New study asks for higher density on Hill

BOULDER – Backers of a study to redevelop parts of the University Hill district in Boulder will ask city council to increase the area’s allowed density in order to spur new mixed-use developments.

The higher density will be the central theme of the Hill Commercial Context Study, which will be presented to city council late this summer. The study is being funded by The New Hill Co., an organization representing several property owners in the area.

City officials, University of Colorado representatives and other Hill community members have provided input to the study.

“We’ve been working for the past 18 months to build a coalition for this study,´ said Gordon Riggle, former city councilman and partner of The New Hill Co. “So this study is a community-based vision that our clients have agreed to.”

Partnering with Riggle at New Hill is local architect Steven Walsh and developer Michael Boyers. The group is acting as a central figure helping property owners facilitate any redevelopment through the city process. It is working to increase the communication between property owners, stakeholders and advocacy groups.

If the city approves a higher density for the Hill, Riggle said his clients will be ready to submit site-specific concept plans for their properties. Beyond that, he hopes to “create a critical mass for a commitment to redevelopment.”

New Hill is representing several property owners, but Riggle declined to name them. He said the company does not own any Hill property- it’s just a consulting group.

In August 2006, one of the Hill’s newest property owners confirmed it was working with Riggle and his team. Lake Forest, Ill.-based Green Courte Partners LLC, a private equity real estate firm, spent $6.26 million to purchase 1310 College Ave., 1155 13th St. and 1143 13th St. – nearly 37,000 square feet of space.

The University of Colorado at Boulder, also participating in the study, owns the city-operated parking lot at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

The city owns two other parking lots in the area. Molly Winter, director of the city’s Downtown and University Hill Management Division and Parking Services, has been the main liaison between New Hill and the city.

The city agreed to oversee the public outreach, parking issues and public pedestrian areas of the plan in exchange for New Hill conducting and funding the study, which the city would normally take care of.

Winter said city staff is busy with the Transit Area Plan and wouldn’t have the time and resources available to address the Hill for another couple of years.

The study will promote more mixed-use projects, particularly the addition of residential space above retail, Walsh said. The residential would be a mix of for-sale and for-rent units. The university has expressed interest in using some of the new housing to provide affordable-living options for younger faculty who want to walk to campus.

A second major theme in the study is converting many of the Hill’s alleyways into more vibrant and open public spaces where additional storefronts can be located. Along those same lines, the study envisions many rooftops on the Hill converted into outdoor terraces that businesses and residents can use.

The city is working to propose several new underground parking garages that would go along with the redevelopments, Winter said.

Since 2000, the city and community leaders have been trying to jumpstart redevelopment on the Hill. Past visions and plans have gone unrealized, and several businesses have left the area.

At the Fox Theatre, General Manager John Caprio said he’s been hearing of changes for more than five years.

“As a business you obviously want to see things improve. … We would love to see more businesses and mixed-use,” Caprio said. “But until they align a lot of the Hill property owners and get city approval, it’s just more talk.”

At Hapa Sushi on the Hill, owner Mark Van Grack echoed those sentiments.

“I’ve been here for eight years, and it goes on and on,” he said. “There’s been a lot of studies done, but nothing goes beyond that.”

Both Van Grack and Caprio say they support any improvements to the Hill.

“I see any improvement as a good thing for businesses,” Van Grack said. The restaurateur said he weathered through construction improvements at his Cherry Creek location and business thrived afterward.

Winter said the city has struggled to bring together property owners.

“You look at the Hill, and there’s a lot of individual property owners – it’s not one big conglomerate that can make a single decision,” she said. “Also, a lot of the property owners are not developers. Some of them are families who depend on the rent for income.”

Riggle admits there have been skeptics of the plan, but he’s more confident that this study will convince city council to act.

“There’s a lot of excitement and support for this,” he said. “The most typical reaction we get form folks is: ‘Well it’s about time.'”

Contact David Clucas at 303-440-4950 or e-mail dclucas@bcbr.com.

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