Boulder expects August or September RFP for Civic Area East Bookend

Boulder expects to issue a formal request for proposals in August or September for redevelopment of the city-owned Civic Area East Bookend, after receiving nine responses to an earlier request for interest. The city expects to choose a development partner in early 2027, but has not released the RFP or formal evaluation criteria, staff told the Transportation Advisory Board on July 13.

The initial opportunity covers three city-owned surface parking lots and three landmarked buildings: the Dushanbe Tea House, the Atrium and the Storage and Transfer Building, which includes the former Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art space. Private properties in the broader block are not part of the city’s offering because Boulder does not own them, although a future developer could pursue them independently.

The Dushanbe Tea House is expected to retain its current use, vendor and building. The Atrium and Storage and Transfer Building could be adaptively reused or reprogrammed. The city’s East Bookend project page describes a potential mixed-use, food- and culture-focused hub with residential, retail, hospitality, arts and cultural programming, public gathering space and event uses.

Staff said the RFP is still being shaped around public-benefit goals, including prioritizing arts and cultural organizations, connecting the site to Boulder Creek Park and downtown, and creating activity in the area. Including the Boulder County Farmers Market as a partner and finding it interior space was described to the board as a non-negotiable goal. Board members also discussed a year-round market hall, stronger pedestrian and bicycle connections, less auto dependence and coordination with a festival-oriented 13th Street.

Those discussions do not commit Boulder to building or funding a permanent market facility. Earlier planning materials identified a year-round public market hall as a possible use, with the Atrium as one potential location, but noted unresolved building-code, historic-preservation, facility, parking and floodplain issues, according to the city’s existing-conditions report. The city has not identified a final operator or released a capital or operating plan for an indoor or expanded market.

The anticipated sequence is RFP release, interviews, partner selection, a pre-development agreement and concept planning in 2027, followed by site-plan and partnership finalization in 2028 and potentially construction in 2029. Staff cautioned that the schedule depends on finding an acceptable partner and could change. The advisory board received the update for information; it did not approve a development plan or procurement. Transportation officials and board members discussed walking, biking, transit, parking and event traffic, but the procurement is separate from a transportation-plan or capital-improvement-program decision.