Housing Transit Conference Austin Aaron Miripol Urban Land

Housing + Transit Conference, Austin Aaron Miripol, Urban Land Conservancy October 21, 2011

Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) was established to acquire, develop and preserve community assets in the Metro Denver area in order to address a variety of community needs • Our work includes land banking, preservation and community-inspired real estate redevelopment. • Our assets consist of schools, affordable housing, and office spaces for nonprofits, and seed capital to be leveraged using public and private sources for future community real estate investment. • Over $22 million invested in real estate, leverages over $100 million in redevelopment • • Our real estate partnerships serve over 10, 000 people • 400 full and part-time jobs are supported by our real estate investments

Addressing the Need for Nonprofit Space Urban Land Conservancy’s Phillips Center & Wyatt-Edison The Phillips Center occupies a full city block and currently houses the following seven nonprofits: Byrne Urban Scholars, city. WILD, Civic Canopy, Denver Early Childhood Council, Early Excellence at Wyatt LLC, GOAL Academy and Mi Casa Resource Center. ULC also has first right on Wyatt-Edison Charter school (insert), an 1880 s historic building across the street.

Make-Up of Denver & Metro Area DENVER METRO DENVER 600, 000 residents 274, 500 homes 23, 600 restricted affordable *8. 6% of all homes restricted 1. 7 million residents 861, 000 homes 21, 500 restricted affordable *2. 5% of all homes restricted Land locked Most cities can continue to annex county land Denver is a City and a County 6 Counties with 54 cities “Strong Mayor” political system Strong City Managers

Opportunities during difficult economic times Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Fund • Build out of Fas. Tracks over the next decade - Over 120 miles of additional track and 59 new stations • Increased demand for housing within ½ mile of light rail stations • 40% of growth projected from households at or below 80% AMI • Opportunity to purchase land now for land banking

RTD Fas. Tracks Program

How the $15 million TOD Fund works • Finance land property acquisition • Create or preserve over 1, 000 affordable homes over the next 10 years - 60% AMI and below for rental, 95% AMI ownership - Goal of 15% of all homes for extremely low-income (30% AMI) • Provides patient, high-risk capital at low cost - 25% of Fund can be used for land banking, 75% for revenue generating properties • Purchase and hold sites for up to 5 years

Denver’s Transit-Oriented Development Fund Structure • Goal: Preserve and create over 1, 000 units of affordable housing near high frequency transit • property acquisition • land banking • $15 million, 10 year fund, 3. 5% fixed rate to Urban Land Conservancy • Revolving Line of Credit • 3 -5 year sub-loans for acquisition • 90% LTV on ‘as-is’ basis • Top 63% is Non-Recourse • Expand Fund to $30 million for Denver Metro Region • Enterprise Communities serves as administrator

Denver’s Transit-Oriented Development Fund Acquisitions to Date 1. Dahlia Apartments (36 two bdr. ) w/NSP - April 2010 § Preservation of six buildings 1 block from high frequency bus 2. Yale Commons (1. 20 acres land) - July 2010 § ULC working with Regional Transportation District (RTD) and 2 for profit developers on a Master Community Plan including RTD’s 2 acre parking lot 3. Mile High Vista (2. 15 acres land) - March 2011 § Mixed use redevelopment: 70 new affordable apartments and 10 k square feet of community space; new 28 k square foot Denver Public Library, and 20 k square foot commercial building 4. Evans Station (1 acre of land) - June 2011 § 50 new affordable housing apartments to be developed, financed with 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) 5. Villa TOD (16 apt homes) - August 2011 § Includes 7, 400 SF of commercial space along art district corridor

Jody Apartments Model for the TOD Fund § Apartments are less than 300 feet from the future Sheridan transit station along the West Corridor, and adjacent to a 800 car park-and-ride to serve the station § ULC owns the land has a 99 -year lease with NEWSED (local nonprofit) that owns the improvements. - Four rental buildings serving over 100 residents. § 52 of the 62 apartments are permanently affordable, with 12 of the 52 committed to households at 30% AMI and below § Total acquisition and rehab: $3. 25 million § Possible redevelopment into 200 mixed income apartments & 25, 000 sq. ft. of commercial/community space § Total Redevelopment Costs: $50 million

