Central Park Apartments at Stapleton

This photo, taken shortly after construction ended, highlights the project's photovoltaic panels.
Photo credit: Enterprise Community Partners

Overview

  • Location: Denver, CO
  • Building type(s): Multi-unit residential, Special needs housing
  • New construction
  • 18,000 ft2 (1,670 m2)
  • Project scope: 2 2-story buildings
  • Urban setting
  • Completed November 2007
  • Rating: Energy Star --Level: Five Stars Plus
    Rating: U.S. Green Building Council LEED for Homes --Level: Gold

Central Park Apartments at Stapleton is an affordable-housing development in Denver. The project's two buildings include five three-bedroom, three-bath apartments and 13 two-bedroom, one-bath apartments. Of these 18 units, five serve tenants at 30% of the area median income (AMI), four serve tenants at 40% of the AMI; and nine serve tenants at 50% of the AMI. The units range in size from 850 ft2 to 1,300 ft2.

The project is part of the 47,000-acre New Urbanist redevelopment of the old Denver Stapleton Airport. Stapleton was designed to be environmentally responsible, with extensive greenspace, walkability, and Energy Star certification for all homes.

Environmental Aspects

Located five miles from downtown Denver, the project is within walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants, big-box stores, medical facilities, pharmacies, schools, churches, and parks. The project is also located on a major bus route and will eventually be serviced by a light-rail system that will connect to downtown, the airport corridor, and regional shopping centers.

The project team selected native species for the landscape to minimize irrigation requirements. The team also selected the irrigation system as well as bath and kitchen fixtures for their water efficiency.

The project's walls and ceilings are insulated to R-52. In addition, all windows and doors, as well as all appliances and lighting fixtures, meet Energy Star standards. Photovoltaic panels atop each unit were expected to produce 50% to 75% of the project's electricity needs, and each unit has its own thermostat as well as a meter showing how much electricity the unit is using and producing.

The project team specified steel, carpeting, and rubber flooring with recycled content. Other materials include bamboo flooring and engineered wood products. The team protected the project's indoor air quality by selecting all paints, primers, adhesives, sealants, and carpeting for their low chemical emissions and by avoiding wood products with urea-formaldehyde binders.

Owner & Occupancy

  • Owned by Northeast Denver Housing Center, Inc., Corporation, nonprofit
  • Occupants: Individual(s)

Keywords

Green framework, Green specifications, Transportation benefits, Indigenous vegetation, Efficient fixtures and appliances, Efficient irrigation, Drought-tolerant landscaping, Efficient lighting, On-site renewable electricity, Benign materials, Recycled materials, C&D waste management, Natural ventilation, Low-emitting materials

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Case Studies Database provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's
Building Technology Program, High Performance Buildings.