Promoting Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
and Affordable Housing
Region 8
With a mission of preserving urban community real estate assets, the
Urban Land Conservancy (ULC), a Denver, Colorado based non-profit
organization, is a natural partner for the EPA Brownfields Program. Indeed,
brownfield assistance offered by the EPA has allowed ULC to acquire
and clean up land for transit oriented development (TOD) and affordable
housing projects throughout Denver. As an example, the EPA conducted
Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs) at more than 10 properties for
ULC and provided funding to clean up and redevelop former abandoned
and underutilized properties.
Mile High Vista: EPA Funded Cleanup
Leads to Affordable Housing and New
Community Library
In 201 I, ULC purchased a two-acre parcel of the former Festival Plaza
at Avondale in west Denver.The property was an underutilized parking
lot with previous commercial uses that included a gas station and a dry
cleaner.Assessments found petroleum contamination and dry cleaning
solvents that required cleanup prior to moving forward with a mixed-
use redevelopment.
The Colorado Coalition Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) provided $500,000
in EPA Brownfields funds to the ULC to remediate over 6,800 tons of
contaminated soil.The Colorado Coalition's funding package included
a $200,000 subgrant and a $300,000 low-interest loan.The ULC only
needed to use the $200,000 subgrant funds to address the petroleum
contamination because the seller assumed responsibility for the first
$200,000 in cleanup expenses.This paved the way for ULC and the City
of Denver to begin developing the Mile High Vista project including the
construction of a new 28,000 sf Denver Public Library, 80 affordable
housing units (serving families below 60% of the area median income), and
a commercial lot (yet to be developed).
The prime location along West ColfaxAvenue helped ensure
redevelopment success and the fact that this project is a quarter mile
from two light rail stations (Knox and Decatur-Federal), as well as high
frequency bus stops, ensures that this will truly be transit-oriented
development. In August 2014, the 80-unit Avondale Apartments opened
and marked the end of the first of three phases of developmentThe units
are all dedicated to workforce and affordable housing along with 10,000
sf of commercial space. In February 2015, the Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales
Library opened to the public, marking the end of the second phase of
development. ULC continues to work with developers to complete the
third phase for commercial use.The EPA's investment of $200,000 helped
leverage approximately $37 million in economic development at the Mile
High Vista site alone.
The grand <
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"The resources provided by the EPA are a
critical component to the success of ULC's real
estate work, and Mile High Vista was made
possible by our partnership. Our access to grant
and loan funds for brownfield remediation
helped create a transit oriented community
where families have a beautiful, safe, and
affordable place to live, and the community has
a new state-of-the-art library that generations
of residents will enjoy."
Debra Bustos
Vice President of Real Estate
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Holly Square: Community-oriented
Development Achieved
The intersection of Denver's 33rd Avenue and Holly Street continues
to grow into something the community can be proud of, with more
development opportunities coming in the near future.The 2.6-acre
property operated as a shopping center from the late 1950s until May
2008 when gang-related arson destroyed the remaining businesses.
In early 2009, the EPA Region 8 conducted aTargeted Brownfields
Assessment (TBA) of the property on behalf of the ULC to identify any
contamination concerns and assist ULC in fulfilling its pre-acquisition
environmental due diligence requirements.The Phase I assessment
revealed manageable environmental conditions and allowed the ULC to
acquire the property later that same year.
ULC, along with the community, created a set of Good Neighbor
Principles and broad design concepts that focus on using the site to
anchor reinvestment in the entire surrounding community. In 2012, the
Anschutz Foundation pledged $5 million to build the JackA.Vickers Boys
and Girls Club, which opened in 2013 and now serves the area youth.
ULC invested in excess of $1 million (including property purchase)
and leveraged over $7 million from several different entities (Anschutz
foundation, City of Denver.The Denver Foundation and others) to
complete the project. As of June 2015, Roots Elementary Charter School
was selected to be the next development partner and construction of
the school will begin in 2016.
Evans Station Lofts
In 201 I, the ULC acquired a 0.96-acre property across from the
Evans Light Rail Station on Denver's southwest light rail line.
Before purchasing the property, the ULC used the EPA's Targeted
Brownfields Assessment Program ($47,300) to conduct due
diligence and reduce environmental uncertainty via Phase I and II
environmental assessments. In 2012, ULC sold the land to Medici
Communities for the Evans Station Lofts development.
In 201 3, the Evans Station Lofts, a mixed-use, transit oriented
development that includes 50 workforce housing units and 7,100
feet of retail and commercial space, opened and received the
Mayor's Design Award for place making.This was the first low-
income family housing tax credit project at an existing light
rail station along the Denver Regional Transportation District's
(RTD) FasTracks.The project leveraged nearly $1 I million for the
redevelopment of the property.
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Roots Elementary School playground at Holly S
.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
For more information, visit the EPA Brownfields website:
www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-8-mountains-and-plains
EPA 908-F-15-002
September 2015
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