Boulder neighbors fight to save Iris Fields with plan for ballfields and senior housing

When Boulder County announced plans to sell the Iris Baseball Fields early this year, many in the community feared they would lose a beloved institution.

At first, residents approached the City of Boulder hoping it would buy the land to preserve the ballfields. But officials determined they didn’t have the money to make the purchase.

So in the spring, several neighborhood groups and the North Boulder Little League decided to take matters into their own hands. They began talking with neighbors about the property’s future and found a developer willing to pursue their vision: Academy Boulder, a builder of assisted and independent living communities.

On Aug. 18, a coalition made up of the Save Iris Committee, North Boulder Little League, Broadway and Juniper Condo Association, and the Juniper Townhomes Association partnered with Academy Boulder to submit their proposal to the county. The plan would preserve the ballfields and add senior housing, along with a restaurant, café and general store west of the fields, in space currently occupied by county offices. 

“It’s just an amazing unfolding that’s really antithetical to the way these things typically play out,” said Thomas Click, head of the Save Iris Committee and a member of the North Boulder Little League. “This was a grassroots plan developed by the community up front, that we then went and partnered with a developer to execute. We got the support of so much community.”

Neighborhood representatives are urging the county to be responsive to them.

“Now it’s on the county to recognize this historic effort by its constituents and engage with it,” Aquiles La Grave, a resident and representative of the Broadway & Juniper Condo Association, said in a statement. 

Decision due soon

On Aug. 25, the county formally opened a three-week window for bids on the property, which assessor’s records value at $24.4 million. The announcement came shortly after the coalition’s proposal. The Iris group resubmitted their proposal through official channels, and the bidding period closed on Sept. 19. County officials said they received “several” bids, but did not respond to Boulder Reporting Lab’s requests for the exact number or the identities of the bidders.

The Boulder County commissioners will consider bids at a public meeting in October and are expected to decide on the sale later this year, according to county spokesperson Gloria Handyside. Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann told Boulder Reporting Lab she hoped to have a decision before November. Potential buyers would be required to lease the property back to the county through 2026.

A long history

The Iris Fields, located at 1333 Iris Ave., have hosted North Boulder Little League games for kids ages 5 to 12 for nearly 70 years.

“It’s just woven into an intergenerational story that’s fairly unique in Boulder,” La Grave said, pointing to stories of Little League players who now compete on the same fields their parents once did.

The community quickly rallied around keeping the fields intact.

Residents first urged the city to buy the property from the county. “It just made sense to everyone, the county included, that this property should end up in the parks and rec system of the City of Boulder,” Click, head of the Save Iris Committee, said.

But city representative Sarah Huntley told Boulder Reporting Lab that “unfortunately, there is no budget identified to purchase the ballfields.” The city is facing a projected $7.5 million shortfall in its proposed 2026 budget, prompting the elimination of 19 mostly vacant positions and cuts from the general fund. 

Next, the group circulated an informal petition to explore the idea of a ballot measure that could raise money for the fields’ purchase. But that effort never materialized. And as it became clear that negotiations between the city and county would not progress, neighborhood groups began conducting community interviews to make their own plans for the property.

In addition to preserving the ballfields, the coalition said it wants to keep density low, particularly in light of the Iris Avenue redesign that will reduce the street from four lanes to two. They also hope to preserve historic structures on the site and bring in amenities the neighborhood lacks, like a coffee shop, according to La Grave. Click said that the initial impulse for some was “to build high-density residential across the entire property and move the Little League fields out of town. That just tears the community spaces further and further away from the community.”

In June, the groups began approaching developers and recruited Academy Boulder, which runs three senior living residences in Boulder: Mapleton Hill, Bella Vista and University Hill. Senior housing appealed to neighbors because it would encourage relationships between seniors and young Little League players while also potentially freeing up single-family homes elsewhere in the city. According to Click, 80% of residents at Academy Mapleton Hill moved from single-family homes in Boulder.

Academy Boulder did not respond to requests for comment. But La Grave said the way the deal came together felt “a little magical,” especially since one of Academy Boulder’s partners, Jay Hebb, grew up playing on Iris Fields and has a daughter who works the concession stand.

What’s next?

The community coalition is calling on the commissioners to accept Academy Boulder’s proposal, and for the city to support it when the time comes. The city has zoning and land-use authority for the property, and any developer would have to go through its development review processes.

“We’re being obviously very vocal in making sure that everybody understands that this proposal specifically originates from North Boulder Little League, the HOAs and the neighbors and the neighborhood,” La Grave said, adding that any decision handled “with anything less than total transparency would be an absolute shame.”

Click said he often sees land sales where the community is consulted late in the process. This time, the community organized first.

“In the beginning of this process, there were some people throwing up their hands and saying, ‘Oh, the developers will get their way,’” he said. 

But as neighbors got involved, he said, attitudes began to shift. “It was really cool to see people light up and feel empowered as their voices were heard. You saw beliefs start to change.”