Colorado Real Estate Journal - June 15, 2016
A planned, $30 million affordable housing apartment community in Aurora to be developed by Gardner Capital Development will have an amenity that few apartment communities can boast - access to a farm. Gardner, based in Springfield, Missouri, will start construction next year on the Alameda View Apartments on a 3.7-acre site that is adjacent to the DeLaney Community Farm. Alameda View also will be the first apartment community built in that market area in almost 10 years that uses Low Income Housing Tax Credit financing. Residents of Alameda View will be able to take advantage of community presentations, agricultural demonstrations, cooking classes and education programs on urban gardening offered by the farm. Alameda View will serve residents making 30 percent to 60 percent of the area median income. The 158-acre farm is Denver Urban Gardens’ educational community farm. Its mission is to provide model best practices in things such as food access, sustainable agriculture and community development. “The location is extremely important and attracted us to the site, including the surrounding uses and redevelopment occurring in the area, transit, etc.,” said Scott Puffer, a senior vice president at Gardner “It is also very important that this community have architectural integrity that respected the adjacent uses and the historic nature of the farm,” Puffer said. This is one of three developments Gardner currently is either developing or plans to develop in the area. In addition to Alameda View, it hooked up with the Denver-based St. Charles Town Co. to redevelop two former mobile home sites in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood. It also plans to provide permanent housing in Boulder for at-risk homeless youths. Meanwhile, Gardner has been awarded a reservation of state of Colorado Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to develop Alameda View Apartments at East Alameda Parkway and Alameda Drive. The net benefit to Gardner is $12.8 million in federal tax credits and $2.8 million in state credits to fund construction. Other funding sources include $10.7 million in private debt and Home funds from the city of Aurora and the U.S. Department of Housing. Gardner also will contribute fees into the project. The building will be in the Centretech neighborhood and in addition to being next to DeLaney Community Farm is adjacent to the High Line Canal trail. It also will be about a half-mile from a light-rail station that will open later this year. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year. Construction is anticipated to take about 12 months. Sprocket Design-Build will serve as the project architect and Pinkard Construction the general contractor. “We consider it our mission to build sustainable communities and provide economic opportunities through the creation of high-quality housing for working families near transit, jobs and community amenities,” said Michael Gardner, principal at Gardner Capital. “We feel this development’s proximity to the DeLaney Farm, the new light-rail line and nearby retail is conducive to working families and we’re excited to be a part of this effort in Aurora,” Gardner said. Gardner prides itself on developing energy-efficient, sustainable communities. “This project will utilize very high-efficiency appliances and heating/cooling systems to keep the utility costs for residents to a minimum,” Puffer said. He doesn’t know whether it will be LEED certified or receive a similar designation. “We are exploring various certifications but have not made a decision yet,” Puffer said. “We are working with our architect and contractor now to finalize those decisions, but we expect this project to be a showplace for sustainability physically and programmatically through our partnership with Delaney Farms.” CHFA, as part of an 18-page report, said the Alameda View will meet all mandatory requirements of Enterprise Green Communities. In addition, there is a goal of 40 percent interior water savings and 20 percent annual energy cost savings. “Tenants will benefit from the lower water and energy use through lower utility bills,” according to the CHFA report. CHFA went on to say it expects 50 percent of the construction waste will be recycled. The community also will include low-VOC materials and sustainable and environmentally sound flooring. “Tenants will also have excellent access to public transportation with seven bus lines within a quarter-mile of the site,” according to CHFA. This is not Gardner’s first project in the Denver area. This summer it will begin construction on a 107-unit, affordable housing apartment on Morrison Road in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood. St. Charles Town Co. is the lead developer on that project, while Gardner is the investor partner. That development, the El Corizon, replaces 70 mobile home parks – the Belmont and Shady Nook. They had been condemned two years ago. “We had been talking with the owners about helping them redevelop the parks but the economics were very challenging,” according to Jordan Zielinski, a partner at the St. Charles Town Co. He said Denver City Councilman Paul Lopez got the city and its Office of Economic Development to help “with the costs of relocating the families to decent and safe homes. We worked long and hard to address the multiple challenging scenarios with the families in the community to make the redevelopment possible.” Gardner Capital also is working on a project in Boulder to provide permanent supportive housing for at-risk homeless youths who are 18 to 24 years old. Other News An unidentified buyer paid $2.4 million, or $120,000 per unit, for a 20-unit apartment building built in 1961 at 5351-5361 Everett St. in Arvada. The community near Olde Town Arvada was renovated in 2014. Jeff Johnson and Matt Ritter, with the Johnson Ritter Team at Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors, represented the seller in the transaction. Josh Newell of the Newell Team at Pinnacle represented the buyer. “With the sale of 5351-5361 Everett St., our clients were able to finish the down-leg of their multi-property 1031 exchange, positioning them for a significant expansion of their portfolio,” Ritter said. An unidentified buyer paid $1.43 million, or $89,375 per unit, for a 16-unit apartment building at 901 Jasmine St. in Denver. The sale price equates to $336.36 per square foot. Kevin Calame and Matt Lewallen, senior advisers at Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors, represented the sellers in the transaction. “The seller has owned this property for a long time and felt this was a great market to sell and redeploy the money in other areas,” Calame said. An unidentified buyer paid $825,000, or $101,250 per unit, for the eight-unit La Nila apartments at 2561 Jellison St. in Lakewood. The property was constructed in 1959. Josh Newell, a senior adviser at Pinnacle, represented both the local seller and buyer in the transaction.