By Matt Geiger, BusinessDen
A Minnesota developer is looking to make a stop in Central Park.
Peter Brodd submitted plans to the city last week for an 18-story, 201-unit apartment building on part of the parking for the Regional Transportation District’s Central Park Station.
The proposal, drawn up by Minneapolis architect Urban Works, calls for a mix of units ranging from 350 to 1,300 square feet inside a 380,000-square-foot building. The 411 parking spots would start below ground, mixing with some amenity and residential space on the above-grade floors. A rooftop pool deck would be included.
The project is proposed for a 1.5-acre lot at 3894 N. Unita St. It currently holds parking for the RTD station that serves the A-line, which brings people to and from Union Station and Denver International Airport.
“It’s a very preliminary idea and has to go through multiple review and finance channels but if successful, I think the project would be a great place to live for moderate income folks,” Brodd said in a text to BusinessDen.
One of those financing mechanisms would likely be low-income housing tax credits, awarded twice annually by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, or CHFA.
Developers sell the tax credits to investors to raise equity for their projects, according to CHFA. The equity reduces the amount of debt financing or other funding sources needed to make the development financially feasible with the rent limits required under the programs.
Brodd’s LinkedIn said he’s the co-founder of SRPB Strategic Housing LLC, based in Minnesota. But he said in a text that company wouldn’t be the developer of this project.
Instead, he said, a company would be created specifically for ownership and development of the building, which would partner with a business looking to purchase the tax credits it would receive.
He declined to comment further, saying the project wasn’t far enough along to share more.
RTD hasn’t solicited development proposals for the lot. But it has a designated process when someone submits an unsolicited proposal. It involves a series of eight steps, requiring approvals from Denver and RTD.
“If/when they get through Concept Review [with Denver], they still have RTD’s process to go through, as well as the very real challenge of getting tax credits and other financing,” said Chessy Brady, RTD’s transit-oriented development manager.
A similar development is taking place next door, although it’s much further along.
Denver-based Ulysses Development Group is looking to build over 800 apartments on the other end of Central Park Station’s parking, Colorado Public Radio reported last summer. Brady said the transit agency is negotiating exclusively with Ulysses on getting a final proposal put together for the lot.
But the Central Park Station is not alone in seeking developer attention. In the fall, local developer Delwest proposed a 20-story project at RTD’s Colorado Station. In Five Points, local developer Jeff Shanahan is building 62 income-restricted condos at 2907-2915 Welton St. after the agency solicited proposals.
Get more real estate and business news by signing up for our weekly newsletter, On the Block.
