Save Iris Fields? Boulder community plan to keep Little League diamonds faces $48 million bid to build over them

For months, North Boulder Little League leaders and neighborhood groups have urged Boulder County commissioners to preserve the Iris Baseball Fields as part of the county’s sale of its North Broadway Complex. They’re backing a proposal from a senior living developer, The Academy, that would keep the fields while adding housing for seniors where county buildings now stand.

That community-backed plan is one of five bids commissioners are reviewing this month. A vote is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18. Some bids would build over the fields. Among them is a $48 million offer from local developer John Kirkland, whose past Boulder projects have drawn tenant complaints and neighborhood opposition. 

Kirkland’s proposal would redevelop the entire site into housing, including about 200 affordable units, and eliminate the Little League fields altogether.

His bid became especially contentious after he submitted a letter of support from the Little League’s then-president without the board’s approval. The move sparked backlash within the league. Dozens of members emailed commissioners to disavow the letter and reaffirm their support for The Academy’s proposal.

The Iris Fields have been home to North Boulder Little League for more than 60 years. The league and neighborhood are closely knit — umpires bike to work and coaches sign players up by walking door to door, according to Little League Vice President Thomas Click. “If we had to move out of the neighborhood — little leagues can’t really survive in that scenario,” he said. 

The North Broadway Complex is valued at $31.7 million. The Academy’s $26 million offer is the highest-priced proposal that would preserve the ball fields. Kirkland’s $48 million bid has drawn the most attention alongside The Academy’s.

A meeting that set off a backlash

The controversy traces back to February, when the county announced plans to sell its North Broadway Complex, including Iris Fields. Soon after, then-Little League board president Kirk Fronckiewicz — an insurance broker who had served on the board for several years — said he arranged a meeting with county staff and a local real estate broker to learn more about the sale process. According to Fronckiewicz, the real estate broker invited developers, including Kirkland. Fronckiewicz told Boulder Reporting Lab it was his first time meeting Kirkland.

Two league board members, including Click, heard about the meeting and decided to attend, according to Click. Click also invited developer Jay Hebb, who co-owns both The Agency Boulder, where Click works, and The Academy, which would later submit the community-backed bid.

Click said he invited Hebb for help understanding the meeting. “I didn’t know how any of this functioned,” he said. He added that there was no discussion at the time about Hebb developing the property.

What exactly happened that day remains in dispute.

Fronckiewicz said the meeting was simply to understand the county’s process. “No conversations about development were discussed,” he said. 

But Click remembers it differently. He said Kirkland and the real estate broker who invited him spoke about how the Iris site was too valuable for baseball fields and proposed redeveloping the entire property and relocating the Little League. “That was pretty much the whole meeting, just a proposal to demolish the fields,” Click said. The second Little League member who attended the meeting confirmed that development and relocation were discussed.

Assistant County Administrator Yvette Bowden, who attended the meeting, said she understood that Fronckiewicz “was just asking for the meeting to get information on the anticipated listing and sale process.”

“I do not recall them suggesting any particular development vision,” she told Boulder Reporting Lab.

Kirkland is known locally for his controversial 2019 purchase of Marpa House on University Hill, the longtime communal residence for members of the Buddhist organization Shambhala. Some residents said he befriended them to learn their offer price before outbidding them, according to the Denver Post. He later converted the property into student housing, where tenants faced mass lease cancellations days before the start of class and a forced evacuation after city violations for unpermitted rooms. 

Kirkland did not respond to repeated requests for comment. 

A community mobilizes

Click said Kirkland’s interest galvanized the community. “That was essentially the genesis of the Save Iris Committee for North Boulder Little League,” Click said. “We knew that if Kirk [Frockiewicz] had a developer that wanted to tear down the fields, that we needed an alternative.”

By June, Save Iris coalition leader Aquiles La Grave was emailing developers nationwide, seeking one willing to preserve the fields. He told Boulder Reporting Lab that The Academy wasn’t the first group they approached, and that they had “numerous conversations over months” with other interested parties. In early August, he contacted The Academy. Soon after, the committee, the Little League and several homeowners associations partnered with The Academy to submit their plan.

The proposal would transfer the fields to the City of Boulder for continued use by the league, in exchange for “some combination of cash or extra land use incentives” from the city. The offer price is below the assessed property value “in recognition of our commitment to preserve the ball fields acreage,” the proposal states. 

The Academy operates several luxury senior living facilities in Boulder. The group has also discussed preserving historic structures on the site and adding a restaurant and café, although those ideas are not part of their original bid. 

