CREJ - Multifamily Properties Quarterly - March 2019
Debra Bustos is the senior vice president of real estate at Urban Land Conservancy, a real estate-based nonprofit whose mission is to acquire, develop and preserve real estate for long-term community benefit. Bustos has played an integral role at ULC from the beginning, hired as the nonprofit’s second employee in 2007. Born and raised in the metro area, Bustos has witnessed Denver’s dramatically changing landscape from both a personal and professional level. In her role at ULC, she is charged with identifying and acquiring real estate in neighborhoods growing increasingly unaffordable. Bustos has successfully negotiated numerous land deals, including a few for as little as $1 and up into the millions, led brownfield remediation efforts and worked with various municipalities and government agencies as well as for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. At ULC, Bustos manages all phases of project development including property acquisition, financing, new construction and rehabilitation project concept and development, as well as community management and partnership relations. She leads strategic property acquisitions along current and future transit corridors to support the creation and preservation of affordable housing and nonprofit facility space. Between November and December alone, Bustos oversaw the acquisition of four properties in four different municipalities in the metro area. These investments directly align with ULC’s mission to acquire, develop and preserve real estate for long-term community benefit. Persistence and determination are the two qualities marking Bustos’ illustrious career, which started just five days after graduating from high school when she took a position as a secretary in the real estate department at a bank. In 1988, Bustos began work for the Highland Neighborhood Housing Services of Denver, a nonprofit focused on inner city neighborhood revitalization. “I absolutely fell in love with nonprofit work,” said Bustos. “Two weeks later, I quit my regular job and was hired as the executive assistant to the executive director. I was eventually promoted to be the associate director.” Her tenure with the nonprofit also led Bustos to another significant life milestone: meeting her husband, Lalo Diaz. One of Bustos’ roles with the nonprofit was to manage a revolving loan fund providing financial assistance for residents rehabilitating their homes and Diaz was the rehab specialist managing contractors for the rehabilitations. In the early 1990s, Neighborhood Housing Services of Denver lost its funding and faced dissolution. As the last remaining employee, Bustos worked directly with the legal team to dissolve the nonprofit’s assets between a local nonprofit and Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. During this same time, Bustos was raising her son, Vincent. Less than one week after the dissolution, Bustos joined CHFA as a temporary employee. In keeping with Bustos’ adaptability and desire for a challenge, she applied for a full-time position as an underwriter in CHFA’s homeownership department. She eventually shifted into asset management and took a position managing a portfolio of small, rural business loans. In total, Bustos stayed with CHFA for four years before accepting an offer at the Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing Association, a regional nonprofit housing organization. Bustos served as the director of administration at RMMHA, overseeing the admin, IT, human resources, accounting and marketing departments. She was asked to lead the development department, which proved pivotal for her career. In this role, Bustos directly oversaw the creation, preservation and rehabilitation of over 1,000 units of affordable housing in Colorado. Seven years later, Bustos left the organization to take a position as the executive director of housing at Urban Peak, a nonprofit providing housing for homeless youth. Following her time with Urban Peak, Bustos served as a consultant, then went to work at JP Morgan Chase as a Community Reinvestment Act officer in community development and philanthropy. While at Chase, she worked closely with Kathi Williams, then executive director of Colorado’s division of housing. Together the two launched the Foreclosure Prevention Task Force and Hotline, which helped thousands of Coloradans stay in their homes. During this time, Bustos was awarded a fullride scholarship to attend the University of Denver Women’s College and pursue a degree in business administration. When almost finished at DU, Bustos applied for ULC’s director of real estate position. Eleven years later, Bustos has remained a consistent force for change and positive impact at ULC and in the community. Under Bustos’ leadership, ULC has created and/or preserved more than 1,250 units of affordable housing and over 700,000 square feet of nonprofit facility space comprising $100 million in assets. One of Bustos’ most memorable experiences at ULC was the acquisition of land at 38th and Walnut streets out of foreclosure. Today, the site sits directly adjacent to the Blake Street A Line commuter rail station. In 2017, ULC’s development partners were awarded low-income housing tax credits for the development of 66 units of permanently affordable housing for the first phase at this site. Bustos is pleased that the development will officially break ground in the first quarter. Throughout Bustos’ career, she has proved to be a force for good and an integral part of the affordable housing industry in the greater Denver region. She consistently is recognized for her dedication, persistence and tireless work ethic and was a 2013 finalist for Outstanding Business Woman of the Year in Real Estate and a 2013 Housing Colorado Eagle Award Nominee. She is a graduate of the Denver Community Leadership Forum, the recipient of a Ford Foundation Fellowship and was a participant in the 2014-2015 NeighborWorks America Achieving Excellence Program. In 2018, she assisted in the creation of the $24 million Elevation Community Land Trust. Given her work ethic and history, there is no doubt that she will continue to positively shape and influence the course of affordable housing in the region for many years to come.