Former Alfalfa’s building to be subdivided, renovated for multiple tenants

BOULDER — The former Alfalfa’s building at 1651 Broadway will be subdivided and redeveloped for multiple tenants, according to development plans submitted to the city.

The 37,000-square-foot building has been vacant since Alfalfa’s closed in February. Plans for the project were approved by city planners last month. 

The project is dubbed “Market Square.” It calls for the removal of the grocery equipment within the building to allow it to be divided for four tenants. Development plans call for a 15,423-square-foot retail space, 6,056-square-foot retail space, 3,959-square-foot office space and 10,125-square-foot medical space.

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The exterior of the building will be renovated to give each tenant space its own entrance and exit. The previously unenclosed processing area that was used for loading and waste diversions will be transformed into an open plaza area. The building footprint and parking lot will remain unchanged.

Alfalfa’s shut down its Boulder, Longmont and Louisville locations earlier this year as the natural grocer fell behind on rent and payments to vendors. When the Boulder store closed, it left the University Hill and downtown areas without a major grocery store and exacerbated a lack of grocery options along the Broadway corridor. 

Currently, the only operating grocery stores along Broadway are the Whole Foods near the intersection of Broadway and Table Mesa Drive, the Ideal Market at 1275 Alpine Ave. and the Lucky’s Market at 3960 Broadway. The King Soopers at Broadway and Table Mesa remains closed after 10 people were killed there in a mass shooting last March; it is expected to reopen in January. 

In June, the owners of Lucky’s Market, Bo and Trish Sharon, purchased Lolita’s Market and Deli at 800 Pearl St. That store, which became locally famous for its 24/7 hours and fresh, homemade sandwiches, offers some groceries, drinks and snacks. However, it is not a full-service grocery store, and no plans for a full-service store in the Hill and downtown areas have been announced.

The architect for the Alfalfa’s redesign is Boulder-based PEH Architects, and the engineer is Lafayette company Hurst & Associates. The property is owned by B’way Property LP. According to the leak in October of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ tax records, B’way Property LP is owned by the Polis family. The listing for the property is held by brokers Sam Zaitz, Adam Rubenstein and Sarah Alfano of international real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

Representatives for B’way Property LP and the city of Boulder did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives from JLL declined to comment. 

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