Letters and fallout

Most Little League members favored The Academy plan. On Sept. 8, the board voted 12-2 to endorse it and asked members to “clearly distinguish when speaking in a personal capacity rather than on behalf of NBLL, especially if expressing views that differ from this position.”

A week later, Fronckiewicz wrote a letter to the board opposing the vote, arguing the league shouldn’t back a single proposal “until it knows all of the available options.” Then, three days later, he sent commissioners a letter supporting Kirkland’s bid, signing as Little League president.

“I don’t know, and still don’t know, any of the alternatives, one versus the other. I haven’t reviewed any of the proposals to figure out what’s best for North Boulder Little League,” Fronckiewicz told Boulder Reporting Lab last week. He said he sent the letter because Kirkland “had reached out the day before the bids were submitted and asked if I would bring the letter,” and that he didn’t inform the board because of time constraints. He added that he has not been involved with the Little League since his term as president ended Sept. 30, because his children have aged out of the program.

League leaders were stunned. New president Alison Jaffe told commissioners: “The preservation of Iris Fields as the home of North Boulder Little League is non-negotiable. Any communication suggesting otherwise was made without NBLL’s knowledge or consent.”

Board members also butted heads with Fronckiewicz over his one-on-one meetings with Assistant County Administrator Bowden, held despite a February board vote requiring at least two members to attend any meetings with the county.

In a Sept. 25 email chain obtained by Boulder Reporting Lab, Jaffe wrote to another board member that she had tried to attend an upcoming meeting with the county but that “Kirk won’t allow me to attend.” Fronckiewicz replied that the meeting was about “personal things,” adding that he could make an introduction and share her contact information as the new point of contact going forward. 

Fronckiewicz has also called the league’s endorsement of The Academy plan a conflict of interest, because Click works for Jay Hebb, one of the developer’s owners.

Click rejected Fronckiewicz’s criticism. “We’ve all spoken with developers at different points,” he said. “Our shared purpose has always been clear: to protect the fields and ensure they remain part of Boulder’s future.”

“What concerns us is not that conversations happened,” he added, “but that, while the community was working together in the open, Kirk chose to work in secrecy with a developer whose stated plan is to remove the fields entirely.”

The $48 million proposal

Kirkland’s LLC, 1333 Iris Avenue Acquisition, established Sept. 19, the day his proposal was submitted, offered the county $43 million — more than $10 million above the property’s assessed value and the next closest proposal — to redevelop the entire site into housing, including 200 affordable units. His proposal also includes a $5 million donation to the Little League, for a total of $48 million.

Kirkland’s plan would add affordable housing at a time when Boulder is pushing for more units citywide. His proposal says: “Our proposal delivers what Boulder most urgently needs: affordable housing — serving several segments — built here and now.”

But the deal depends on the city rezoning the land for high-density housing and allowing demolition of historic structures, which would be a highly contentious process. The county would not get paid until these conditions were met.

In his letter of support to commissioners, Fronckiewicz cited the $5 million in Kirkland’s offer as “one of the largest ever to an organization like ours anywhere in the nation.” 

Click disagreed. “It’s a horrible deal for North Boulder Little League,” he said. “What are we gonna do with $5 million? Fields are really expensive to rent, and we’re certainly not going to be able to buy any real estate in the city for that price.”

In total, five proposals have been submitted for the North Broadway Complex, a mix of apartment, condo and senior living projects. Two would preserve the ball fields, while a third leaves the option open. 

The five offers for the North Broadway Complex

1333 Iris Avenue Acquisition LLC (John Kirkland)

• Offer: $43 million
• Use: Housing, including an estimated 200+ affordable units 
• Would it preserve the ball fields?: No

The Academy (endorsed by the North Boulder Little League)

• Offer: $26 million
• Use: Senior living community
• Would it preserve the ball fields?: Yes

Carmel

• Offer: $24 million
• Use: 370 multifamily units in a three-story garden-style complex
• Would it preserve the ball fields?: No

Rubicon 

• Offer: $21 million — or $30 million if the county agrees to wait for payment until after Boulder City Council approves zoning.
• Use: Senior housing
• Would it preserve the ball fields?: Unclear. The proposal offers to either preserve or relocate the fields

Greystar 

• Offer: $15 million
• Use: 250 rental apartments, with 20% reserved as affordable housing for residents earning up to 80% of the area median family income.
• Would it preserve the ball fields?: Yes