The Urban Land Conservancy (ULC), a nonprofit organization established in 2003, uses 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 community assets in urban areas to ensure their continued benefit.

• Our mission is to acquire, develop, and/or preserve community assets in urban areas for a variety of community needs such as schools, affordable housing, and 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.
• Our work includes land banking and community-inspired real estate development or, more concisely, community development.

Elements of our work

Land Banking

When 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 today’s prices, we ensure that these properties will be available to serve urban communities in the future when the land would otherwise be too expensive.

Community Development

Certain 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 resources needed to facilitate the development of such projects.

How we work

• Form long-term partnerships with nonprofit, for-profit, and governmental organizations to assist urban 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

Current developments and holdings

• 40th & Colorado (Colorado Coalition for the Homeless partnership and redevelopment)
• Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Denver Home Improvement Outlet (loan)
• Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home (preservation)
• Phillips Center (preservation and redevelopment)
  
• Jody Apartments (preservation and redevelopment)
  
• 25th & Stout (preservation)
  
  The Urban Land Conservancy is a 501(c)3 organization and a supporting organization to The Denver Foundation.