Reviving downtown character goal of latest Coburn projects

BOULDER ? Coburn Development has two new projects on the Pearl Street Mall, Century and 12 Maples. Both developments are mixed use, combining commercial with residential.

Century includes the restoration of the 1901 Carey Hotel for use as residential units. The hotel was part of the building Coburn purchased from Old World Lighting at 18th and Pearl streets last July, said John A. Koval, vice president of Coburn.

Coburn demolished the front portion of the building, which had been built in the 1950s and 1960s, and kept the hotel, which was located at the rear of the building and had been used as warehouse space.

The hotel will be renovated and turned into a duplex-style housing unit, he said. The project will be completed by 2001, exactly 100 years after the hotel first opened, which is why Coburn is calling the development Century.

Coburn also is building 7,000 square feet of commercial space and six residential units totaling another 7,000 square feet at the site. Two of the residential units will be permanently affordable housing, Koval said.

Following city requirements, the third floor will be set back from the street so the building will look like a two-story building.

Coburn already has two contracts pending on Century. Koval said there has been a strong demand for housing in the Boulder downtown area. “It’s a more progressive way to live,” he said. “It goes back to people being able to walk to the store to get a quart of milk.”

Coburn’s other development, 12 Maples, also combines commercial and residential, including 14 residential units and 10,000 square feet of office and retail space.

The housing includes detached and attached single-family units and some loft-style homes. The commercial portion will house Boulder Venture and Emergent Genetic, two venture capital groups. The retail portion will consist of HW Home, a furniture company, and The Envelope Please, a stationery shop.

The name 12 Maples came from Coburn’s decision to plant 12 maple trees on the property, five along 19th Street and seven on Pearl Street. “We decided to improve the streetscape and bring it back to its city character,” he said.DONATION TO THISTLE: Brian Underhill, a Boulder resident, has donated $60,000 to Thistle Community Housing to help fund an upcoming housing acquisition that would increase affordable housing in Boulder.

“I want my donation to motivate others in the community who are in similar situations to step up to the plate and help support permanently affordable housing,´ said Underhill, who purchased a home in Boulder 10 years ago for $180,000 and recently sold it for $670,000. The home’s price had increased three and a half times during his ownership.

“While I benefited from these market conditions, others are left out,” he said. “Most families can’t afford to live here on average incomes any longer and that’s a loss for everyone. I chose Thistle to receive approximately 10 percent of the sale of my house because their organization pinpointed the housing problem years ago and has continued to work on it in a more difficult market and in creative ways.”

Aaron Miripol, Thistle’s executive director, said, “With the city of Boulder seeing annual housing appreciation of 20 percent, we must find new and inventive ways to preserve affordable housing for the people that have made our community strong. Thank goodness for Mr. Underhill’s most generous support. We need more people like him to help us finance property acquisition here in Boulder and the surrounding communities.”

Call Thistle Community Housing at (303) 442-9637.RECYCLING AT UMC EXPANSION: The expansion and renovation of the University Memorial Center is under way and putting recycling practices to work.

The UMC construction project already has recovered 1.2 million pounds of construction and demolition waste for reuse and recycling.

“The recovered materials include aluminum, bricks, concrete, copper, steel and wood,´ said Carlos Garcia, director of the UMC and manager of the building project. “The materials all have gone to local markets and are being made back into raw materials.”

The recycling program also has saved the university money. “The UMC construction and demolition waste recovery project is the first major effort of its kind to take place on the CU-Boulder campus,´ said Jack DeBell, director of CU Recycling. “Its success is setting a template that future campus building projects will emulate.”

Once under way, the construction phase will focus on sustainability. The new building will feature energy-efficient design elements and day lighting. The materials used will be environmentally friendly, including recycled-content carpets and bamboo flooring.NEW FEES: New fees will be applied to services provided by Boulder’s Planning and Public Works Development Inspection Services effective Jan. 2, 2001. A finalized 2001 fee schedule is expected in mid-December. A draft of the proposed fees is posted on the Web at www.co.boulder.co.us/buildingservices/fees, along with the current fee schedule.LOAN SECURED: John Richert and Marsha Blair of Terrix Financial Corp. have arranged a loan of $1.5 million secured by Riverbend Office Buildings, a two-building, 14,000-square-foot office complex built in 1905.

