Ulysses breaks ground on a ordable housing site in Castle Rock

200 Units For 55 And Up

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Golden shovels hit the dirt during Ulysses Development Group’s rst groundbreaking in Colorado, creating a senior workforce housing opportunity in Castle Rock as the housing a ordability and attainability crisis across the country continues.

“It is certainly not something that Colorado or the Denver Metropolitan Area are immune to,” said Connor Larr, partner and co-founder of Ulysses Development Group.

Founded by Yoni Gruskin and Larr in 2021, Ulysses Development Group is a Denver-based company, developer and owner of a ordable and workforce housing and aims to develop housing nationwide.

Located o North Meadows Drive will be Meadowmark, a 200 unit, income aligned community built for seniors ages 55 and up.

Meadowmark represents the third largest senior a ordable community in the Denver metro area and that Douglas County has built in the last 10 years. e community will serve the people that span across the spectrum of income and a ordability in Douglas County, said Larr.

Over the past 18 months, Gruskin and Larr, along with their team members, spent time in Douglas County, talking with various stakeholders, business owners, residents, the school district, elected o cials and civic leaders.

As Douglas County and Castle Rock continue to grow, the community is burdened by a lack of attainable housing options according to Gruskin.

“It’s true for working families wishing to plant and maintain their roots here, it’s true for recent college graduates who are moving back to the county and would like to start their careers,” said Gruskin. “It’s also true for residents who are entering their golden years and wish to age in place within the county.”

It’s di cult to have a robust work- force in Douglas County, says Larr, due to the demand for housing in the county, which is driving the prices of homes to unattainable levels and the number of units being produced has not kept pace with the demand. e 60% area median income level for one person is $52,140 and $59,580 for two people annually. e 70% area median income level for one person is $60,830 and $69,510 for two people annually.

Larr believes there is a general misunderstanding around a ordable, attainable and income aligned or workforce housing.

“I think it’s important to understand that these are individuals that have jobs, they have income, but because of the imbalance in the housing market, they can’t a ord a ($800,000 - $900,000) dollar home,” said Larr.

As published by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, for Douglas County, the 30% area median income level for one person is $26,070 and $29,790 for two people annually.

According to Larr, the 60% area median income level for one person is about the threshold level for what they call a ordable housing, although it can range from 40% to 80%.

“ e community may be thriving, the economy may be thriving, but it’s not serving all the people that can be serving in the way that could be serving because we fundamentally believe that if you’re working in a community, if you’re supporting a community, you should be able to live in that community,” said Larr. e site checked the box for a senior community when the group started to explore Castle Rock.

In addition to the zoning allowing for senior or family housing, it is a smaller site and in a more dense urban style development. e Meadows is an area for walkability, transportation and has access to medical and other services.

“ e senior population is critical to our community’s economic vitality and our consumers, property owners, renters, business owners and employers,” said Stacy Garmon, president and CEO of the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce. “ e residents who are 55 and over make up 12% of Castle Rock’s workforce, so that is a signi cant contribution to our local economy.”

Ulysses Development Group partnered with the Douglas County Housing Partnership, which is the county’s housing authority.

With the mission to achieve economically thriving communities through innovative partnerships and entrepreneurial approaches to housing, Executive Director of the Douglas County Housing Partnerships Maria Ciano said this development is going to bring a needed housing opportunity for a variety of people.

“A groundbreaking of this nature is a much needed project at a time when housing is at a premium,” said Douglas County Commissioner George Teal. Units are a mix of one and two bedroom units, which are set aside for individuals earning between 30 to 70% of the area median income. e community will include a clubhouse, a kitchen, a community center, tness center, yoga deck, and other outdoor amenity spaces for residents. e units plan to be built at a very high quality with stone countertops, walk-in closets, heat and air conditioning as well as electri cation ready, which means as technology becomes available, the building will be ready to move to a fully electri ed building.

For the average unit, which is a 60% area median income unit, and based on today’s rents, Larr estimates units to be about $1,300 a month for a one bedroom and about $1,600 a month for a two bedroom.

Ulysses Development Group received state funding, partnered with UMB, BOK, Raymond James Financial, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC and Shaw Construction.

“Douglas County Housing Partnership is happy to be a special limited partner and make sure that we are bringing bene ts such as tax exempt bene ts that will help with the construction and the nancing of the development as well as nearly $35 million in private activity bonds to help make this development happen,” said Ciano.

About six months out from opening, the group’s property management group, Mission Rock Residential, will open up an application process online and in person at the site, which will be announced publicly and is anticipated to happen in the second half of 2024, said Larr.

“ ere’s a lot of headlines out there about how di cult it is to build these projects,” said Gruskin. “ ere’s a lot of doomsday in the news about everything that’s wrong with our housing situation but this is an example of what we can do constructively when we come together and I really think it’s important that we can highlight these successes and gure out ways to replicate them in the future.”