Denver, Partners Celebrate New Condo Groundbreaking

Denver, Partners Celebrate New Condo Groundbreaking

Published on October 30, 2024

Mayor Mike Johnston, Denver's Department of Housing Stability (HOST), partners from the Regional Transportation District (RTD), Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT) and Shanahan Development, and community members celebrated today the groundbreaking of The Hattie McDaniel, a new affordable condo development in Five Points. The project will include 62 affordable homeownership units ranging from one to three bedrooms, with seven units designed as accessible for persons with mobility impairment and three designed for persons with sensory impairments.

"We cannot allow Denver to become a city where only the wealthy can afford to own a home," said Mayor Mike Johnston. "When we provide opportunities to purchase a home at an affordable rate, we're doing more than putting a roof over someone's head. We're paving the way for that person or that family to build something that can be passed down for generations to come."

HOST and RTD have worked cooperatively together for several years to spur the development of income-restricted condominiums at the site, which is located on a former RTD parking lot adjacent to the L line. RTD selected Shanahan Development and ECLT through a competitive solicitation to purchase the site and provide permanent affordability through a covenant.

"The 29th and Welton project is a representative example of how working collaboratively and cooperatively with jurisdictions, associated entities and developers can bring about affordable housing projects," wrote Debra Johnson, RTD General Manager and CEO. "Moreover, it provides RTD the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to being part of the solution to the region's affordable housing crisis."

Named for Hattie McDaniel, the first African American woman to win an Oscar who also attended East High School in Denver, all units at the new community will be income restricted for households earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income. HOST is providing a total of $4,965,000 in financing toward the project. Other public finance partners include the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Housing, and the Denver Urban Renewal Authority.

"I'm thrilled to have more opportunities for folks to purchase homes in Five Points, as homeownership is the fastest way to build generational wealth," said City Councilmember Darrell Watson. "This important project combats displacement in historically African American, Latino, and Chicano communities and builds the Denver we all want to see, where people can afford to live where they choose."

Earlier this year, RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson noted that affordable housing was first proposed a decade ago for the site, which has been in the agency's possession for more than 30 years. State and Denver policy strongly support affordable housing and transit-oriented development. With the Board having approved disposition of the property in 2021, based on language that permits a discount in connection with the development of affordable housing, Johnson approved the sale of the property at a price of $1.5 million.

"Our goal is to create homes that allow families with historical ties to the community to return and become part of the neighborhood's fabric again," says Stefka Fanchi, CEO of ECLT. "Either folks that currently live, work or have their children enrolled in school there, or whose parents or grandparents used to live there and were displaced."

The Hattie McDaniel will add critically needed units to Denver's inventory of income-restricted housing, which encompasses approximately 7.5 percent of all housing units in the city. This inventory includes over 2,500 homeownership units and over 25,000 income-restricted rental units. Learn more about this inventory at the Denver Affordable Housing Dashboard.

• Housing Stability