Massive Affordable Housing Site Opens For Disabled, Others In Denver

A $27M affordable housing development in Globeville has opened its doors.

Called The Elisabetta, 25% of its 91 units will be set aside for residents living with disabilities. On its first floor, 12.5K SF are dedicated to day programs for adults. 

The development is located at 5120 Broadway, on the campus of Laradon. Founded in 1948, Laradon is a Denver nonprofit that provides services for children and adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. According to CEO Doug McNeill, Laradon was the first charitable organization in the Rocky Mountain region to provide such resources to children.

Today, it is the largest and most diverse service provider of its kind in Colorado, McNeill said, as it serves nearly 700 children and adults. 

People that fall into that category Laradon serves are often overlooked when it comes to housing, because of the additional resources and steps it takes to train, coach and develop the necessary skills to live independently, McNeill said. 

“At Laradon, we have found that stability and education lead to the development of self-sufficiency skills that increase the chances of living in a housing development like the Elisabetta,” McNeill said. 

Its location in Globeville wasn’t insignificant for developer Gorman & Co. Colorado Market President Kimball Crangle said that Globeville has experienced decades of decline, and will lose housing to the Interstate 70 reconstruction. 

“The opening of the Elisabetta has provided 91 new units of critically needed affordable housing in a vulnerable historic neighborhood that is susceptible to gentrification,” Crangle said.

Crangle added that affordable housing is always a challenge to deliver because of high construction costs, construction labor shortages and issues associated with financing. 

For this particular project, Crangle said the biggest challenge centered around the development of a mixed-use building to meet the needs of “a high-intensity service provider.” To meet those needs, Gorman & Co. developed the previously mentioned 12.5K SF space. 

UnitedHealthcare is the project’s largest investor. It provided $14.7M in equity with Optum Bank through the use of low-income housing tax credits with Enterprise Housing Credit Investments. 

Also involved in the projects funding and development are the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Citi Community Capital, the State of Colorado Division of Housing, Laradon Hall and the Denver Housing Authority. 

Gorman & Co. was the developer, Shopworks Architecture was the architect, Deneuve Construction was the construction contractor. Ross Management Group will manage the property. 

In addition to the Elisabetta, the site also has seven single family for-sale homes that were completed by Habitat for Humanity.