Urban Land Conservancy
Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) is a nonprofit organization established in 2003, that focuses on creating equitable communities through affordable real estate in urban Denver communities. ULC acquires, develops and preserves real estate assets for long-term community benefit. ULC acquires properties that are crucial to communities, such as schools, future and current transit hubs, commercial space, and property identified as having community benefit. ULC also develops unique financing tools to aid in their real estate acquisition. ULC's mission statement reads as follows, “Urban Land Conservancy acquires, preserves and develops real estate to under-served areas for  long term community benefit. By making sound real estate investments that include land banking and land trusts, we provide low-income communities with affordable housing, schools and nonprofit office space to strengthen neighborhoods for current residents and future generations.” 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. ULC's founding board members determined ULC would use community engagement to determine neighborhood needs and began with a focus on the acquisition and preservation of real estate for the long term availability of  physical space for nonprofit and community organizations; addressing different types of housing needs; addressing educational needs for children and adults; ensuring convenient and affordable access to child care services. Approach. ULC utilizes a variety of real estate practices to ensure long-term affordability throughout the Metro Denver area. Land banking, the practice of acquiring parcels of land for future development, is a practice ULC utilizes to make affordable housing feasible. ULC acquires property that is at risk of being lost to the market and holds the property for future development. ULC also employs a community land trust (CLT) model with  a 99-year, renewable ground lease, to circumvent the expirations imposed by the City and Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to bring about long-term affordability. When a development partner is identified, a 99-year ground lease is signed, with an automatic 99-year renewal for a total of 198 years. A ground lease ties the land owner to the user; thereby creating a tenant interest and a landlord interest. CLT's ensure that the land owner, ULC in this case, has a stake in any future use of the development. Resources. ULC utilizes a variety of resources  to finance their real estate acquisitions. Since 2010, ULC has acted as the sole borrower of three loan facilities totaling nearly $40 million to date. 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. 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. The Urban Land Conservancy, made the initial equity commitment of $1.5 million to the TOD Fund and leads real estate acquisition, management and disposition of assets to housing providers to meet the priorities of the Fund. Calvert Facility Fund. An investment fund started by Calvert Impact Capital. Under the name Ours to Own, the Calvert Impact Fund focuses on preserving real estate in urban centers for schools, community spaces, and  affordable commercial space for nonprofits. $5.1 million was raised from hundreds of individual investors in the Denver region in the first two years of Ours to Own. In addition to small individual investments, the Fund received investment from the Piton Foundation, Gary Community Investments, Colorado Health Foundation, The Colorado Trust, and The Denver Foundation. In 2014, ULC partnered with Calvert Impact Capital to deploy $10 million of the low-interest source of capital fund towards the purchase of three real-estate assets that support over 20 nonprofit organizations. Metro Denver Impact Facility (MDIF). A revolving loan capital established  by Urban Land Conservancy with lending partners including: FirstBank, Colorado Health Foundation (CHF), The Denver Foundation (TDF) and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA). FirstBank committed $25 million to the Facility and CHF was the first lending partner, contributing $2 million. FirstBank's investment will act as Senior Debt, and the bank will manage MDIF locally, underwriting each deal and evaluating the need for additional project financing to address capital needs. ULC is the sole borrower of the Facility, responsible for creating the development plan and permanent financing structure. ULC will also manage the disposition of these  properties and where feasible, retain ownership interest as part of a Community Land Trust (CLT) through a 99-year ground lease. Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). A Federal dollar-for-dollar tax credit program. Introduced in 1986 to bolster affordable housing investments, it accounts for the vast majority of all rental housing in the United States (approximately 90%). Federal housing tax credits are awarded to developers for developments that meet certain criteria. Developers then sell these credits to investors to raise capital for their projects, in turn reducing the debt that the developer would otherwise have to borrow. Because  the debt is lower, a tax credit property can in turn offer lower, more affordable rents. In Colorado, CHFA is the designated state allocating agency, charged with implementing LIHTC in Colorado. Partnerships. ULC has partnerships with both national and local non-profits, for-profits and public organizations to advance their mission. ULC is a member/partner of the following organizations and coalitions: