Boulder board recommends rezoning for larger arts-focused development

The Boulder Planning Board voted 7-0 to recommend rezoning 14.84 acres at 3550 and 3850 Frontier Avenue for a larger mixed-use development. The proposed standards could allow buildings up to 55 feet tall and floor area equal to 3.5 times the site area. The board’s Sept. 22 hearing documents the recommendation; City Council has the final decision.

The proposal would change the property’s industrial zoning to MU-4. Under the site-specific standards, structured parking would not count toward the floor-area limit. The board also recommended restoring community-benefit requirements for fourth- and fifth-story development. Separately, by a 4-3 vote, it recommended that housing make up at least half of the floor area above a 2.0 floor-area ratio at full buildout, with limits on using that additional floor area for nonresidential uses before the housing is approved. Both recommendations remain subject to Council action.

To use the proposed height and floor-area allowances, a project would have to pass site review and provide specified arts and public-space features: a performing-arts and events center of at least 20,000 square feet in the first construction phase; at least 4,000 square feet of rehearsal space at full buildout; and a publicly accessible gathering space at the site’s southern end. A city attorney told the board that a project seeking the special standards would have to accommodate the required features or risk denial at site review. Later phases could be reviewed separately.

The applicant described a possible development with more than 500 homes, a 150-room hotel, about 30,000 square feet of food, beverage and retail space, and a performance venue. These are the applicant’s plans, not approved construction. The applicant said its first phase would focus on the venue and that floodplain conditions would delay work on the southern gathering space until mitigation work is complete.

The project’s parking count and infrastructure-cost allocation have not been established. The applicant said underground parking could cost about $110,000 per space because of the high water table and that it expected to rely largely on above-ground parking. City staff said infrastructure obligations would be addressed through site review and development agreements, with costs allocated according to project impacts and applicable legal standards. Staff said the city would not subsidize project roadways; the cost of improvements that benefit others could depend on who benefits and the legal basis for sharing the expense.

City Council’s published calendar schedules a first reading of the rezoning ordinance for Oct. 15 and a second reading and public hearing for Nov. 12. As of Sept. 25, both dates were upcoming and Council had not made a final decision.