01/16/2025

ULC seeks rezoning for 35th & Gilpin block in Cole neighborhood

Custom zoning will allow for continued Tramway Nonprofit Center operations, new affordable housing.

Urban Land Conservancy plans to seek new zoning for the Tramway Nonprofit Center block that will:

Enshrine the 1940s Tramway building and its longtime uses in the Cole neighborhood.
Allow for multifamily affordable housing on the vacant portion.
Read on for details:

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More than a dozen local nonprofits operate out of Tramway – a ULC Nonprofit Hub. ULC is seeking to align this longtime multi-office-type use with the city’s modern zoning code, so that the community can always rely on the Tramway building and the services provided here.

Tramway as a nonprofit hub well into the future

The rezoning will ensure the continued use of the Tramway building at 3532 N. Franklin St. as a hub for nonprofits serving Cole and the surrounding neighborhoods, long into the future. More than a dozen local nonprofits operate out of Tramway – a ULC Nonprofit Hub – where they pay below-market lease rates. ULC is seeking to align this longtime multi-office-type use with the city’s modern zoning regulations, so that residents citywide can always rely on the Tramway building to help meet community needs.

> CBS4 Colorado story: “It makes our life easier” — Denver nonprofit helps ensure families have affordable child care

Affordable housing for Cole

Colorado faces a shortfall of 100,000 homes, as reported by the Denver Post in 2024. The rezoning will also allow ULC to bring much-needed, permanently affordable housing to the vacant part of the block at 1675 E. 35th St. Rezoning would allow ULC to retain existing height allowances of up to 45 feet (three stories, plus one using Denver’s affordability bonus) of affordable housing for households of many sizes.

ULC plans to work with local affordable housing developer Medici Communities to deliver the housing on this site. The housing would be held in ULC’s community land trust, guaranteeing affordability for a minimum of 99 years. ULC has committed to an affordable housing plan with Denver HOST to deliver 100% affordable homes (no market-rate); households earning 30%-60% of area median income can qualify. Cole residents recently displaced — or at risk of being displaced — may be prioritized for housing through a HOST program.

(The Tramway block currently has zoning that allows four-story [45 feet] development. ULC is proposing no increase to the building heights that are currently allowed. It is mainly due to the complexities of the Former Chapter 59 zoning and the existing building that ULC is seeking to update and modernize the zoning on this single zone lot.)

“The Cole neighborhood has seen many changes over recent years, and some of those changes have led to involuntary displacement of longtime residents,” said Sarah Harman, ULC’s senior vice president of real estate. “Over the years the community has expressed a desire for affordable housing where teachers, nurses and potentially those who work at Tramway can afford to live.”

> Westword: How Gentrification Has Changed the Cole Neighborhood

Predictability for neighbors

ULC is seeking custom zoning for the block (a “PUD” or planned unit development) to provide predictability and certainty for community-serving nonprofits operating in the Tramway building, nearby residential neighbors and the entire Cole neighborhood. ULC will seek to include a third parcel at 3558 N. Gilpin St. in the rezoning to continue to provide off-street parking to serve the needs of the Tramway nonprofits.

Tramway block zoning comparison

	Current Zoning	Proposed Zoning
Zoning code origin	1954’s “Former Chapter 59.”	2012 Denver Zoning Code.
Height limit	See graphic above.	See graphic above.
Building conservation	No.	Yes. Prevents demolition of Tramway building, and limits exterior alterations.
Parking requirements	No.	No.
Unit count limits	No.	No.
Uses allowed in Sub-area B	All uses allowed in R-MU-20, including multi-unit dwelling, nursing home, bed & breakfast, restaurant, office, retail, clinic, lab.	Multi-unit dwelling only.

Tramway’s recent history

The rezoning will allow ULC to bring much-needed, permanently affordable housing to the vacant part of the block.

Although the building has been modified extensively over more than 100 years, and the current building mostly dates to the 1940s, the original building on this site was used as a service station for Denver streetcars beginning in the late 1800s.

The nonprofit ULC acquired the Tramway block in 2007; before then it was owned by philanthropist and entrepreneur Chuck Phillips. Phillips, who also owned the adjacent Wyatt School building, operated Tramway as a place for education and community-serving uses (it was called the Phillips Center); he had a vision of bringing affordable housing to the site. Phillips sold Tramway to ULC in 2007 to develop collaborative, affordable space for various nonprofits to serve the Cole community.

“Through training and education, which were the building blocks of his own success, Chuck made available a place wherein futures could be made. He established The Phillips Foundation and purchased the old historical trolley car building at 35th Avenue and Franklin Street. This building is over 123 years old now, and known as the Tramway Nonprofit Center. Mr. Phillips began renovating the building to become an education and training center.” — from the Phillips Foundation website.

*An image from Google Earth shows the Tramway block, before the southeastern portion was demolished in 2017.*

Community engagement

During the development of the custom zoning application, ULC has engaged with the Cole community in a variety of ways.

January 2025: ULC meets individually with Tramway Nonprofit Center nonprofits, and the Wyatt Academy director of family/community engagement.
January: ULC attends the regular meeting of the Cole registered neighborhood association (RNO) to share rezoning information, gather input and answer questions.
January: ULC launches this rezoning web page (urbanlandc.org/cole-tramway-rezoning).
January: ULC flyers homes on the eight blocks surrounding Tramway, direct-mails Gilpin block neighbors.
January: ULC hosts an open house at the Tramway Nonprofit Center to engage with neighbors about the rezoning proposal. Denver Community Planning and Development attends.
February – March: Ongoing conversations with Cole RNO board.
April: ULC attends the regular meeting of the Cole RNO to share updates, gather input and answer questions.
May: ULC meets with Cole RNO board in person to discuss details of the rezoning, gather input and address questions.
May: ULC hosts a booth at the Cole neighborhood festival at the St. Charles Recreation Center to share rezoning information, gather input and answer questions.
June: ULC interviewed by Denverite: Historic Tramway building could get an affordable housing neighbor
June: ULC posts public notification signage at the property.
June: ULC welcomes Cole RNO board members for a tour of the Tramway building and some of its nonprofit spaces/programs.
June: ULC interviewed by BusinessDen/Denver Post: Local affordable developers seek rezoning for Cole apartment project.
July: ULC attends the regular meeting of the Cole RNO to share updates, gather input and answer questions.
July – October: ULC engages in voluntary mediation with 3-4 Cole residents (other community engagement paused).
January 2025: ULC sends informational mailer to immediate neighbors.
February 2025: ULC attends the regular meeting of the Cole RNO to share updates, gather input and answer questions.

Further updates will be posted here. Questions? Contact: admin@urbanlandc.org.

Rezoning process updates

July 16: Denver Planning Board unanimously supported the rezoning; moved it forward to Denver City Council. View video.
January 13: Denver City Council committee
February 23: Denver City Council public hearing