ULC has invested in more than 50 properties throughout the Front Range, with a goal of providing affordable residential and commercial real estate options in communities most impacted by displacement. We have partnered with hundreds of organizations and entities to meet community-stated goals. That can look like purchasing land and holding it while communities determine the best uses, putting together a development team to raise capital and build affordable housing, or purchasing and renovating commercial property for nonprofits and mission-minded organizations. The ways ULC partners in each case are as unique as each of the investment properties. Our property portfolio is segmented by city and neighborhood below.
ColfaxLab for Social Good
Aurora – East Colfax Neighborhood
Type: Nonprofit space; land for future affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
MDIF-Funded
ULC purchased the former Citywide Banks Building in late 2021. The three-story office building sits on 1.77 acres of developed land and improvements, including a 24,228 sq. ft. office/retail building, 120 surface parking spaces, and a 1,456 sq. ft. building that includes an eight-lane bank drive-thru. In collaboration with the Fax Partnership, ULC has helped create a community-driven steering committee to guide the redevelopment process. The large building is serving as a community-serving space for nonprofits. The parking area will be redeveloped into permanently affordable housing.
New Legacy Charter School
Aurora – Original Aurora
Type: School
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
Previously the site of a vacant bowling alley, New Legacy is now a 23,000-square-foot high school and childcare facility which opened in 2015. The school serves pregnant and parenting teens between the ages of 14 and 21. The school provides both high school and parenting education along with on-site childcare. New Legacy School purchased the building in the fall of 2020. The land remains in ULC’s 99-year ground lease.
Oxford Vista
Aurora – Meadow Hills/Summit Park Neighborhoods
Type: Nonprofit space
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
Formerly known as the Excelsior Youth Center, Oxford Vista is a 31-acre campus with more than 148,000 square feet of building space in southeast Aurora that was donated to ULC in 2018. The 17 buildings on the campus include an administrative area, dormitories, a pool, free standing cottages, a gymnasium, auditorium space and small kitchens. AmeriCorps Southwest Region is headquartered at Oxford Vista, leasing 70,000 square feet of space and hosting upwards of 300 young adults for training. The campus is also home to several nonprofits. In 2019 ULC added $3.3 million in energy efficiency upgrades, including a 430-kW solar array and a geothermal heating and cooling system (virtual tour). The campus will eventually operate at near net-zero electricity.
South Platte Crossing Offices
Commerce City
Type: Nonprofit space
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
MDIF-Funded
ULC acquired the office building at South Platte Crossing and the surrounding land in December 2018 to preserve critical office space along a transit corridor. This was ULC’s first acquisition in Commerce City. The South Platte Crossing office building is a six-story, 80,000 sq. ft. office building that formerly served as the Adams County Human Services headquarters and is now home to a number of nonprofits. The property is located a quarter mile from the 72nd Ave & Colorado Blvd. station on RTD’s N Line Commuter Rail.
South Platte Crossing Apartments
Commerce City
Type: Future affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
MDIF-Funded
South Platte Crossing is a future affordable housing development in Commerce City. ULC acquired the property, which included the South Platte Crossing office building, in 2018 to preserve critical space along a transit corridor. South Platte Crossing will provide 60 permanently affordable apartments. The housing development qualified for 9% low-income housing tax credits and will be developed by Nesbitt Development and Brinshore Development. The property is located a quarter mile from the 72nd Ave & Colorado Blvd. station on RTD’s N Line Commuter Rail.
BAKER
Habitat for Humanity Denver Home Improvement Outlet
Baker Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space
ULC helped finance the acquisition of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver’s Home Improvement Outlet (30,000 sq. ft. warehouse), located at 70 Rio Grande Blvd., by providing Habitat with a below- market bridge loan. Working in partnership with Habitat, the Home Improvement Outlet is open to the public and provides a valuable source of cash flow to Habitat’s home-building program through the sale of donated building materials, tools, appliances, and furniture. In 2008, the bridge loan was fully paid back to ULC.
