Denver is asking City Council to sign off on roughly $4.5 million to snap up a former state office building at 251 E. 12th Ave. in Capitol Hill, with plans to convert the site into affordable housing using the Vibrant Denver bond. The nearly one-acre parcel sits two blocks south of the State Capitol and has been marketed for multifamily reuse. City officials say the deal is aimed at protecting residents from involuntary displacement while teeing up a prime site for new housing.
Mayor’s office pushes buy to jump-start housing
According to documents prepared for the City Council, Denver’s finance department says the city wants the property "in support of the Vibrant Denver Bond project to provide affordable housing and to mitigate involuntary displacement," and that a request for proposals for an affordable housing development partner would go out within weeks of closing. As reported by BusinessDen, the administration is asking for about $4.5 million for the three-story office building.
Prime Cap Hill site with mid-rise potential
JLL, which is marketing the building, calls it an "excellent Cap Hill location for an owner-user or fantastic redevelopment opportunity for multifamily" and notes that it is zoned C-MX-8, a district that generally allows mixed uses up to eight stories. The listing shows the structure at roughly 128,489 square feet on a 0.99-acre parcel, large enough to support a mid-rise multifamily project under current zoning.
State memo highlights aging systems and repairs
A Legislative Council Staff memo prepared for state lawmakers notes that the building, originally constructed in 1957 and expanded in 2004, includes about 123,110 square feet of improvements on approximately 0.99 acres. The memo also flags significant deferred maintenance needs, including elevator work, a new HVAC chiller and asbestos remediation.
How the $4.5 million price pencils out
Council materials show the city’s proposed purchase price of about $4.5 million works out to roughly $35 per square foot for the structure and about $103 per square foot for the land. That figure sits well below the parcel’s recorded valuation. BusinessDen reports the Denver assessor values the property at about $18.1 million.
Bond dollars and the path forward
The voter-approved Vibrant Denver bond from last fall set aside $45 million for affordable housing project development, including buying land and getting sites ready to build. As outlined by the City and County of Denver, those dollars can be used to acquire land or buildings or to prepare sites for housing. The Cap Hill purchase still needs City Council approval, and if council members agree, the finance department plans to issue an RFP to find an affordable housing development partner.
What could rise on the site
Because the parcel is zoned C-MX-8, a future project could reach up to eight stories, subject to design review and other approvals, giving a developer room to deliver a substantial number of units on less than an acre. JLL’s marketing materials emphasize the site’s proximity to downtown and neighborhood amenities, while state records underscore that significant remediation work would be required before the existing structure could be reused.
