Urban Land Conservancy

Last updated
Urban Land Conservancy
Formation2003
FocusAcquire, develop and preserve real estate in urban areas for community benefit
Headquarters Denver, CO
Location
Area served
Denver metro area
CEO, President
Aaron Miripol
COO
Aaron Martinez
CFO
Brad Dodson
Matthew Barry, Dawn Burkhardt, Eric Duran, Michael Harris, Eugene Howard, Tim Howard, Grant Swanson, Creighton Ward, Tracy Winchester, David Younggren
Website https://www.urbanlandc.org/

Urban Land Conservancy (ULC), acquires, develops and holds real estate for long-term community benefit, focusing on preserving and delivering affordable residential and commercial properties in the Denver metro area. [1]

Contents

History

Urban Land Conservancy was established in 2003 with capital from the Gary-Williams Energy Corporation through the Piton Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by Sam Gary. [2] In 2007, the conservancy hired Aaron Miripol as its first outside president and CEO. [3]

Properties

ULC's properties include affordable housing, nonprofit facilities, schools, health centers and mixed-use developments. The buildings may be owned and leased by ULC, or held in a community land trust where ULC owns the land and another organization owns the building. ULC also engages in land banking for future development, and property covenants to ensure rents remain affordable. [1]

Affordable Housing

ULC secures properties to be redeveloped or preserved as affordable housing. A community land trust is often used to ensure long-term affordability. Examples include South Platte Crossing Apartments in Commerce City, Colorado, The Irving at Mile High Vista in Denver, and Walnut Flats in Denver. [4] [5] [6]

Nonprofit Space

ULC acquires and maintains properties to lease low-cost office and facility space to nonprofits and mission-minded organizations. These “nonprofit hubs” allow organizations to operate at below-market rates. Examples include Holly Square and the Tramway Nonprofit Center. [7] [8] [9]

Schools and Educational Centers

ULC secures and develops properties for educational use, such as the New Legacy Charter School. [10] They also partner on campuses that combine affordable housing with educational and job training opportunities, such as the Mosaic Community Campus. [11]

Land Banking

ULC acquires vacant or underused land in transit corridors and vulnerable neighborhoods for future community-focused development. For example, ULC acquired parcels at 40th and Colorado Boulevard adjacent to a Regional Transportation District (RTD) station for a mixed-use affordable housing development. [12]

Health Centers

ULC owns land that houses community health clinics, such as the Tepeyac Community Health Center and the Center for African American Health. [13] [14]

Mixed-use Commercial and Community Spaces

ULC's community land trust model allows ULC to retain land for facilities that feature more than one property type, including a mix of affordable housing, nonprofit office space and small retail businesses that support the community. Examples include the Vina Apartments, nonprofit and retail uses at 48th and Race; and Meade Street Gardens in the Denver neighborhood of Westwood. [15] [16]

Practices

ULC utilizes a variety of real estate practices, including land banking - the practice of acquiring parcels of land for future development. [17] [18]  They also use a community land trust (CLT) model with a 99-year, renewable ground lease to circumvent the affordability expirations imposed by the city and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). [19] In addition, ULC supports sustainable energy practices in its development projects, such as at the Oxford Vista Campus in the city of Aurora. [20]

Funding

Urban Land Conservancy has partnered with a variety of organizations to raise funding for land development along with receiving money from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, which provide funding for affordable housing programs. [21] [22]

Denver Transit Oriented Development Fund (TOD)

ULC, Enterprise Community Partners and the City and County of Denver partnered to establish the nation's first Transit Oriented Development fund. The revolving loan fund makes capital available to acquire and hold land for the development or preservation of affordable housing for up to five years along current and proposed transit corridors. [23]

The TOD fund was created to develop and preserve 1,000 affordable homes along current and future transit corridors in Denver. Sites purchased through the fund are within one-half mile of fixed-rail transit stations or one-quarter mile of high-frequency bus stops.

Metro Denver Impact Facility (MDIF)   

ULC, in partnership with FirstBank, The Colorado Health Foundation (CHF), The Denver Foundation (TDF) and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), created the MDIF as a revolving fund in order to invest in land projects in the Denver area. [24] ULC is the sole borrower, and was responsible for creating the development plan and permanent financing structure.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Miripol, Aaron (June 2017). "Colorado Impact Report" (PDF). Cornerstone Cap Inc. Retrieved 18 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Urban Land Conservancy & Elevation Community Land Trust". Gary Community Ventures. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  3. "Urban Land Conservancy Sets New Course for Future". Denver Business Journal. 2007-07-29.
  4. milehighcre (2025-06-10). "Transit-Oriented, Affordable Apartments Open in Commerce City". Mile High CRE. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  5. Flowers, Tatiana (2024-05-30). "Nearly two years since Colorado voters approved affordable housing measure, units are under construction in Denver". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  6. "Walnut Flats - KEPHART" . Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  7. milehighcre (2020-02-06). "ULC Purchases Former School Building in Park Hill to House Health and Wellness Nonprofit". Mile High CRE. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  8. Huspeni, Dennis (June 14, 2013). "Holly Square Getting a New Life". bizjournals.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Historic Tramway building could get an affordable housing neighbor". Denverite. 2025-06-02. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  10. "Charter high school for teenage parents and their kids opens in Aurora". The Denver Post. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  11. "Redevelopment of Denver's former Johnson & Wales campus brings "once-in-a-generation opportunity"". The Denver Post. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  12. "Hundreds of affordable apartments approved for Colorado Boulevard colorado-boulevard-affordable-apartments-park-hill". Denverite. 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  13. Carr, Teresa. "Tepeyac Community Health Center Debuts A Massive New Clinic". 5280.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. milehighcre (2020-02-06). "ULC Purchases Former School Building in Park Hill to House Health and Wellness Nonprofit". Mile High CRE. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  15. "Columbia Ventures Opens Viña Apartments in Denver, CO". www.denvergov.org. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  16. "How this nonprofit in Westwood is avoiding being gentrified out of the area". Denverite. 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  17. Grabar, Henry (December 4, 2014). "Part Land Bank, Part Community-Focused Credit Line". CityLab.
  18. "Urban Land Conservancy Acquires Land for Affordable For-Sale Home Development in Denver". Global News Wire.
  19. "Urban Land Conservancy and Medici Consulting Group Break Ground on 66 Units of Permanently Affordable Housing in Denver's Cole Neighborhood". City and County of Denver. March 21, 2019. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019.
  20. milehighcre (2019-04-24). "Urban Land Conservancy Begins Sustainable Energy Capital Improvement Project". Mile High CRE. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  21. "Changemaker: Aaron Miripol". Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. Retrieved November 24, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. "Mosaic Community Campus - Denver Housing Authority". Denver Housing Authority. Retrieved November 24, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. "Innovative Partnership Funds Transit-Oriented Housing in Denver". hud.gov. December 2012. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017.
  24. "Denver-Based Urban Land Conservancy Creates Revolving Loan Facility". Philanthropy News Digest. November 20, 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2024.