Boulder wants CU-South Campus in comp plan
BOULDER — If Boulder government officials have their way, the future of the University of Colorado’s proposed South Campus development will be tied to Boulder’s city and county development plans.
Negotiations between the city and the university have been moving all summer toward a memorandum of understanding to allow development to proceed.
However, following an Aug. 19 city council meeting, the city has chosen to tie the campus plans to the 2005 update of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan.
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“The basic idea is that the major place that this issue will be addressed is in the 2005 major update to the Comprehensive Plan,´ said Peter Pollock, the city’s planning director. “At this point, though, it’s just our good idea. We will still need to check in with CU to see if they share our enthusiasm for the comp plan update as the process to use to resolve the question of future land use on the site.”
Currently, the expansion of CU-Boulder could take place on the CU Boulder South property, located at U.S. 36 and Table Mesa on the south side of the city of Boulder. A cross-country track and tennis court complex are located on part of the 308-acre site.
Some of the outstanding issues concerning the site were discussed during a public forum Aug. 21. Some members of the community have expressed an interest in a significant portion of the site being preserved as open space. Another concern is for a planned hydrology study and flood mitigation study to be completed before decisions concerning the use of the land are made.
“One of the big deal for the parcel is that it’s right next to South Boulder Creek. One of the issues that is being played out there is whether we really have a good handle on how much water is going to be down in that area in a flood event. Once you know from the hydrology study what is wet and what is dry, you need to understand if this particular site could play a role in mitigating the impacts of flooding downstream. That might figure into discussions between the city and the university regarding future land uses on the site,” Pollack explained.
Another issue is the possibility of a land swap between the city and the university that would allow for the protection of open space and a future site for further expansion by CU.
The public forum was originally intended to solicit public input regarding the pros and cons of a potential land exchange, but the discussion focused primarily on the proposal to use the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan as the process for proceeding.
“The meeting went pretty productively from our perspective,” Pollack said. “A lot of the people who attended were sort of the activists who have been following this for quite some time in the South Boulder area. I think that they were pleased that we are going to be using a process that is on the one hand, public, and on the other hand involves the county. Finally, the process allows us to wait for the results of the hydrology and mitigation studies. It’s a path we’ve been down before, that’s for sure.”
MONTBELL: MontBell America Inc., a leader in lightweight and functional outdoor clothing and gear, will open a distribution and service center at 2800 Wilderness Place.
The 7,000-square-foot facility will serve MontBell’s retail operation and other retailers in the U.S. market. The building also will serve as MontBell’s North America Corporate office.
MontBell America is a wholly owned subsidiary of MontBell Japan, the largest outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer in Japan and Asia. MontBell America started its wholesale operation in mid-2002 and opened its Boulder flagship store on the Pearl Street Mall in November.
Isamu Tatsuno, founder of MontBell and president of MontBell America, said in a press release that although Boulder is a very competitive location it allows the company to gauge the needs of the U.S. outdoor market.
LAZY DOG DEALINGS: The character of the 1300 block of Pearl Street could change in the coming months if Boulder restaurateur Steven Ross gets his way.
The owner of the Lazy Dog, a popular sports bar located on the Diagonal Highway, wants to move it and an upscale fish house to the prominent Pearl Street location formerly occupied by Wherehouse Music.
“It’s really more than a bar,´ said Geoff Keys of Boulder-based real estate firm Keys Commercial that has been marketing the Pearl Street site for owner M.J. Pellillo.
“Steven Ross is doing Lazy Dog, but it’s a two-restaurant deal.” The second restaurant will operate under the name Naked Fish. Ross signed a lease at 1346 Pearl St., but the deal depends on getting through the city’s building process, according to Keys.
“We have an executed lease, but it’s contingent on construction-related issues and getting through the city as far as getting a building permit and a liquor license and those sorts of things.
He has a little time to get those things worked out so we are just kind of hanging out right now, waiting for those items to proceed,” Keys said. Ross and his architect, Rich Milstead, have proposed operating Lazy Dog on the east side of the site and Naked Fish on the west. In addition to a 6,700-square-foot ground floor, the basement would be redeveloped and a rooftop deck would be added for both restaurants.
Ross also owns another Lazy Dog in Denver and the High Tide Fresh Seafood Grill in Douglas County’s Park Meadows Mall.
KRUSE CRUISING: Jason Kruse of the Colorado Group has been racking up a number of successful leases in July including two Boulder relocations and a pair of new leases.
