ULI Multifamily Blue Council
Nothing like snow and freezing temperatures to get this whiny Cali boy going--and there was plenty to go on about.
I believe that Council participation is the single greatest benefit of ULI, and working shoulder to shoulder with these elaborately educated, type A personalities is often humbling.
I have been a council member for two years now, and am really appreciative of all the work that goes into these events. If you belong to ULI and are not on a council, get on one.The camaraderie brings out the best of ULI.
The councils focus on specific land use areas, and study best practices in each of these areas. The councils get together twice each year for a day, and review recent deals, sharing ideas and perspectives.
We toured Stapleton, the ten year redevelopment of Stapleton Airport into a new community. The land takedown is staged, allowing Forest City to get greater land utilization. Infrastructure is paid for by a tax increment financing over the entire property, and development has been at a measured pace to maintain demand and pricing levels. There is a wide variety of housing available here in an infill location--the largest question from a community development standpoint is whether Stapleton's dependence on the Denver Public School system can be mitigated. The Gates Foundation is involved in the Science and Technology high school.
The second project tour of the day was Aero Flats given by my friend, the wine-making, mountain climbing, real estate financier John Williams. John is the Managing Partner, Capital Markets for Carmel Partners, a group of perceptive, professional and principled real estate pros based in San Francisco. John has been instrumental in opening up opportunities created by Carmel to a larger institutional investment universe, and it looks like both groups have benefited. This project was the successful renovation of a thirty year old property on the edge of Stapleton that used to be under the main flight path of the old airport
The third development we toured was 1600 Glenarm Place, a redevelopment of an empty office building into an upscale highrise apartment community with great moves and a well choreographed marketing campaign.
The property is in leaseup at some of the highest rates in Denver. The building was completely renovated to bring 333 units of rental housing into a great downtown location. Interior finishes were well designed, and well constructed.
The developer kick-started an upscale grocery/prepared foods store in the building, a very nice amenity for residents, but a land use that really needs training wheels to make it into a great neighborhood resource.
Fifty percent of new leases came from internet inquiries--foretelling a change in how we need to think about resident acquisition. A good management team, well executed plan, and a great asset.
