Forest City has selected Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF) as the developer of a 2.2-acre site at the southeast corner of Moline Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. RF is proposing 106 apartments with an equal mix of one, two and three-bedroom units. It will be oriented to families with incomes ranging from 30 to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI).

RHF is a 55-year-old California-based non-profit whose mission is to provide housing options and services for older adults, low-income families and persons with disabilities. About 23 percent of its portfolio of 176 communities nationwide serves families. RHF entered the Colorado market five years ago.

RHF is seeking tax credits for the project available through a competitive process from the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA). Project Manager Chris Kantrup said construction could start by the end of the year if successfully awarded tax credits this round and would last 18 months.

Forest City Development Manager Lee Ferguson said RHF was selected from a field of three finalists based on their “capability and qualifications”. Forest City, he said, would donate the land for the project. Ferguson said the project would be similar to the Bluff Lake Apartments project built by Mercy Housing located at 31st Avenue and Havana Street.

A site plan presented at a required public meeting on January 21 shows an L-shaped, elevator-served building of four stories fronting the public streets, with the long frontage on MLK. A 132-space parking lot, courtyard, play area and community garden are located south of the structure. The building will contain an internet café, community room and fitness center.

Kantrup says RHF employs a “long-term hold strategy”, meaning it retains ownership of its projects and manages them. He said that RHF’s practice of contributing equity to its projects is further evidence of the non-profit’s commitment to its mission. He said RHF has not yet selected a general contractor.

Ferguson said existing city zoning on the property (CMU-20) permits this use. RHF will need to submit its plan to the city for site plan approval. That plan would also be reviewed by the Stapleton Design Review Committee.