This office building that had been used by Employers Council will be demolished to make way for the project. (Google Maps)
Karen McNeil-Miller never thought she’d be building apartments across from her nonprofit’s headquarters along 18th Avenue in Uptown.
“It wasn’t a planned project,” said McNeil-Miller, CEO and president of The Colorado Health Foundation. “We found out that the property right across the street from us, Mountain States, was going to be for sale, and I went to our board and asked about buying it.”
The board questioned why the foundation, which spends millions annuallly on social, economic and racial justice causes, would be getting into real estate speculation.
“I said: We’re not, but we know exactly what will go there if we don’t buy it,” McNeil-Miller told BusinessDen. “There’ll be eight stories, market-rate condos or market-rate apartments, and this is an opportunity for us to perhaps extend our vision and our strategy, to bring it to life. Housing affordability is one of our main priorities, and particularly in the urban core.”
Karen McNeil-Miller
So in 2021, the foundation bought the land — approximately 2.3 acres between Pennsylvania and Logan Streets — for $25 million, or $249 a foot. It’s currently home to an office building that the Employers Council (formerly the Mountain States Employers Council) once occupied. It will be demolished this month.
Last month, the group unveiled its initial plans for the site.
Three buildings are planned. Two will have income-restricted apartments, reserved for those making between 30 percent and 80 percent of the area median income. The other structure’s use is still undetermined; McNeil-Miller and her team are deliberating between income-restricted condos or housing for seniors.
The foundation has tapped income-restricted developer Gorman & Co. as its developer. Kimball Crangle, Gorman’s Colorado market president, said the two apartment buildings will likely have 160 to 200 units combined.
“We’re still identifying how to be cost-effective while ensuring that we’re meeting the goals of health, equity and sustainability,” Crangle said.
Crangle said the firm is applying for a 9 percent tax credit early next year. If awarded, it hopes construction would begin by mid-to-late 2025.
Kimball Crangle
Gorman has developed numerous other income-restricted projects across Colorado, such as Terraza del Sol in southwest Denver and the Colburn Hotel & Apartments at 980 Grant St. in Cap Hill. The firm has another project planned on a state-owned parking lot across from the Colburn.
While Crangle expects to construct amenities onsite, such as playgrounds and park space, other services will be handled by HOPE Communities, another Denver nonprofit.
“We were called to the table because of the breadth of the programs and services that we offer, also because we do work with people from all over the world and have staff who speak around 20 languages,” said Sharon Knight, president and CEO of HOPE.
This office building that had been used by Employers Council will be demolished to make way for the project. (Google Maps)
Karen McNeil-Miller never thought she’d be building apartments across from her nonprofit’s headquarters along 18th Avenue in Uptown.
“It wasn’t a planned project,” said McNeil-Miller, CEO and president of The Colorado Health Foundation. “We found out that the property right across the street from us, Mountain States, was going to be for sale, and I went to our board and asked about buying it.”
The board questioned why the foundation, which spends millions annuallly on social, economic and racial justice causes, would be getting into real estate speculation.
“I said: We’re not, but we know exactly what will go there if we don’t buy it,” McNeil-Miller told BusinessDen. “There’ll be eight stories, market-rate condos or market-rate apartments, and this is an opportunity for us to perhaps extend our vision and our strategy, to bring it to life. Housing affordability is one of our main priorities, and particularly in the urban core.”
Karen McNeil-Miller
So in 2021, the foundation bought the land — approximately 2.3 acres between Pennsylvania and Logan Streets — for $25 million, or $249 a foot. It’s currently home to an office building that the Employers Council (formerly the Mountain States Employers Council) once occupied. It will be demolished this month.
Last month, the group unveiled its initial plans for the site.
Three buildings are planned. Two will have income-restricted apartments, reserved for those making between 30 percent and 80 percent of the area median income. The other structure’s use is still undetermined; McNeil-Miller and her team are deliberating between income-restricted condos or housing for seniors.
The foundation has tapped income-restricted developer Gorman & Co. as its developer. Kimball Crangle, Gorman’s Colorado market president, said the two apartment buildings will likely have 160 to 200 units combined.
“We’re still identifying how to be cost-effective while ensuring that we’re meeting the goals of health, equity and sustainability,” Crangle said.
Crangle said the firm is applying for a 9 percent tax credit early next year. If awarded, it hopes construction would begin by mid-to-late 2025.
Kimball Crangle
Gorman has developed numerous other income-restricted projects across Colorado, such as Terraza del Sol in southwest Denver and the Colburn Hotel & Apartments at 980 Grant St. in Cap Hill. The firm has another project planned on a state-owned parking lot across from the Colburn.
While Crangle expects to construct amenities onsite, such as playgrounds and park space, other services will be handled by HOPE Communities, another Denver nonprofit.
“We were called to the table because of the breadth of the programs and services that we offer, also because we do work with people from all over the world and have staff who speak around 20 languages,” said Sharon Knight, president and CEO of HOPE.