CLAYTON
Renaissance Apartments at North Colorado Station
Clayton Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
A real estate company donated this former 40-unit motel at 40 th & Colorado Blvd to ULC in 2006. The property was redeveloped into a mix of 103 affordable apartments with on-site supportive services by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) and opened in 2016. CCH now owns the property. Located on a high frequency bus route, it is a great example of a transit-oriented development.
CAPITOL HILL
Mountain View Nonprofit Tower
North Capitol Hill Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space
ULC acquired the 35,000 sq. ft. building in August 2014 as a multi-tenant nonprofit center preservation. The seven-story property houses numerous nonprofits and is located in central Denver, one block off of Colfax Avenue. In 2016, ULC completed over $1.2 million in renovations to the building including a new elevator and ADA-compliant restroom upgrades. Mountain View Nonprofit Tower serves as a community hub for nonprofit and mission-based organizations dedicated to working in the Denver community.
2000 Block of Glenarm
North Capitol Hill Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Land
ULC in partnership with St. Andrew’s Church, land banked two parking lots surrounding the church. In 2017 ULC sold ownership of these lots to St. Andrew’s Church to support their vision of an affordable housing development in downtown Denver.
COLE/FIVE POINTS
Beloved Community Tiny Home Village
Cole/Five Points/RiNo Neighborhoods – Denver
Type: Homeless shelter
Opened in July 2017, Beloved Community Tiny Home Village was created as an innovative approach to housing for those experiencing homelessness. The village consisted of 11 sleeping units, a shared bathing facility, and a community gathering space and was housed on ULC’s land at Blake TOD (now Walnut Flats). Beloved Community leased the land for $1 per month until the village moved to its new location in Globeville in 2019. The tiny home village was the first of its kind in Colorado and has been an extremely successful transitional housing model.
The Burrell
Cole/Five Points/RiNo Neighborhoods – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
Ground Lease: Yes, held by Elevation Community Land Trust
MDIF-Funded
This property is approximately 6,800 sq. ft. located on the edge of the South Platte River. 49 permanently affordable for-sale condos will allow families earning between 63%-80% AMI an opportunity for homeownership in the rising Denver housing market. ULC is the current owner of the land, but once the housing development is completed, Elevation Community Land Trust will take ownership. The property is named after Charles Burrell, the famous classical and jazz musician.
Cole Train
Cole Neighborhood – Denver
Cole Train was once the vacant portion of the Tramway Nonprofit Center building and was not fit for use due to the unstable structure. ULC demolished the warehouse and plans to create affordable multi-family housing on the property in response to expressed community needs.
Curtis Park Nonprofit Center/ Curtis Park Community Center
Cole Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space, school, community center
ULC Ground Lease: Yes (Family Star Montessori)
Description: ULC acquired the Curtis Park Community Center and Curtis Park Nonprofit Center in January 2012 with support from Denver’s Office of Economic Development. The properties were owned for 70 years by the American Baptist Church of the Rocky Mountain Region, who sold them to ULC to ensure the centers would remain a long-term asset to the community. The two buildings include a 13,000 sq. ft. community center and a smaller 5,700 sq. ft. office building. ULC renovated the community center to become a campus for Family Star Montessori Program, which purchased the building from ULC in 2017 in a 99-year ground lease. Curtis Park Nonprofit Center was sold in 2021 to The Learning Source, a local nonprofit.
Tramway Nonprofit Center
Cole Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space and affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
ULC redeveloped this 115-year-old, former Denver Tramway Company transportation and maintenance facility in 2017. Located in northeast Denver at 35th Ave. & Franklin Sts. the 65,000 sq. ft. building occupies a full city block and houses over 15 nonprofits. The Tramway Nonprofit Center provides over 120 jobs and serves roughly 8,000 people annually. In 2014, ULC installed a solar roof on Tramway, making it ULC’s first property to utilize solar power.
