Veteran Developers Plan $20-Mil Project

DENVER-Long-time affordable housing advocates Chuck Perry, Henry Burgwyn and Josh Comfort plan a 122-unit, $20-million apartment complex in the northeast Denver neighborhood of Curtis Park. Perry and Burgwyn have been involved in developing or financing more than 1,500 affordable units in the Denver area during the past 20 years.

Comfort is an architect. Perry and Burgwyn are principals of Burgwyn, Perry & Rose. They also are teaming up with the non-profit Inner-City Community Development Corp. for the Park Avenue Residences at 23rd, Champa and Stout streets.

A total of 60% of the units in the project are affordable, aimed at people earning 60% or less of the area median income.

Market-rate units will rent for as much as $1,200 per month.

Burgwyn tells GlobeSt.com the project is too big for all market-rate units in Curtis Park, which is beginning to undergo a renaissance, but still has a great many of low-income residents.

”Right now, the conditions don’t exist for a 100% market rate project to be feasible,” Burgwyn tells GlobeSt.com ”I hope that will happen in the next two or three years. I think right now, there’s a huge demand for people who are making between 30% and 60% of the area median income.”

The project is being financed by a $10-million FHA-insured mortgage, tax credits, city and federal grant money and private equity.

Anne Warhover, president of the Downtown Denver Partnership, tells GlobeSt.com the developers are offering more affordable units than is typically found in projects.

”Most projects offer 10% to 20% affordable housing,” Warhover tells GlobeSt.com. ”Some go to 40% affordable, so this is way beyond that…I really think this could serve as a model for other developers.”

The project will span two new buildings. Several nondescript buildings on the land will be razed.

In addition, they’ve started construction on the 12-unit Peerless Condo project across the street from the apartment complex. Units in the Peerless, a historic building, are priced from about $140,000 to $230,000.