A new library is coming to Globeville, with a side of 170 affordable housing units, in 2027.
The 250,000 square-foot project is set for construction at 4995 Washington St., a former used-car lot. The public library will be on the ground floor of the building, which will also feature a community-oriented commercial space.
Plans call for a five-floor structure built in the mass-timber style, which uses stacks of kiln-dried timber as a core structural element.
The Denver City Council this month approved a 99-year land lease at 4965 Washington St LLLP, a 2.7-acre site.
According to Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST), the site is made up of three combined properties that the city acquired for a total of $8.2 million. The purchase was funded by fees the city collects on new development.
“Combined, these three properties are known as 4965 Washington Street,” HOST said in an email.
The co-developers of the project are Evergreen Real Estate Group, Globeville Elyria-Swansea Coalition (GES Coalition) and Rocky Mountain Communities.
“We have always been part of this project as an effort to prevent displacement in our GES neighborhoods and will continue to work towards that as the project starts to be closer to actually having people live in it,” GES wrote in an email.
Families who make 30-60 percent of the area median income can qualify for the planned new housing. That would include, for example, a family of four making between about $42,000 and $76,000 annually.
The library part of the project is funded by $12 million from the RISE Bond package that was approved by voters in 2021. It’s one of three library projects in the bond package. The library’s master plan identified Globeville as a priority neighborhood for a new library that same year.
In 2022, Denverite reported that this is the first time the nonprofit GES Coalition has been involved as a partner in a development. Co-director Nola Miguel said at the time that the deal would give neighborhood residents more influence over the project.
"That's the biggest change in how this development is being done, our involvement," Miguel said. "It's going to be an important project for Globeville. This partnership will be able to provide ongoing accountability to the community because of us being there.”
The building will include a common space with trees and grass and 111 parking spaces.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the project is Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. The new library and apartments are expected to open early 2027.
