Boulder seeks partner to develop housing at 30th and Pearl streets

BOULDER — The city of Boulder on Thursday will issue a request for proposals to find a partner to redevelop the former Pollard Friendly Motors site at the northeast corner of Pearl and 30th streets.

The city wants to turn the 11.2 acres of city-owned land into a mixed use, mixed-income, transit-focused area of the emerging neighborhood in Boulder’s 160-acre Transit Village area.

Google is building a three-building campus totaling 300,000 square feet on the west side of 30th south of Pearl Street. And other developments will bring thousands of square feet of office and retail space, along with hundreds of housing units to the area.

The city wants the project at the Pollard site to be a “dense mixed-use development with a variety of housing types, including some town homes or other housing types, underground parking, and as much affordability as possible,” according to city documents.

The city wants to see a mix of ownership and rental housing at a range of 220 to 300 units at the site, with 50 percent of the housing to be permanently affordable, and the remaining 50 percent of the housing sold or rented at market rates.

The city intends to transfer ownership of the land to the chosen development team but will consider several options, including a sale, sale with deed restrictions or a long-term ground lease. The developer will need to meet the city’s requirements and vision for the project.

In 2000, the city began a planning effort for the transit-oriented development in east Boulder as an extension of the 28th Street corridor planning project.  The Pollard site was identified through a site-selection process as the preferred location.

The site was acquired jointly by the city and the Regional Transit District in October 2004. A plan for the area’s future redevelopment, the Transit Village Area Plan, was adopted in September 2007 following an effort that began shortly after the acquisition of the Pollard Motor property.

Next steps

May 18; Request for proposals due.

June: Finalists will make public presentation of plans.

August: Planning staff will make recommendation to city council of preferred developer.

September: Negotiations for development agreements will begin.

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