St. Charles Town Company has broken ground on Del Corazon, a 197-unit workforce housing complex on Morrison Road in southwest Denver's Westwood neighborhood.
The $40 million project, expected to be completed in early 2018, will replace two blighted mobile home parks that were on the verge of being condemned before St. Charles acquired the property at 4351 Morrison Rd. in Sept. 2014. After purchasing the property, St. Charles began addressing the many challenges that came with redeveloping the site.
"We had been talking with the owners since 2010 about redeveloping the parks, but the economics were very challenging and would not have been possible without clear vision from the
Denver Office of Economic Development and help from
Mile High Connects," said Darrin Grommeck, a St. Charles principal and chief financial officer.
Financing for the project is being provided by
Gardner Capital;
CREA, LLC;
Citibank; the
Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the City and County of Denver's Office of Economic Development. The
Colorado Housing and Finance Authority is providing housing tax credits. Del Corazon is the second project St. Charles and CREA have teamed up on.
"Councilman Paul Lopez brought attention to the project, and that sparked a broader conversation about neighborhood investment, which ultimately led to this project moving forward," said Charlie Woolley, founding principal and president of St. Charles Town Company. "This project promises to be a community asset that will provide critically needed workforce housing, as well as redevelopment of two crucial land parcels that have been major obstacles to a broader revitalization effort in the Westwood community."
In designing the project, architect
Van Meter Williams Pollack was inspired by the vibrant Latino cultural influences on the Westwood neighborhood. The combination of Southwest-style architecture paired with the many colorful small businesses along Morrison Road make for a unique design that will drastically improve the urban streetscape in Westwood. Trees, vegetable gardens and a plaza will line Morrison Road. Del Corazon residents will enjoy extensive community social space, including a large vegetable kitchen and lounge area with fireplace, computer center, fitness center, wrap-around barbecue patio, playground, seating plaza and futsal soccer court.
The neighborhood also will benefit from the installation of a HAWK (High-intensity Activated Cross Walk) signal that will help pedestrians cross Morrison Road safely. The project will also feature two car shares open to the public through Enterprise Car Share.
"We hope Morrison Road will ultimately become the main street and centerpiece of a growing cultural district that celebrates the neighborhood and its vibrant heritage," said Jordan Zielinski, principal and director of development for St. Charles.
Contact Confluence Denver Development News Editor Margaret Jackson with tips and leads for future stories at margaret@confluence-denver.com.
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