Mosaic Community Campus, one of the city’s old college campuses, has been changed into an affordable housing complex. Set up in east Denver, this new housing project emerges as a crucial point in the city’s ongoing housing shortage issue.
These buildings were initially a part of the old Johnson & Wales Denver campus. The transformed Denver-based building has a total of 154 apartments spread across its four buildings.
Highlights
- Denver’s Mosaic Community Campus has been transformed into affordable housing.
- The building, which closed in 2021, is now ready with its 154 apartment units.
- The Mosaic housing project will be a remodeled project without demolition.
New Affordable Accommodation at The Mosaic Community Campus
The Mosaic Community Campus (Source – @archwaycommunities.org)
Originally started as the Colorado Women’s College, the Mosaic Community Campus is now ready with 154 affordable units. Each of these is inside four dormitory buildings that have been reformed in the former Johnson & Wales Denver University.
Projecting it as Archway Communities’ “flagship project,” its CEO and nonprofit developer Laura Brudzynski said, “It’s a unique opportunity to preserve existing historic structures and adapt them to meet today’s urgent need for affordable housing.”
Having closed in 2021, the university’s buildings were empty before they could get repurposed using a $11 million tax credit on the state and federal levels.
Against this backdrop, History Colorado’s Sarah Kappel stated, “Historic tax credits end up being what makes a difference and fills that gap as to whether it’s worth saving the building and rehabbing it.”
Reusing the Building Over Demolition
Experts of Denver’s real estate space think that by ten years from now, the city will be short of about 44,000 affordable housing units. Plus, new construction projects in Denver have not been able to maintain momentum.
It is to be noted that the Mosaic Community Campus project is a stepping stone to the city’s real estate industry’s efforts to tackle the housing crisis issues in Denver.
The developers of the Mosaic community-based housing project have chosen an adaptive reuse of the building over breaking it down. The idea is to uphold a growing strategy in the housing plan of Denver through which existing structures are changed into homes, thereby avoiding demolition.
When it comes to the site of the new east Denver housing complex, it was built in 1909. The site was also the location for Colorado Women’s College, the state’s first women-only institution.
Relating it to the current housing project, Sarah emphasized the importance of the site’s preservation. “The importance of preserving the site is not only for the architecture but also for its role in women’s history,” Sarah added.
Brudzynski, too, stressed preserving the Mosaic Community buildings as it would be more cost-effective than breaking and building everything from scratch. She said “It can be more cost effective to preserve an existing structure, to utilize the bones of the building.”
Nitty-gritty of the reformed Mosaic Community Campus
As of now, Denver residents who earn between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income can buy the Mosaic Community Campus apartments. Rental charges for its two-bedroom units at 60% AMI are $1,760 for every month.
Another significant figure emerges due to the demand for the campus’ units – 150 out of the total 154 units of Mosaic Community Campus are completely filled.
For an enhanced experience for its buyers, the campus offers a lot more for Denver residents. Brudzynski revealed, “We also have education partners through Denver Public Schools and St. Elizabeth’s, and other partners like the Urban Land Conservancy, Kitchen Network, and Dirt Coffee.”
Calling the housing project site a ‘jewel,’ the Archway Communities member added that Mosaic’s playgrounds, open space, and historic quad will also stay open for both residents and nearby communities.
As apartments for the Mosaic Community Campus housing project are filling up, this initiative reflects a promising step forward in Denver’s sustainable real estate development.