The two relocations were Timberline Brewing Co., which moved from its Valmont Street location into 5,807 square feet at 3201 Walnut St., and Pangea Organic, which took its organic soap operation into 7,877 square feet in the Flatiron Office Park at 5660 Central Ave. Kruse also leased 3,050 square feet in the Flatiron Office Park to Robert C. McMillan, is setting up a recording studio, and 3,480 square feet in the same building to Richard Roth, one of the founders of Network Photonics who is changing direction to start his own organic candle company.
GUNBARREL/
KICKING IT: In an innovative transformation, a partnership in Gunbarrel is converting a warehouse into a high-end indoor sports facility.
Jeff Lester, along with his wife, a local architect, and another partner, are taking 6450 Gunpark Drive and changing it into Off The Boards, a 58,000-square-foot sports center for athletes of all ages.
“We’re psyched,” Lester said. “We got approved by the city to change the building into a recreational facility. We signed the lease, and we’re already taking care of the yard and the whole facility.” His plans for the center include elite soccer and lacrosse facilities, a climbing wall built by the local Eldorado Wall Co., as well as simulator golf, inline hockey and batting cages.
Other amenities include a concession area serving deli-style foods and salads as well as beer and wine in the evening for adult leagues.
Among the 20 staff that Off The Boards will employ initially will be a PGA golf pro who will teach using the golf simulator as well as other coaches who will work one-on-one with guests on skills like pitching and batting. Future guests can preview the facility by checking out the company’s website at www.offtheboards.net.
“We have a diverse group, and we are going to focus a lot on practices and training. I think what we’re doing with indoor soccer has a big demand, and we’re also in talks with the Ultimate Frisbee Association to do some things with them,” Lester said.
Lester, who put himself through a college turf degree by working at the Boulder Country Club, is excited to return a contribution to the community he lives in.
“My wife grew up here in Boulder, and we’re excited to be bringing something back to it. We have two kids and we wanted to do something family oriented. We all like playing sports and that’s what we settled on,” Lester said.
BROOMFIELD
SPORTS OASIS: A project similar to the Off The Boards development is under way in Broomfield after the city council unanimously approved plans for an indoor volleyball business at Main Street and West 116th Avenue.
Karl Baines and Bob Knox, two lifetime volleyball enthusiasts, will open the 40,000-square-foot volleyball center under the name Sports Oasis sometime in mid-October. The center will have four indoor sand courts and three hard courts as well as a restaurant and bar.
LONGMONT
ADVANCED ENERGY INDUSTRIES BUILDING SELLS: In one of the bigger sales in Longmont in recent months, a 44,000-square-foot building at 600 Diagonal Highway sold for $2.2 million in August.
Eric Brynestad of The Staubach Company represented the seller, Advanced Energy Industries, which has consolidated operations to it campus in Fort Collins. The buyer was a limited liability company co-managed by Ed Kanemoto of Prudential Realtors in Longmont.
“My understanding is that they are investigating some options to develop the vacant land. It sounds like the building itself is going to be a long-term hold, and they will just continue to try to find a tenant for it,” Brynestad explained. In addition to the industrial manufacturing building, the deal included the 2.9 acres on which the building sits as well as an adjacent 7-acre parcel associated with the property.
“In this market, it’s nice to get a deal like this one done,” Brynestad said. The broker and his partner Ken Gooden have been busy in other parts of the area as well.
Among the deals the pair have sealed lately is a lease for 11,100 square feet in the Colorado Tech Center for Electro Filtration, an 8,300-square-foot lease at 357 McCaslin Blvd. in Louisville for Sound Surgical and 5,000 square feet at 5775 Flatiron Parkway in Boulder for Roche Colorado.
YEAGER FARM: Boulder developer Michael Markel will likely get to build his 122-home housing development on the former Yeager Farm property, despite the wishes of nearby neighbors. Fourteen members of the Yeager family sold their 34-acre property to Markel in 2002 after a competing bid by a neighborhood coalition fell through.
Markel has submitted a plan to the Longmont Planning Department to build three phases of single-family homes, with 43 homes in the first phase.
BOULDER — If Boulder government officials have their way, the future of the University of Colorado’s proposed South Campus development will be tied to Boulder’s city and county development plans.
Negotiations between the city and the university have been moving all summer toward a memorandum of understanding to allow development to proceed.
However, following an Aug. 19 city council meeting, the city has chosen to tie the campus plans to the 2005 update of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan.
“The basic idea is that the major place that this issue will be addressed is in the 2005 major update to the Comprehensive…
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