	Acquire, develop and preserve real estate in urban areas for community benefit
Location	Denver
Area served	Denver metro area
Key people	Aaron Miripol, President and CEO, Bill Pruter, Board Chair
Website	urbanlandc.org

Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) is a Denver-based nonprofit, established in 2003, that acquires, develops and preserves real estate assets. They acquire properties they identify as having community benefit, and have developed financing tools to aid in their real estate acquisitions.^[1]

History

Urban Land Conservancy was established in 2003 with capital from the Gary-Williams Energy Corporation through the Piton Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by Sam Gary.^[2]^[3]

ULC, according to themselves, focuses on the acquisition and preservation of real estate for nonprofit and community organizations, addressing housing needs as well as educational and childcare needs.^[4]

Practices

ULC utilizes a variety of real estate practices, including land banking, the practice of acquiring parcels of land for future development.^[5]^[6] They also use a community land trust (CLT) model with a 99-year, renewable ground lease, to circumvent the expirations imposed by the city and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).^[7] When they identify a development partner, a 99-year ground lease is signed, with an automatic 99-year renewal for a total of 198 years.^[8]

Funding

The Urban Land Conservancy has partnered with a variety of organizations to raise funding for land development, along with receiving money from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, both of which provide funding for affordable housing programs.^[9]^[10]

Denver Transit Oriented Development Fund (TOD)

ULC, Enterprise Community Partners and the City and County of Denver partnered to establish the nation's first Transit Oriented Development fund.^[11] The revolving loan fund makes capital available to acquire and hold land for the development or preservation of affordable housing for up to five years along current and proposed transit corridors.^[12]

The TOD fund was created to develop and preserve 1,000 affordable homes along current and future transit corridors in Denver. Sites purchased through the fund are within one-half mile of fixed-rail transit stations or one-quarter mile of high-frequency bus stops.

The Urban Land Conservancy, made the initial equity commitment of $1.5 million to the TOD fund and leads real estate acquisition, management, and disposition of assets to housing providers to meet the priorities of the fund.^[13]

Calvert Facility Fund

Calvert Impact Capital created the fund under the name Ours to Own, which focuses on preserving real estate in urban centers for schools, community spaces, and affordable commercial spaces for nonprofits. $5.1 million was raised from hundreds of individual investors in the Denver region in the first two years of Ours to Own.^[14] In addition to small individual investments, the fund received investment from the Piton Foundation, Gary Community Investments, Colorado Health Foundation, The Colorado Trust, and The Denver Foundation. In 2014, ULC partnered with Calvert Impact Capital to invest $10 million towards the purchase of three real-estate assets that support over 20 nonprofit organizations.^[15]

Metro Denver Impact Facility (MDIF)

ULC, in partnership with FirstBank, The Colorado Health Foundation (CHF), The Denver Foundation (TDF) and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), created the MDIF as a revolving door fund in order to invest in land projects in the Denver area.^[16] ULC is the sole borrower, and was responsible for creating the development plan and permanent financing structure. ULC also managed the condition of properties and where feasible, retained ownership interest as part of a community land trust.^[17]

