Housing authority buys land in Louisville

BOULDER – With demand high for affordable housing and one of its complexes fully leased, the Boulder County Housing Authority has bought a 13-acre tract in Louisville as a possible site for another one.

The county completed the $2.58 million purchase of the 13-acre parcel on March 22. Located on the west side of Colorado Highway 42 just north of South Boulder Road, it was purchased from Stanley Alkonis of Louisville, a retired Air Force colonel.

Boulder County will work with the city of Louisville and the property’s neighbors as it develops a site plan and proposal for development of the land, according to a press statement from the county. One option will be construction of affordable housing similar to the county’s nearby Josephine Commons development.

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Phase 1 of Josephine Commons, at 455 N. Burlington Ave. in Lafayette, was completed in August and its 74 apartments were leased within four days after the county received the certificate of occupancy. As a waiting list grows longer, construction is to begin this year on Phase 2 of the project, which eventually will include 153 housing units.

That complex is named for Josephine Aspinwall Roche (1886-1976), who was controlling owner of Rocky Mountain Fuel Co., which owned and operated many mines in the Lafayette area  including the site on which the complex is being built.

Purchase of the Louisville tract “represents an unusual opportunity for us to make a substantial contribution to affordable housing in east Boulder County, where it is truly needed,´ said Housing Authority director Frank Alexander in the press statement. “We know there are many more people in our area who are struggling to make ends meet and stay in the community they love, and this Louisville property will help some of them do that.”

Louisville officials are updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan with a focus on road connections through the property, and a bike and walking path will soon be extended along the railroad on the property’s west side. The intended post-annexation zoning would permit a combination of residential, commercial and mixed-use interests.

“This is a wonderful acquisition by Boulder County, as it is one of the last undeveloped parcels within Louisville’s boundaries and it’s a great location to build affordable housing for Louisville and the surrounding community,´ said Louisville City Councilman Jay Keany in a press statement.

Keany also is a former chairman of the Louisville Housing Authority. “I was very impressed when I toured Josephine Commons,” he said, “and I would be delighted to have a similar project on this piece of land.”