Walnut Flats/Blake TOD
Cole/Five Points/RiNo Neighborhoods – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes (Walnut Flats)
Blake TOD is a 1.4 acre property at 38th & Walnut Streets and is located on RTD’s A Line Commuter Rail connecting Downtown Union Station to Denver International Airport. The property was divided into two parcels of land for neighboring developments. ULC worked with development partner Medici Development Group who completed 66 permanently affordable apartments and McWhinney who is constructing 312 market rate units and 30 affordable units as part of a 16-story mixed-use development.
WEST COLFAX
Mile High Vista
West Colfax Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Affordable housing, library, commercial space
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
ULC purchased this 2+ acre parcel of land along west Denver’s FasTracks light rail corridor and was the master developer of the site that includes the 28,000-square-foot Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez Branch Library; and the Avondale Apartments, a mixed-use building that includes 80 affordable homes and 10,000 square feet of commercial space by Del Norte Neighborhood Development Corp. This was ULC’s first master site development. (Del Norte purchased 0.8 acres of the site for the Avondale Apartments, and the City and County of Denver purchased 0.8 acres of the site for the library.) ULC completed infrastructure work on the site in 2012, and due to the extensive remediation requirements, made a $500,000 permanent investment into the library.
The final phase of the development, The Irving at Mile High Vista, has been approved for 4% low income housing tax credits and begins construction in spring 2024. With ULC as developer, The Irving will provide 102 permanently affordable apartments with studios to three bedroom units at 20-80% AMI.
ELYRIA-SWANSEA
Viña Apartments and Tepeyac Health at 48th and Race
Elyria-Swansea Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Affordable housing/health clinic/community serving commercial space
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
MDIF-Funded
This transit-oriented development is located two blocks from RTD’s 48th & Brighton commuter rail station on the N Line. ULC purchased the land in April 2015 and Viña Apartments opened in 2022, developed by Columbia Ventures. The site has 150 permanently affordable apartments ranging from 30% AMI to 80% AMI, a 24,500-square-foot community health clinic, 5,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail and more than 45,000 square feet of community-serving commercial space. Viña Apartments more than quadrupled the supply of permanently affordable housing in the area. The first floor of Viña is the new home of the Tepeyac Community Health Center, a 25-year-old nonprofit clinic providing affordable and accessible integrated health care.
HARVEY PARK
Loretto Heights
Harvey Park – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space, future affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
MDIF-Funded
In 2022, ULC purchased land at Loretto Heights that included the 40,000-SF Machebeuf Hall, and a small structure known as the Arts Building. the southwest Denver nonprofit Commún first took control of Machebeuf Hall through a multi-year lease, and then in October 2023 Commún purchased the building from ULC. The land beneath Machebeuf Hall remains in ULC’s community land trust, ensuring the property delivers a community-serving use for 99 years or more. ULC plans to partner with an affordable-housing developer to redevelop the Arts Building site. Any new housing would also be placed in ULC’s community land trust, ensuring permanent affordability for all future residents.
WEST HIGHLAND
Tennyson Center for Children
West Highland – Denver
Type: School
A local foundation purchased this 4+-acre campus in northwest Denver in 2005 and donated it to ULC to ensure its preservation and long term use as a school. Tennyson Center for Children is a K-12 school for emotionally and crisis-affected children and youth, particularly those suffering from abuse and neglect. In January of 2011, the Tennyson Center purchased the property and campus from ULC at the original purchase price. The Tennyson Center agreed as part of the purchase that for 89 years, if it were to sell the property, it would be sold to another nonprofit entity with an education-focused mission. The purchase and preservation of the Tennyson Center was completed without taxpayer dollars and serves as an example of how ULC stewards vital real estate for community-serving use.
OVERLAND
Evans Station Lofts
Overland Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
Description: This one-acre site located directly across the street from the Evans Light Rail Station was purchased in June of 2011 for $1.2 million. ULC partnered with Medici Communities in the development of 50 affordable homes and 7,500 square feet of commercial space. This five-story development is the first family low-income housing tax credit project at an existing light rail station along RTD’s FasTracks and serves households with incomes ranging from 30% to 60% of AMI. This site was the fourth property ULC acquired using Denver’s TOD Fund.
