Denver City Wire

Groundbreaking celebrates adaptive reuse of four dormitory buildings into affordable housing at Mosaic Community Campus 

City Council Member Christopher Herndon, Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) and development partners celebrated the groundbreaking of 154 new affordable housing units on May 18 in South Park Hill. The Mosaic Community Campus, 7150 Montview Blvd., features the conversion of four historic dormitory buildings at the former Johnson & Wales Campus into affordable apartments.

The nonprofit Archway Communities, Inc., purchased two of the dormitories in December 2021 and the other two in December 2022 from Urban Land Conservancy, which acquired the campus in 2021 in partnership with Denver Public Schools and the Denver Housing Authority. Renovations of the dormitories began earlier this year.

“Archway’s adaptive reuse project will stand as a best practice of how historic preservation can provide much needed affordable housing for Denver families, and we’re proud to support this exciting future at the Mosaic Community Campus,” Mayor Michael B. Hancock said.

The $66.5 million adaptive reuse project will offer units ranging from studios to three bedrooms. All units will be income restricted for individuals at a range of low- and moderate-income levels, up to 60% of the area median income (AMI). Ten percent of the units will be affordable for households at or below 30% AMI.

“I'm thrilled to see the transformation underway and for the opportunities this project offers our soon-to-be neighbors,” said Councilman Herndon. “This campus has a long history of being an integral part of the community and that legacy will continue with the re-imagination of old dorms into new affordable apartments.”

Situated on the historic campus that was once home to Colorado Women's College, the new Mosaic Community Campus includes a beautiful central quad, community kitchens (operated by Kitchen Network), St. Elizabeth’s School, Denver School of the Arts, Denver Housing Authority Affordable housing units, and a host of other amenities. Archway expects to begin delivering units for occupancy in early 2024.

“We are excited to have started construction to bring these much-needed affordable housing units for families into the community,” said Archway’s Director of Philanthropy Georgeanne Barrett.

Utilizing Denver’s Affordable Housing Fund, HOST is providing $3,850,000 in gap financing to the development. Other public finance partners include the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Colorado Housing & Finance Authority, and the Denver Housing Authority.

The Mosaic Community Campus is the latest city-supported affordable housing development to begin construction in Denver. A total of 1,870 affordable units that have received city financing are currently under construction at 31 sites throughout Denver. An additional 599 income-restricted units are in the planning stage. Learn more about this inventory at the Denver Affordable Housing Dashboard.

Original source can be found here.