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$7.5-Mil Off Broadway Lofts Headline Denver In-town Construction

DENVER-The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has initiated the city's first multifamily housing project that provides units for the homeless. The $7.5-million, 81-unit Off Broadway Lofts will be ready to occupy in November.

By John Rebchook | Updated on January 16, 2001

DENVER-The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has kicked off construction on a $7.5-million, 81-unit Off Broadway Lofts situated at the CBD’s edge. A project like this one at 2135 Stout St. has never been built before in Denver, but could serve as a model for future construction, says John Parvensky, president of the non-profit group. What makes it unique is that 26 of the units will be earmarked for homeless people, he says. The remaining 55 units will be rented for those earning up to 60% of the median income, which is about $35,000 a year, or what an entry level worker in the Downtown can expect to earn, Parvensky says.

It’s important to have a mix of income groups to avoid high crime and other social ills, which can occur in developments that are solely occupied by low-income renters, says Jennifer Moulton, Denver’s director of planning. “John Parvensky is one of the most tenacious people I have ever met in my life and just a superb advocate for this type of housing,” Moulton tells GlobeSt.com. “But it absolutely helps to have a mix of low-income people with others.”

Parvensky thinks Off Broadway will provide the right mix and the Downtown workers will provide a good role model for the homeless. He tells GlobeSt.com he also would have liked to have provided market-rate rents, but couldn’t build enough units to make it work. As it is, he needed a variance from the city to allow less parking than is normally required. Downtown has lost 3,000 affordable housing units during the past 20 years, so there’s a great need for affordable housing, he says.

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