Boulder officials to take closer look at Spruce Street residential project

BOULDER — The Boulder City Council plans to dig deeper into plans to redevelop a commercial block of Spruce Street, voting Tuesday night to call up a proposal to build 63 new housing units. The project will come up at a meeting in two months. 

Pace Development LLC plans to build the project, known as Papilio, in two phases on a bit more than two acres at 2504 Spruce St. The first would include two apartments and 16 townhomes and the second would have 45 apartments of a variety of sizes. 

The council has the authority to take a closer look at concept plans in order to provide feedback and guidance to developers and staff.

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The Spruce Street property is unique in that it includes the Mecca Building at 2546 Spruce, which could be eligible for historical landmarking as it is a “good example of late mid-century modern ‘Googie’ style’” architecture, according to Boulder planning documents. 

In addition to what should be done with the Mecca Building, the upcoming call-up, set for Nov. 30, could include a discussion on the potential to add affordably priced units to the site.

Because the call-up will occur after November’s municipal elections, a newly constituted council will be tasked with the review. 

Due to the complexity of the proposal, the call-up could be a “good early opportunity to baby-step us through the process,” Councilwoman Rachel Friend said.

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