An existing parking lot in the Five Points section of Denver may soon be converted into the site of a six-story condominium complex with a variety of one to three-bedroom units.
The project belongs to the City of Denver’s Department of Housing Stability, otherwise known as HOST, with income-restricted units available to residents earning 80% of area median income.
The building will go up at the intersection of 29th Street and Welton Street in a neighborhood of both apartment buildings and offices. The parking lot has for years belonged to the city’s Regional Transportation District.
What is being described as a transit-oriented development has been more than eight years in the planning stage, originally launched as a joint project between Denver and the RTD. Two years ago the Denver-based Shanahan Development was brought in as the project’s developer, with the Elevation Community Land Trust selected as both landowner and property manager.
According to city documents, the 29th and Welton project is being looked at as a “representative example of how working collaboratively and cooperatively, government, non-profits, and developers can bring about affordable housing projects.”
Work is expected to begin on the $5 million project later this year, with an anticipated completion date of mid-2026.
Transit oriented developments, often attracting substantial federal funding, are projects that can include residential, office, and even commercial space, built within walking distance of a public transportation system.
The concept has proven particularly popular along the East coast and in California. Denver embraced the concept nearly two decades ago, developing a Transit Oriented Development Strategic Plan, and now has more than thirty such operative developments scattered in both urban, suburban, and student neighborhoods of the city.
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of the City of Denver