Properties


Name	Description	Type	Neighborhood
South Platte Crossing	Six story office building located 1/4 mile from the 72nd Avenue and Colorado Boulevard station on RTD's N Line Commuter Rail.	Nonprofit Facility Space	Commerce City
Oxford Vista	Formerly Excelsior Youth Center, Oxford Vista is a 31-acre campus currently housing Americorps NCCC Southwest Headquarters.	Nonprofit Facility Space	Aurora
Harlan Nonprofit Center	29,000 square foot nonprofit building serving 30,000 individuals annually.	Nonprofit Facility Space	Lakewood
Holly Park	Six-acre site of future affordable for-sale townhomes in Westminster. Westminster Economic Development Authority, the prior owner, chose to partner with ULC and Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT).	Affordable Housing	Westminster
Inca Commons	Future development of 92 new condominiums, at least 86 to be permanently affordable for households earning $40,000 to $72,000 annual income. Property will include 4,000 square feet of commercial space.	Affordable Housing	Lincoln Park
Cole Train	Vacant site adjacent to Tramway Nonprofit Center. Will be developed to include affordable housing and potential community use	Affordable Housing	Cole
ArtWay North	Multi-phase development adjacent to RTD's 40th & Colorado Station. Denver's Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Fund and program related investments from the Piton Foundation and Gary Community Investments financed the acquisition. ULC partnered with DelWest for the first phase of development, to construct 156 units of affordable housing. The multi- phase development stages will eventually produce over 400 units of housing and 80,000 square feet of commercial space.	Affordable Housing	Northeast Park Hill
Race TOD	Phase one includes 150 units of permanently affordable housing and 30,000 square feet of commercial space.	Affordable Housing	Elyria-Swansea
New Legacy Charter School	First high school for pregnant and parenting teens in Original Aurora. ULC purchased 22,000 square foot building for $675,000. ULC paid for construction and demolition and leases the building back to the school.	School	Aurora
Social Enterprise Foundry	44,000 square feet of warehouse space. ULC financed the purchase with support from the Denver Office of Economic Development and the Calvert Facility Fund as part of the Ours To Own initiative	Nonprofit Facility Space	Sun Valley
Mountain View Nonprofit Tower	35,000 square foot building houses over 15 nonprofit tenants. ULC financed the purchase through the Calvert Foundation's Facility Fund as part of the Ours To Own Initiative.	Nonprofit Facility Space	North Capitol Hill
Thriftway Property	ULC purchased the vacant Thriftway building in 2014. ULC started working directly with Westwood Unidos, a resident led neighborhood collaborative. ULC completed the construction of an interim pocket park and futsal court on the property. Long term plans for the site are to create a beneficial development to directly address the needs of the community.	Land	Westwood
Curtis Park Nonprofit & Community Center	Nonprofit Center houses six organizations. ULC sold the Community Center to Family Star Montessori.	Nonprofit Facility Space & School	Curtis Park
11th Avenue TOD	Land adjacent to Sheridan Station. ULC is land banking property for future transit-oriented development.	Affordable Housing	Villa Park
Villas at Wadsworth Station	100 units of affordable apartments along a transit corridor.	Affordable Housing	Lakewood
Mile High Vista	Multi-phase development includes Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales Denver Public Library, and Avondale Apartments, 80 units of affordable housing.	Affordable Housing and Public Library	West Colfax
Walnut Street Lofts	66 units of permanently affordable housing near Blake Station.	Affordable Housing	Five Points
Evans Station Lofts	Evans Station Lofts are adjacent to the Evans Light Rail Station, along RTD's C and D lines. A five-story development includes 50 units of affordable housing units and 7,100 square feet of commercial space.	Affordable Housing	Overland
Santa Fe 10	ULC purchased .31 acre property in August 2011 for $1.35 million, preserving 16 units of affordable housing and 7,400 square feet of commercial space.	Affordable Housing	Lincoln Park
Garden Court Apartments	ULC acquired a vacant 1.5 acre parcel for $1.3 million in 2010, which ultimately became home to the Garden Court Apartments at Yale Station. Denver's Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Fund financed the acquisition. The apartments are adjacent to the Yale Light Rail Station, along RTD's E and F lines.	Affordable Housing	University Hills
Dahlia Apartments	ULC acquired the property located at 33rd & Dahlia in December 2009. The property consists of six buildings. This property was the first to utilize financing through the Denver Transit Oriented Development Fund (TOD Fund).	Affordable Housing	Northeast Park Hill
Holly Square	ULC purchased the property after gang-related arson burned down the Holly Square Shopping Center. ULC partnered with HARP to redevelop the community hub. Today the site is home to Roots Elementary and a Boys & Girls Club.	Nonprofit Facility Space	Northeast Park Hill
25th & Stout Land	Urban Land Conservancy acquired a piece of land at 25th and Stout through a real estate company donation. Due to zoning and community challenges related to the construction of the planned affordable town homes, ULC sold the property in 2015.	Land	Five Points
St. Andrews Downtown	12,500 square foot parking lots at the 2000 block of Glenarm. ULC sold ownership of these lots in 2017.	Affordable Housing	Five Points
Tramway Nonprofit Center	Affordable office space housing 15 nonprofit organizations.	Nonprofit Facility Space	Cole
Jody Apartments at 10th & Sheridan	62 affordable apartments are owned and operated by NEWSED. ULC owns the land underneath.	Affordable Housing	Lakewood
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver	ULC helped finance the acquisition of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver's Denver Home Improvement Outlet, by providing Habitat with a below market-rate bridge loan.	Bridge Loan	Baker
Renaissance at North Colorado Station	Development of 103 units of affordable housing with supportive services such as financial literacy and employment assistance.	Affordable Housing	Northeast Park Hill
Tennyson Center for Children (TCC)	TCC helps children experiencing severe trauma and neglect. ULC purchased one-block, 4.12 acre campus in April 2005 to help TCC avoid losing property in parent group's bankruptcy. ULC re-sold it to Tennyson Center for that same amount in 2011.	School	West Highland

