Boulder leaders scrutinize Dark Horse redevelopment plans

BOULDER — Plans for the Williams Village II project, which seeks to transform a busy corner of Baseline Road in Boulder that’s home to World Famous Dark Horse Bar, received mixed reviews from city residents and officials Thursday evening when conceptual proposals were presented to the Boulder City Council.

The project, led by property owners the Williams family and developer Morgan Creek Ventures, seeks to essentially scrape the 10-acre site on 2900 block of Baseline — also home to Sprouts Market, Cosmos’s Pizza, a liquor store, a bank and several other businesses — to build 726,000 square feet of space in six buildings, four and five stories tall. The proposed development would accommodate:

• 610 residential units, divided between market-rate and student apartments.
• 98,000 square feet of commercial space.
• A 76,000-square-foot hotel.
• Two parking structures and underground space for nearly 800 vehicles.

The proposal for the property, adjacent to the University of Colorado’s Williams Village dormitories, has been controversial in the community for a number of reasons, not least of which is that its construction would mean demolishing the Dark Horse building, which has been home to a beloved watering hole for CU students and alumni for five decades. 

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The development team sought to assuage this concern prior to Thursday’s City Council hearing by entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Tobin family, the Dark Horse’s long-time owners, to extend its lease and remain in place until construction on the site begins, likely several years down the line. The Williams family has also offered to carve out 6,000 square feet of space in Williams Village II for a new Dark Horse. 

“There’s a really cool future for the Dark Horse in this scenario,” said Bill Holicky, a project representative and principal at Coburn Architecture.

In addition to setting aside square footage for a new Dark Horse, the Williams family has pledged to provide space for a new Sprouts in Williams Village II.

“We’d like the Dark Horse and Sprouts … to be part of this neighborhood center for many decades to come,” Morgan Creek principal Andy Bush said. 

“Save the Dark Horse” became something of a rallying cry during the January Planning Board meeting, as several dozen speakers voiced their displeasure with aspects of the redevelopment plan — including the lack of plans for on-site affordable housing and the size and massing of the planned buildings — during a public comment session.

Speakers during Thursday’s meeting were, for the most part, less sharp in their criticism of the Williams Village II plan, however concerns among neighbors persist.

“If the developers could put affordable housing on site, that would be one of the best things they could do at this property,” Lois LaCroix said during a  public comment session. 

She scoffed at a suggestion from the development team that Williams Village II will attract residents who live in nearby communities but want to live closer to their jobs in Boulder. “That is a bunch of crap,”  LaCroix said. “People live in Superior and Broomfield because it’s cheaper.”

Boulder City Councilman Mark Wallach pressed the development team on its expectations for apartment rates, but the team mostly avoided giving specific dollar figures. 

A number of city leaders and residents questioned the need for a hotel on the site and said more retail square footage would be preferable.

Williams Village did have some supporters on Thursday night, including David Batchelder, who said the redevelopment plan is “a wonderful opportunity for Boulder to transform this space.” He added: “Boulder needs more housing and building more housing tends to lower housing costs.”

While no formal votes were taken Thursday, Boulder City Council members referred the project to the city’s Design Advisory Board, Transportation Advisory Board and Environmental Advisory Board for further review prior to a yet-to-be-scheduled site review hearing.

“Our intention with tonight’s concept plan review was twofold: to provide an assurance on the Dark Horse and Sprouts, and to share our vision for a neighborhood center that includes new housing, new retail and affordable commercial spaces, and parks and open space,” Bush told BizWest in a texted statement after Thursday’s meeting. “Our concept was significantly strengthened by input from Boulder’s Planning Board, and we now have much more clarity from (the Boulder City) Council on some important considerations for this site, including housing affordability, mobility, and maximizing the commercial space.”