Cap Hill Lutheran church exploring apartments on its property

Capitol Hill’s newest development proposal calls for fewer pews and more bedrooms.

Montana-based BlueLine Development sent plans to Denver last month calling for a 58-unit income-restricted apartment complex that would replace a sizable chunk of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at Ninth Avenue and Emerson Street.

BlueLine did not respond to a request for comment. The church, which has built housing in the past, declined to comment. Local firm Shopworks Architecture drew up the plans.

Our Savior’s Lutheran has been around since 1881, and at 915 E. Ninth Ave. for about a century. It built an addition in the early 1960s that runs along an alley on the east side of the lot, which spans about two-thirds of an acre.

The proposal calls for a 40,000-square-foot building designated as senior housing to replace the addition, wrapping around the existing church building from the alleyway and onto Emerson Street in an L-shape. It would stand four stories tall.

Public records show the project is in the running for public financing. BlueLine is asking for $2.8 million in state and local tax credits along with $13.5 million in tax-exempt bonds from the quasi-governmental Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. It’s one of 16 developments in Denver and 35 statewide in the running for the limited pool of tax credits that CHFA distributes twice annually.