On Wednesday, October 21, about 90 ULI members and guests gathered at the new Hyatt Place in Boulder to learn about that city’s controversial transit-oriented development, Boulder Junction. The event included a panel session with presentations, as well as walking tours of the development.

Boulder Junction (formerly known as Transit Village) is a 160-acre redevelopment area on the east side of Boulder being transformed into a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood with regional transit connections and public spaces. Originally conceived as a rail-oriented transit-oriented development (TOD), the project has been rethought as a destination for RTD Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service starting in January and a link for the city’s 60 miles of bike trails. The development includes the bus depot and the Hyatt Place hotel, as well as market rate and affordable apartments and condos, mixed-use buildings and office space.

After a welcome from Ben Woolf, the ULI Boulder Committee co-chair, Charles Ferro and Elaine McLaughlin from the City of Boulder started the event with an overview discussion of the Boulder Junction redevelopment. The City of Boulder and RTD bought the land for the transit village over 10 years ago and have worked together since then to create a comprehensive and area plans for the project. Three events contributed to the creation of the development: the passing of FasTracks, the demolition of the Crossroads Mall and the subsequent redevelopment of 29^th Street Mall. These events brought the need for a transit-oriented development to Boulder and made the Boulder Valley Regional Center the perfect location. Boulder Junction will be built out in two phases made up of mixed use and high-density residential.

 Jeff Pedersen, Principal and Director of Architecture for the Western Region for Short Elliott and Hendrickson (SEH), discussed the Solana Apartments and Depot Square. Mr. Pedersen has been instrumental in the project’s development, overhauling the original suburban-style bus depot into what Depot Square is today: a mixed-use development including an RTD below-grade bus transit facility, a 150-room Hyatt Hotel, and a four-story parking structure that is “wrapped” on three sides by 71 permanently affordable housing units. Mr. Pedersen also worked on the Solana Apartments, a market rate apartment building located within Boulder Junction, across from Depot Square. Both projects help set the scene for the rest of the development with an urban, yet pedestrian-friendly area.

 Kate Iverson, Manager, Transit-Oriented Development RTD, reviewed the new bus terminal and transit station. This 3.4 acre public-private partnership has also changed over time with the bus depot originally conceived as a rail-oriented TOD, but later changed when it was decided that commuter rail to Boulder will be delayed for decades. Originally planned with surface parking under a more a suburban master-plan, the transit area took on an urban feel when the redesign took the bus depot underground. Boulder-Denver Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) express service starts in January 2016.

The next two speakers were developers who discussed their larger and small developments within Boulder Junction. Scott Holton, Principal of Element Properties, discussed the S*PARK, a 680,000-square-foot, mixed-use project located at the former Sutherlands lumberyard, which provided the name:  Sutherland Park or S*PARK. The development, unanimously approved by the Boulder planning board, is a diverse project over 11 acres in the northern section of Boulder Junction,  and includes six building sites, four acres dedicated to public space and uses ranging from office, retail and residential space (both affordable and market rate). The project aims to bring people to Boulder Junction to work, play and live.

John Koval, Director of Development and Vice President of Operations for Coburn Development, presented the much smaller Nickel Flats, a 16-unit market-rate, multi-family building. After developing  Steelyards in 1999, Coburn Development had plans for another development next door, but stopped in 2007 to re-plan the project based on new planning in the Transit Village/Boulder Junction area. Nickel Flats was born. This 16-unit infill thee-story building has a modern elevation and includes up 1- to 3-bedroom units. Despite the construction defect law, Nickel Flats is a condo project. Mr. Koval discussed this choice and how he built his project limited exposure to construction defects lawsuits.

After a short audience Q&A, attendees were taken on walking tours. The tours visited four key areas of the development, the RTD bus depot, Nickel Flats, S*PARK, and the affordable apartment complex at Depot Square.

The ULI program gave attendees insight into Boulder Junction and the new wave of denser projects being built in Boulder, as well as the new wave of TOD projects in the Denver area. This public-private partnership shows that great things are accomplished by working together and thinking outside the box.

—Jenni Lantz, John Burns Real Estate Consulting