Denver-based Urban Land Conservancy rarely sells the land beneath its properties, viewing long-term land ownership as its strongest tool to preserve affordability and community-focused uses. But when Denver Public Schools purchased Centennial Hall on the former Johnson & Wales campus for $11M this month, the nonprofit made an exception.

The sale of the 66K SF building and the land underneath it marks a departure from ULC’s typical disposition strategy, which usually pairs a building sale with a long-term ground lease that allows the nonprofit to maintain control over future use. 

ULC leaders said they were willing to sell both the building and land because they are “comfortable and confident” that DPS will keep Centennial Hall and the broader Mosaic Campus focused on community services, ULC Chief Operating Officer Aaron Martinez said. It’s also uncommon for DPS to have a ground lease on its assets, he added.

The transaction, first reported by Bisnow and finalized Oct. 13, had been anticipated for more than a month.

“When we retain ownership of the land, that’s probably the strongest position that we can take to ensure the performance of the use of that land,” Martinez said. “When we acquire these assets, that’s how we preserve them. That’s how we steward them for the long term.”

ULC still owns about half of the 25-acre Mosaic Campus in Denver’s South Park Hill neighborhood and several commercial buildings and multifamily properties across the metro.

The nonprofit’s mission is to provide affordable rent to nonprofits and community organizations. 

“Our mission is really to compete in the real estate market on behalf of communities and to try to preserve some pieces of land, real estate assets [and] buildings for the benefit of the community to maintain and enhance affordability,” Martinez said. “The goal is that we are keeping land and real estate affordable.”

ULC does this by supporting affordable housing projects, leasing office space to nonprofits at a discounted rate and land-banking properties for future uses.

The company has invested in more than 50 Denver-area properties since 2003, according to its website. 

Its portfolio includes 277 affordable housing units across five properties. The nonprofit also owns and operates 11 commercial properties spanning approximately 448K SF, including commercial kitchens, office, warehouse and flex space. These properties are 99% leased to about 50 nonprofits, ULC Chief Impact Officer Andrea Burns said.

ULC holds additional commercial and residential properties in its community land trust, including Archway Communities’ housing on the Mosaic Campus and the land under Family Star Montessori-Northeast in Five Points.

While ULC’s mission centers on affordability, the nonprofit is still a commercial real estate company. About half of the CRE properties it owns were acquired because they had large parking lots with redevelopment potential, Martinez said.

ULC purchased a six-story office building at 71st Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Commerce City roughly seven years ago for that very reason. After buying the land, it land-leased an acre of the property to Brinshore Development, which developed the parking lot into 60 affordable housing units in 2025.

Selling Centennial Hall, the building and its improvements, was always part of ULC’s plan. The nonprofit’s original vision for Mosaic Campus was to lease the buildings to nonprofits or community-based organizations and give the tenants an option to purchase the building at a later date.