PARK HILL
Mosaic Community Campus
South Park Hill – Denver
ULC Ground Lease: Yes (East Campus)
MDIF-Funded
On June 8, 2021, ULC, Denver Public Schools (DPS), and Denver Housing Authority (DHA) finalized the purchase of the former Johnson & Wales University Denver campus in Denver’s South Park Hill Neighborhood. Through the partnership of our three organizations, as well as additional partners St. Elizabeth’s School, Kitchen Network, and Archway Communities, we expanded our collective impact to create a public space that will promote health, economic security, community spaces, quality education, affordable housing, culinary arts training, and more. The campus will be home to some Denver School of the Arts classes starting in the fall of 2024. Archway Communities and DHA will redevelop the existing dorms into affordable housing for individuals and families. Learn more about the history of what is now the Mosaic Community Campus.
Holly Square
Northeast Park Hill – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
MDIF-Funded (Center for African American Health)
The destruction of the Holly Square Shopping Center in May 2008 as a result of gang arson left a major void in the heart of this proud community. Together with support from the City and County of Denver, ULC acquired the 2.6-acre site in 2009. ULC and our partners Denver Foundation’s Strengthening Neighborhoods program and the Community by Design collective began an extensive community engagement process to determine future redevelopment plans. Today Holly Square is a vibrant community hub, catering primarily to children. The site is home to the Jack A. Vickers Boys & Girls Club, a 25,000 sq. ft. community-serving building, and an outdoor gathering space. It is also home to the Center for African American Health. CAAH purchased the building from ULC in 2021 and has a ground lease for 99 years to ensure permanent affordability.
303 ArtWay
Northeast Park Hill – Denver
Type: Recreation
303 ArtWay is a future 4-mile pedestrian and bike loop connecting the 40th & Colorado Station to Holly Square. In an effort to increase connectivity and mobility throughout the community, the trail will also highlight the visionaries, artists, leaders, and community activists who have brought so much life to this unique and diverse neighborhood.
ArtWay North and Park Hill Station
Northeast Park Hill – Denver
ULC purchased the 9.4-acre Park Hill Village West master site in 2013. This was ULC’s largest acquisition using Denver’s TOD Fund. Located at the 40th & Colorado Station along RTD’s A-Line commuter rail, this is an area of northeast Denver where many families lack access to affordable housing, high-performing schools, and quality healthcare. This investment opportunity created a new partnership between ULC, the Piton Foundation, and Gary Community Ventures to support development that creates community benefits. Park Hill Station Apartments, developed by DelWest, opened in 2016; these 156 permanently affordable homes are phase one of this master site development. Future phases of construction following community outreach and engagement could include more affordable housing, along with community and commercial space. ArtWay North is a destination along the future 303 ArtWay.
Dahlia Apartments
Northeast Park Hill – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
ULC acquired the Dahlia Apartments in 2009 after it was foreclosed upon in 2008. The foreclosure qualified the property for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The property consists of six buildings with a total of 36 two-bedroom affordable apartments, and serves 100 residents. This property was the first to use financing through the Denver TOD Fund.
LA ALMA LINCOLN PARK
La Tela
La Alma Lincoln Park – Denver
Type: Affordable Housing
MDIF-Funded
ULC purchased this land and held it until Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT) secured financing to develop 92 permanently affordable for-sale condos. Located along a high-frequency bus route, this land was a unique opportunity to create affordable homeownership opportunities in Denver. ECLT purchased the land from ULC in 2020 and the condos were completed in 2021. ECLT holds the land in a ground lease to ensure permanent affordability.