TOD Fund Acquisitions Yale Commons § Purchased in July 2010, this 1. 25 acres of land is located next to the Yale Station (below) § Land Price = $1. 35 million ($25 sq. ft. ) Dahlia Apartments § Dahlia (above) was purchased out of foreclose in in early 2010 for $1. 2 million. There are six buildings with thirty-six 2 -bedroom apartment in northeast Denver. § Dahlia was the first TOD Fund acquisition and includes NSP dollars for rehab. ULC is stabilizing the buildings and will sell the improvements to a nonprofit and continue to own the land with a 99 year lease. § Total Acquisition and Rehab: $2 million § Partnering with 2 private developers and RTD to create Master Transit Community plan to include multiple properties and current RTD parking lot. At least 140 apartments will be developed, half permanently affordable. § Total Development Costs = $20 million

TOD Fund Acquisitions Delaware Station § Purchased in June 2011, this one acre of vacant land sits across the street from the Evan Light Rail Station. (below) § Land Price= $1, 150, 000 = $26. 50 sq. ft. Mile High Vista § This 2+ acre site (above) was purchased in March, 2011 and is getting developed to include a new Denver Library, up to 70 units of workforce housing + 10 K sq. ft. of community space and a 20 K sq. ft. commercial building. § Land Price = $2, 140, 000 = $23 sq. ft. §This development along the West Corridor will serve as a catalytic development for West Colfax in Denver – the nation’s longest street. § Total Development Costs: = $35 million § Partnering with Medici Communities in the development of 50 residential workforce housing units utilizing 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits. § Total Development Costs = $12 million Evans Station Lofts

TOD Fund Acquisitions Villa TOD § 1/3 acre mixed use property was purchased in August, 2011 and sits on the Santa Fe bus corridor and is 5 blocks from 10 th & Osage light rail station. §Property includes 16 existing affordable apartments and 7, 500 sq. ft. of commercial space. ULC will partner with two local nonprofits, NEWSED and Denver Inner City Parish on the long term redevelopment with a 99 year land lease. § Total Acquisition and Rehab Costs = $2. 3 million TOD Fund Activity to Date: In 16 months of existence, half the fund has been deployed, preserving and developing nearly 275 affordable homes

Denver’s Transit-Oriented Development Fund ULC Property Locations

Benefits of TOD Fund • Preserves land buildings around transit corridors to ensure long term affordable housing & stewardship of the land • Gives affordable housing developers a financing tool to help mitigate real estate risk at transit sites • Encourages partnerships with Community Development Corporations and other developers • Balances redevelopment efforts along transit • Increase residential and commercial density = smart growth • Provides employers with access to an expanded workforce • Increases ridership on public transit

Economics of Affordable Housing on the West Corridor • • • There are 1, 424 affordable homes within a ½ mile radius of the West Corridor light rail line today. The West Corridor will add roughly 15, 000 total homes by 2030 – If only 10% or 1, 500 of these homes are affordable, it would double the number of affordable homes currently within ½ mile of the West Corridor According to an National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) model, the economic impact of building these affordable homes would be: – First year of construction: $140, 488, 000 in local income, $12, 195, 000 in taxes and other revenue for local government, and 1, 785 local jobs. – Annual, ongoing local impacts: $40, 732, 000 in local income, $5, 609, 760 in taxes and other revenue for local government, and 468 local jobs. [1] Source: “The Economic Impact of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Development Along Transit Corridors, ” NAHB Housing Policy Department, June 2010.

Sheridan Station

Future of TOD Fund § Expand to $30 million by 2012 (regional fund) and add over 1, 500 affordable homes by 2021 § Investments from other local municipalities besides Denver § New enabling legislation allows RTD to partner with for profit and nonprofit developers at transit stations § Over $150 million of investments will be leveraged by the Fund and more than 2, 200 jobs created § Getting beyond silo solutions: Fund is more than affordable housing, as it brings other development opportunities and economic investment to under served transit sites

Challenges of TOD Fund § Added layers of complexity § Loss of development control with partners § Stiff competition for LIHTC (key for take out) § Priced out of existing multi-family housing market § Lack of revenue generating properties § Glut of land banking opportunities § Need for longer loan term, up to 10 years § Need for additional equity beyond ULC’s investment

Aaron Miripol aaron@urbanlandc. org twitter: @urbanlandc www. urbanlandc. org (303) 377 -4477