Partnerships

ULC has partnerships with both national and local non-profits, for-profits and public organizations to advance their mission. ULC is a member/partner of the following organizations and coalitions:

Mile High Connects— a nonprofit that aims to increase access to housing, employment, schools and other services through public transit.^[18]
Citywide Banks— a Colorado-based community bank founded in 1963. As of 2014, Citywide has provided $12 million in loans to ULC for acquisition of real-estate assets with a social and community benefit.^[19]
Colorado Health Foundation (CHF)— a nonprofit, private foundation focused on health access for all Coloradans by working with communities throughout Colorado. In 2018, CHF helped launched the $50 million Metro Denver Impact Facility, a revolving loan capital that will assist in the creation and preservation of affordable housing and community serving space in the Greater Denver area.
Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA)— the state delegated agency for distributing LIHTC in Colorado.^[20]
The Colorado Trust— a nonprofit foundation focused on community partnerships, health policy and advocacy, and equity.^[21]
Denver Regional Housing Collaborative— a group of many Colorado affordable housing organizations working to provide advocacy and leadership for affordable housing.^[22]
The Denver Foundation— Colorado's oldest and largest community building foundation. The Denver Foundation works for individuals, families, and businesses to help achieve their goals and meet core challenges to the Metro Denver area.^[23] ULC is a supporting organization to The Denver Foundation.^[24]
Denver Livability Partnership— a partnership meant to expand affordable housing, increase access to employment and create better modes of transportation that connect Denver.^[25]
Community Development Partnership— a group of community developers, foundations and financial institutions who work together on housing and economic development opportunities in Denver.^[26]
Practitioners Leveraging Assets for Community Enhancement (PLACE)- a unified voice of housing and community development practitioners who build, preserve, and maintain adequate and affordable housing and promote community development for low and moderate income families across the country.^[27] Members are expert end-users of federal, state and private housing and community development funding, leveraging various sources of capital to build and strengthen America's communities.
Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) Sustainable Communities Initiative—a consortium funded by a $4.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that supports a regional plan for growth and development particularly in regard to FasTracks.^[28]
First Bank— a private banking institution based out of Lakewood, Colorado. First Bank was the initial lending partner for the Metro Denver Impact Facility (MDIF), committing $25 million in 2018 to MDIF, which will serve as a resource to support ULC's real-estate acquisitions.^[29]
Holly Area Redevelopment Project — In partnership with actively engaged neighbors, ULC, assisted by City of Denver's Office of Economic Development, Strengthening Neighborhoods (a program of The Denver Foundation) and Community by Design consultants, initiated the first phase of the Holly Area Redevelopment Project (HARP). This effort brought the community together to see the site once again serve as an anchor for the Northeast Park Hill area. A key component of the broadly supported plan was the establishment of “Good Neighbor Principles” which is guiding redevelopment plans for the Holly property.^[30]^[31]
Medici Consulting Group — a Denver-based community development firm. ULC and Medici have partnered on two developments, the Evans and Walnut Street Lofts, together bringing over 100 units of affordable transit-oriented development.^[32]
MidFirst Bank— a privately owned bank based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MidFirst provided resources for predevelopment, acquisition and refinancing on six properties totaling over $6 million.^[33]
Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NDC) — a nonprofit community development corporation comprising 13 affordable housing and community development organizations.^[34]
Radian — an award-winning nonprofit architecture firm and urban design firm. ULC has partnered with Radian on several projects, most notably Colorado's first Tiny Home Village for individuals facing homelessness.^[35]
Westwood Unidos — a resident-led, neighborhood collaborative initiative to increase community health and livability in the Westwood neighborhood of Denver.^[36]