Koelbel intends to build homes for Armory project

BOULDER — Koelbel Urban Homes has signed a letter of intent to build homes on two of the four blocks that make up the redevelopment of the 8.5-acre site of the Colorado National Guard Armory in Boulder.

Bruce Dierking, manager of Circle D Companies, and Jim Loftus, owner of Loftus Developments, have divided the property at the southeast corner of Broadway and Lee Hill Drive into four blocks. They plan to develop the two blocks fronting Broadway for mixed use, while Koelbel would build homes on the two blocks to the east adjacent to the Holiday Neighborhood.

“We met with a number of interested builders over the past six months and selected KUH as the best fit to help implement our vision for the Armory property,” Dierking said in an email.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Prioritizing mental health in hospice care

Prioritizing mental health support alongside physical comfort, Pathways hospice care aims to enhance the quality of life for patients and their families during one of life's most challenging transitions.

The two blocks that Dierking, an attorney and an owner of law firm Packard and Dierking LLC, and Loftus plan to develop, would include an arts pavilion, outdoor plaza and affordable housing for artists. It also will have space for restaurants, retail and loftstyle living. The iconic Armory mess hall would be preserved, but other smaller buildings would be demolished.

“We are moving ahead with the project based upon the positive reception the concept plan received,” Dierking said. He intends to submit a site-review plan in the next few months that will include all four blocks.

Dierking and Loftus formed Armory Redevelopment Partners LLC in 2009 to purchase the armory property. They have the property under contract and expect to close on the sale in mid-2015.

Koelbel Urban Homes, the home-building affiliate of Denver-based Koelbel and Company, earlier this year purchased 6.12 acres of land in North Boulder for $3 million near the Armory project where it will build TrailCrossing at Lee Hill. It will consist of 31 single-family homes with three qualifying as affordable. That project is bounded by Lee Hill Drive, Yellow Pine Avenue, Eighth Street and 10th Street, and is the former site of Boulder County’s fire-training center.

Dierking said in September he had received letters of interest from Oskar Blues to construct a brew pub and Comida to open a cantina. He also has a letter of interest from a group that wants to operate a small general store.

“We continue to be in discussions with various potential tenants for commercial space in the project,” Dierking said. “We are also exploring various public-private partnership opportunities around affordable housing and parking.”