A Denver real estate firm wants to bulldoze several buildings at a Renewal Church campus in West Highland to make room for six new single-family homes. Ionic filed concept plans with the city on Monday to redevelop the property at 3268 W. 32nd Ave., tearing down a one-story brick building, a two-story classroom building, a playground and the site's existing parking lot. The church's main building would remain standing, and the project would also add a new parking lot for the congregation.
According to The Denver Post, the six homes would sit on individual 25-foot-wide lots, each totaling 3,944.57 square feet. Five of the houses would be built as two-story structures, while the home closest to West 32nd Avenue would include an attached or detached accessory dwelling unit. The new parking lot planned for the church would offer more than 30 spaces, per the same filing.
Church Ownership Runs Through Washington Park
Property records show the West Highland site is owned by 3120 Irving Street LLC, an entity that appears affiliated with St. John's Church at 700 S. Franklin St. in Denver, the outlet's report notes. St. John's serves as Renewal Church's Washington Park campus, and Renewal, a multi-site congregation, shares a ministry with that church.
Representatives for both Renewal Church and Ionic did not respond to requests for comment as of Tuesday, per the same report, and the project remains under review by the city as a concept plan.
A Second Attempt to Monetize Church Land
This isn't the first time the congregation has looked to its real estate for revenue. Back in May 2018, when the campus operated as Emmaus Lutheran Church, leaders proposed building a two-story medical facility on part of the property to generate long-term income amid declining membership, according to Denver Westword.
Denver's Loosened Zoning Rules Enable the ADU
The accessory dwelling unit planned for the front lot is possible because of a citywide zoning change Denver adopted in December 2024, which legalized ADUs in every residential zone and dropped the city's old owner-occupancy and off-street parking requirements, according to ADU Zoning Hub. That update, paired with Colorado House Bill 24-1152, a state law signed in May 2024 that bars municipalities from requiring off-street parking for ADUs or on-site ownership, expanded the share of Denver residential lots eligible for an ADU from roughly 30% to more than 70%, the group reports.
Bigger Housing Debate at the State Capitol
Not every proposed shortcut for religious institutions has succeeded. In May 2025, the Colorado Senate rejected House Bill 25-1169, a Yes In God's Backyard proposal backed by Governor Jared Polis that would have let religious institutions statewide bypass municipal zoning to build housing on church land, according to The Colorado Sun. That defeat means projects like Renewal Church's still have to move through Denver's standard municipal review process.
State lawmakers have leaned on infill projects like this one to help close a wider gap. Colorado faced an estimated shortfall of more than 100,000 homes heading into 2025, according to Colorado House Democrats, a deficit that has pushed both state and municipal officials to encourage higher-density residential construction on underutilized urban lots.
Who's Behind the Project
Ionic, the Denver-based firm behind the proposal, was founded in 2010, per the Denver Post's report, and has built a portfolio of boutique infill projects across the state. That includes The Statesman in Hilltop, The Gibson in Capitol Hill, The Hamlet on York in Thornton, and a 28-unit resort development in Mt. Crested Butte, according to Ionic.
A Pricey Neighborhood Weighs New Construction
West Highland remains one of northwest Denver's priciest and most sought-after neighborhoods, with median home sales prices ranging from $815,000 to $852,000 as of mid-2026, according to Redfin. The area's streets mix early 20th-century Craftsman bungalows and brick masonry homes with newer two- and three-story townhomes and infill single-family houses, a pattern that six detached houses on West 32nd Avenue would extend, per Realtor.com.
The property falls within Denver's Council District 1, represented by Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, according to the City and County of Denver. Housing supply has been a recurring flashpoint in the surrounding area, with Hoodline reporting in June on a West Highland housing forum where Colorado Senate District 34 candidates debated permitting reform against rent stabilization as competing fixes for the region's housing squeeze.
For now, the Renewal Church proposal remains a concept plan under review by the city, and the outlet's report notes the story may be updated as it develops.
