Boulder city council calls special meeting to discuss purchase of BCH’s Broadway campus

BOULDER — The Boulder city council announced Friday that it will conduct a special meeting Tuesday, July 14, to discuss purchasing the former Boulder Community Health campus on Broadway in Boulder.

Boulder Community Health has agreed in principle to sell its Broadway campus to the city of Boulder for $40 million, hospital spokesman Rich Sheehan said Friday in an email. The agreement requires approval by the BCH board of directors and the Boulder city council.  Sheehan said hospital officials expect the city council will vote on the sale Tuesday, and the hospital’s board of directors will vote next Wednesday.

“We had several very attractive offers for the Broadway property, but the city made a comprehensive and competitive bid that met our financial objectives,” BCH’s president and chief executive David Gehant said in a prepared statement. “The city’s offer was the unanimous choice of our negotiating team.”

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Both parties have agreed upon the major terms of the sales agreement.  Some details remain to be negotiated for the final contract.

According to the terms of the sales agreement, BCH will continue to occupy the Broadway campus and provide health-care services there through the end of 2017.

The special meeting is to seek council approval of the agreement in principle and to authorize the city manager to enter into negotiations for a purchase and sale agreement. The proposed purchase would include all properties  of the Broadway campus and require an initial earnest money deposit of $3 million July 15. The deposit would be paid through the General Fund.

The BCH Broadway campus represents approximately 8.8 acres of land area and more than 355,000 square feet of existing building space. It includes the hospital and associated grounds at 1100 Balsam; The Medical Pavilion at 1155 Alpine St.; The parking garage at 2655 Broadway; The Brenton Building at 1136 Alpine St.; The parking lot at 1125 North St.; and the parking lot at 1135 North St.

City manager Jane Brautigam in a prepared statement said owning the site would provide the opportunity for Boulder to partner with others and work with the community to envision the future of the property.

“This purchase will enable the city to address important community needs in this prime location, including but not limited to office space to deliver city programs and services in a manner that respects the neighborhood context and supports the long term vitality of the Boulder community,” she said.

The city intends to use of certificates of participation to finance the purchase; it would be repaid over a period of 30 years.  The payments are estimated to be between $2.5 million and $3.1 million per year.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. adding comments from hospital officials.