Boulder City Council wants affordable housing, retail in Liquor Mart redevelopment

BOULDER — Boulder City Council members want to see on-site affordable housing units and vibrant retail elements included in the redevelopment of the Liquor Mart property at the corner of 15th Street and Canyon Boulevard.

Core Spaces LLC, a Chicago-based real estate developer that last year bought the 1.7-acre parcel from W.W. Reynolds Cos. for $16.6 million, has submitted plans for 147 apartments and 11,000 square feet of retail space on the Liquor Mart site at 1750 15th St., as well as on the adjacent former Robb’s Music site at 1580 Canyon Blvd.

The project, known as The Collective at Boulder, was reviewed in late March by Boulder’s Planning Board. Members of that board expressed similar topics of concern as the City Council: affordability, activating retail spaces along 15th Street, integrating the project with the surrounding community, parking and traffic, and flood protections.

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The council voted Tuesday to call up the project for further discussion at the board’s May 7 meeting.

Adrian Sopher with Sopher Sparn Architects LLC represented Core Spaces during Tuesday’s council meeting. He noted the similarity between the issues raised by council and those raised by the Planning Board and requested the opportunity to address those concerns sooner rather than later.

“We can’t do any work on this project if we don’t have some confidence about what your feedback is going to be,” he said.

As of now, the project plan calls for a four-level, “piano-shaped building” with two interior courtyards and roof with terraces and a pool.

Retail storefronts will line the ground floor along Canyon Boulevard.

The residential portion of the development is planned to include micro-studio, studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments that range in size from 300 square feet to 1,200 square feet. No on-site affordable housing is currently included in the plan.