Santa Fe Ten
La Alma Lincoln Park – Denver
Type: Affordable housing, retail space
In 2011, ULC acquired Santa Fe Ten in the Art District on Santa Fe for $1.35 million using Denver’s TOD Fund. The .31-acre property includes 16 affordable apartments, over 7,400 square feet of retail space, and a renovated warehouse to provide affordable rental property for mission-minded organizations.
SUN VALLEY
Social Enterprise Foundry
Sun Valley – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space
Acquired in the summer of 2014, the Social Enterprise Foundry is a 45,000-square-foot warehouse in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood. Three nonprofits — Blue Star Recyclers, Energy Resource Center, and Mile High Youth Corps — work out of the foundry, and all focus on sustainable and environmental services supporting the Denver metro area. The Sun Valley neighborhood is undergoing redevelopment following a 2013 City and County of Denver station area plan and a Denver Housing Authority redevelopment plan. This property was financed through the Calvert Facility Fund as part of the Ours to Own Initiative where community members can invest as little as $20 to invest in their own neighborhoods through small business creation and real estate preservation and development. In 2023, in partnership with GRID Alternatives and Mile High Youth Corps, Urban Land Conservancy installed a solar array on the foundry roof. The project was fully funded by Denver’s Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR) office, and the solar array is designed to provide 100% of the building’s electrical consumption.
UNIVERSITY HILLS
Garden Court at Yale Station
University Hills – Denver
Type: Affordable Housing
In 2010, ULC acquired this 1.5-acre site for $1.3 million, using Denver’s TOD Fund. In 2016, ULC’s development partners completed the construction of 66 affordable homes — the Garden Court Apartments. The apartments are located at the Yale Light Rail Station along RTD’s E and F lines. To support true affordability along a major transit corridor, each household received an RTD EcoPass.
Vassar
University Hills – Denver
Type: Land
ULC acquired this property, which consists of a single family home and a tennis court, in 2014 at the Yale Light Rail Station to support additional development within the station area. ULC sold the land in 2021.
VILLA PARK
Jody Apartments
Villa Park Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
ULC acquired the Jody Apartments in 2007 for affordable-housing preservation in partnership with the NEWSED Community Development Corporation. The 62 permanently affordable apartments sit adjacent to the Sheridan Light Rail Station on RTD’s W Line. NEWSED owns and operates the apartments, while ULC owns the land through a 99-year ground lease. Sheridan Station Apartments also sits next door.
Sheridan Station Apartments
Villa Park Neighborhood – Denver
Type: Affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
ULC acquired the land at Sheridan Station in 2014. ULC partnered with Brinshore and Mile High Development for the development of 133 units of affordable housing, which opened in January 2021. The apartments marked the culmination of a ten‐year effort to bring affordable housing to the Sheridan Station Light Rail Station on RTD’s W line. The 0.7‐acre (28,000-square-foot) site is located just steps from the station and the regional bike trail that runs through Lakewood/Dry Gulch Park.
Sheridan East & West
Villa Park Neighborhood – Denver
Sheridan East and Sheridan West are of two properties acquired by ULC in 2012 and 2015, both through the Denver TOD Fund. This future master site development will include affordable housing plus community serving/commercial space. The site is located adjacent to the Sheridan Light Rail Station on RTD’s W Line.
11th Avenue TOD
Villa Park Neighborhood – Denver
11th Avenue TOD is one acre of land next to Sheridan East. The site is located adjacent to the Sheridan Light Rail Station on RTD’s W Line.
WESTWOOD
Thriftway
Westwood – Denver
Type: Future affordable housing
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
Located on Morrison Road in southwest Denver, this property holds great significance for the Westwood neighborhood. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) was critical to this purchase. The Thriftway building served many purposes since its construction in the 1950s, but for 15 years was abandoned which led to a growing reputation for crime. ULC demolished the building in the summer of 2014, and with it, negative sentiments controlled the site. Westwood Unidos, a resident-led neighborhood collaborative, led a community visioning process with ULC to determine an interim use for the site. In June 2017 ULC and neighbors celebrated the opening of the Thriftway Pocket Park. Long-term plans for the site are to create a beneficial development that directly addresses community needs.
