Boulder Housing Partners plans to repurpose a concrete building in the center of a wooded office park near the Diagonal and Foothills highways into one of the city’s largest affordable housing developments in recent years.
The housing nonprofit is proposing to build 113 rental apartments that would be deed-restricted to make them affordable for lower-income residents. The organization also plans to dedicate part of the space to a daycare center to address another significant issue affecting residents: the lack of affordable childcare.
The project is a relatively rare example of repurposing an office building to make housing. Interest in such conversions has increased following the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in more people working from home and a rise in the office vacancy rate in the city’s downtown.
The site, at 3300 Penrose Place, is currently occupied by the Geological Society of America, a research and educational organization. The historic prairie-style building is made up of exposed concrete, partially composed of gravel from the Boulder Creek floodplain, according to the organization. Inside are exhibits of rocks and minerals from across the Rocky Mountains.
Boulder Housing Partners purchased the property for $10.3 million in 2022, according to property records. The Geological Society of America has said it plans to relocate elsewhere in the Front Range.
Boulder Housing Partners is proposing to replace the building’s exhibit rooms with classroom space for the daycare center and bike storage, among other uses. Offices and other rooms would be replaced with primarily studio and one-bedroom apartments, according to architecture plans.
“It’s this kind of horizontal, prairie-style, Brutalist building that you would never think of when you think of affordable housing,” Bill Holicky, a principal at Coburn Partners, an architecture and development firm working on the project, told the city’s Planning Board at a hearing on May 7. “It ends up being the perfect centerpiece to this project.”
The proposed redevelopment also includes adding four additional new buildings up to three-stories tall that have architectural similarities to the existing Geological Society of America building. This includes features such as flat roofs and eave overhangs. The buildings would circle around open space in the center of the property.
Earlier this month, the city’s Planning Board unanimously approved Boulder Housing Partners’ site review application. The Boulder City Council will have a chance to weigh in on the project in the coming weeks.
The affordable housing redevelopment would not be possible without subsidies from the City of Boulder, according to Ian Swallow, a senior development project manager for Boulder Housing Partners.
Swallow said the organization plans to apply for money in the city’s Affordable Housing Fund. The city collects money for this fund through its inclusionary housing program, which requires developers to build deed-restricted affordable housing units or pay “cash-in-lieu” into the fund, among other options to comply with the code.
With this subsidy, Swallow said Boulder Housing Partners is likely to price the apartments so that people earning up to 60% the area median income, or about $61,000, would pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. That equates to about $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment, according to the latest estimates from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
In addition to city subsidies, Boulder Housing Partners is seeking federal tax credits for affordable housing. It is also asking for permission to build fewer parking spaces than required under city code, in part to reduce the cost of construction. City code requires 146 parking spaces and Boulder Housing Partners is proposing 99. The organization plans to provide RTD EcoPasses to tenants and subsidize a car share program.
Nearby residents have concerns about the impact of the project on their views and property values, according to letters sent to city planners. The owner of a nearby funeral home said he is concerned residents will overrun his parking lot.
Swallow said Boulder Housing Partners may apply for building permits as soon as 2025.
A picture of what it looks like now would be great!
I see many shortfalls with this proposal. 1) It doesn’t include units for families, 2) why have a place for childcare when there isn’t a focus on family housing, 3) There isn’t adequate bus service in that area to support the need, and 4) There needs to be at least “one” parking space per unit.
As to point #3. This is a 1/4 to the Bound line which runs up and down 30th St and 1/2 mile from the 205/208/Bound which run to Downtown Boulder. Curious as to what bus service is lacking.
Actually need to edit this, there is a Bolt bus stop, service to Longmont or Downtown Boulder basically right out the door from here…less than 200 yards.
Very interested in Boulder’s approach to affordable housing: no oversight once it’s built and sold.
Food desert. Population driver. Increases demand for housing in an inelastic market,
which makes housing more unaffordable.
Food desert???? There is a Safeway within a 1/2 mile of this development. And there is a very pedestrian friendly walkable path to that Safeway.
3300 Penrose Place is just 9/10ths of a mile from the approach end of Runway 8 at Boulder Airport, just south of the Airport Influence Zone (AIZ) of the airport. It is essentially under or in close proximity to the approach path of most aircraft setting up for landing on runway 8, and will be subject to many low flying aircraft. Allowing 113 residential units in this location without including it in the Airport Influence Zone, and not requiring Avigation Easements in the deeds is irresponsible on the part of the City, and also likely violates the the City’s Grant Assurances to the FAA. Assurance #21 REQUIRES the City to ensure that development in the vicinity of the airport be compatible with existing airport activities, including take offs and landings. Residents considering living at this site need to know and understand that they are choosing to live close to an active airport, and will be subject to the existing operations and related environmental consequences of living next to an airport. The City, developers, and realtors need to make full disclosure of the close proximity of this site to the airport so residents can make fully informed decisions before choosing to move there. Avigation Easements should be required so we don’t end up with uninformed residents moving close to the airport, and then feeling entitled to complain about the activities at the airport. It is time for the City to take responsibility for ensuring developments are compatible with the airport, and that residents are fully informed.
Strange. I used to live in Vista Village mobile home park (on the part of the street nearest Valmont) which is much closer to the airport – and never heard any noise from aircraft. I also used to work on 34th street about about two blocks from this proposed development and it was very peaceful. I’d live there!
More information about estimated costs would be helpful. The reporting I have seen about reconfiguring commercial space to residential is that it is not easy to run plumbing/electrical/etc through an existing space.
Overall I would appreciate an article that is an overview of the affordable housing players including the non profits, the county, the city and Boulder Housing partners. I couldn’t begin to say how the monies move through the system