The 10-year loan was fixed at 8 percent and amortized over 25 years. Royal Neighbors provided the loan and it was represented in the Colorado market by Terrix Financial Corp. The borrowers were local investors. Proceeds were used to pay off a higher rate loan.WESTMINSTER

PHASE TWO OF RESERVE: A second phase of the Ranch Reserve near the northeast corner of 112th Avenue and Federal Boulevard in Westminster was approved by the planning commission on Oct. 24.

The development plan has 61 single-family, detached units on approximately 24 acres plus about 27 acres of park dedication.

A north to south alignment will extend Ranch Reserve Parkway from its existing terminus in the first phase of the Ranch Reserve south to 112th Avenue. The extension will form the eastern boundary of the residential area.LOUISVILLE

SUNNYSIDE GRAND OPENING: Sunnyside, Louisville’s newest affordable housing complex, will celebrate its grand opening from 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 5.

Sunnyside, a 17-unit complex at 401 East St., is geared toward families and has eight, three-bedroom units and nine, two-bedroom units. The complex features a children’s play area and a resident community building, which is being constructed by students enrolled in the Boulder Valley School District’s Construction Trades Program. The community building will be completed in June. It will house a large common room and community kitchen.

One of the two-bedroom units is wheelchair-accessible. All the units have maple hardwood floors, major kitchen appliances, including dishwashers, porches and private back patios, laundry hookups and on-site parking.

The name Sunnyside was developed for a contest of area third-graders last spring. Alexis Yeager of Louisville, a student at Monarch elementary and middle school, came up with the name and received a $100 savings bond at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Families who make 50 percent of their median income in Boulder County qualify to live at Sunnyside. That translates to an annual household income of $37,000 for a family of four.

Two-bedroom units rent for $774 a month and three bedrooms are $893 a month. Preference on the homes is given to Louisville residents. “Sometimes families that have been renting here have had to move out of the community to find something workable,´ said John Keany, a Louisville city council member. “That disrupts the families and their children’s schooling.”

Leasing of the units has begun with occupancy set for December. For information, call (303) 665-9244.LONGMONT

WATERSONG DOING PRESALES: Watersong, a new development of townhouses and single-family homes, is being built in Longmont south of U.S. Highway 119 on Hover Road.

Peak Properties & Development Corp. in Boulder is the developer. The development has a total of 113 two- and three-bedroom homes, including 23 single-family, detached residences and 90 townhouses, said Pat Hallacy, Watersong sales manager. The homes range from 1,200 square feet to 1,638 square feet and are priced from $180,000 to $250,000, he said. Included is use of a community pool, parks and bike paths.

Peak Properties & Development Corp. has been doing presales on the homes since last summer. The company has closed on 27 and 44 are under contract, Hallacy said. Call Watersong at (303) 402-1899.XILINX ACQUIRES BUILDING: Xilinx Inc., a Boulder-based supplier of programmable logic chips and software, has purchased the 197,658-square-foot Adaptec Building in Longmont for $23 million.

The building sits on a 34-acre site, giving Xilinx the opportunity to build additional office space amounting to 275,000 square feet, said Gary Aboussie, a broker with the Colorado Group and the exclusive broker for the transaction.

Approximately 90,000 square feet of the building currently is being leased. Adaptec is leasing 50,000 square feet, and OnStream Inc. is leasing the remaining 40,000 square feet. Xilinx also owns an adjoining 64-acre parcel and is in phase one of developing a 128,000-square-foot facility there, Aboussie said.

The potential for development on these properties is more than 1 million square feet, he said, adding the Xilinx lease is the largest in Longmont.

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