Meade Street Gardens
Westwood – Denver
Type: Nonprofit space and land for future affordable housing
MDIF-Funded
ULC Ground Lease: Yes
ULC is collaborating with local nonprofit Re:Vision to bring affordable homeownership to Re:Vision’s RISE Westwood campus, where Re:Vision develops resident leaders, cultivates community food systems, and has catalyzed access to organic, nutritious produce. RISE Westwood is home to eight Latino-owned small businesses and three other nonprofits. The new housing development will join Re:Vision’s community center, artisan retail space, culinary space, and urban farm to form Meade Street Gardens, a place where residents will find opportunities to thrive in food, health, and economic abundance for generations to come.
Umatilla/TACT Warehouse
Type: Warehouse
MDIF-Funded
In 2022, ULC purchased a warehouse, its first property in Englewood, Colorado. It is home to TACT, a nonprofit organization committed to encouraging and empowering the full spectrum of individuals with autism through education and employment in the skilled trades. TACT completed a full remodel of the building and opened the space for programming in January 2023.
Timberline
Type: Future affordable housing and community-serving space.
Currently dubbed “Timberline,” this site is 30 acres at 1100 S. Timberline Rd., Fort Collins. The vacant, “employment”-zoned land is situated between city-owned natural areas and a commercial/industrial corridor. In response to public input, ULC plans to deliver a mixed-use development that can nurture and sustain a strong sense of community, inclusivity and quality of life. It will be an affordable, equitable, sustainable place for Fort Collins residents to live, work and play. ULC’s future development here is a partnership with Elevation Community Land Trust and the Bohemian Foundation.
Harlan Nonprofit Center East
Martindale Neighborhood – Lakewood
Type: Nonprofit and commercial office space
MDIF-Funded
The Harlan nonprofit centers are ULC’s second and third purchases in Lakewood. Together, they comprise 56,000 square feet of nonprofit and commercial office space. The buildings are less than a half mile from two high-frequency bus routes, and one mile from the Belmar Shopping District.
Harlan Nonprofit Center West
Martindale Neighborhood – Lakewood
Type: Nonprofit and commercial office space
MDIF-Funded
The Harlan nonprofit centers are ULC’s second and third purchases in Lakewood. Together, they comprise 56,000 square feet of nonprofit and commercial office space. Harlan Nonprofit Center West is home to Easterseals Colorado, a longstanding charitable organization founded in 1926. The buildings are less than a half mile from two high-frequency bus routes, and one mile from the Belmar Shopping District.
Villas at Wadsworth Station
Morse Park/Rural Acres Neighborhoods – Lakewood
Type: Affordable housing
In 2012, ULC made its first acquisition in Lakewood with the purchase of the Villas at Wadsworth Station, located on RTD’s W Line. With support from the Colorado Division of Housing, this acquisition successfully preserved 100 permanently affordable homes along a transit route. In late 2017 ULC closed on a 4% tax credit refinance of the property and in 2018 completed $2.3 million in renovations, without increasing rent for tenants. The property is comprised of one and two-bedroom apartments, supporting residents earning between 30%-80% AMI. ULC owns the buildings and the land to ensure permanent affordability.
Brown Construction Building/Westminster TOD I
Westminster
Type: Nonprofit space
MDIF-Funded
ULC acquired Westminster TOD I, also known as the Brown Construction Building, in July 2019. The single-story office building is centrally located in the City of Westminster’s planned redevelopment area, and less than two blocks from the Westminster Commuter Rail Station.
Westminster Triangle/Westminster TOD II
Westminster
Type: Future development
MDIF-Funded
ULC Westminster TOD II, also known as the Westminster Triangle, was purchased by ULC in September 2019. The 4.5- acre vacant parcel is centrally located in the City of Westminster’s planned redevelopment area, and two blocks from the Westminster Commuter Rail Station.