Apartments to condos switch can make sense

Over the past two decades, hundreds of apartment units in the Boulder area have been turned into condominiums, and the trend continues to play a crucial role in the local housing market.

Tom Fowler, president of Fowler Real Estate/Better Homes & Gardens, knows the process well. During the 80s and 90s, Fowler’s company handled several large-scale conversions in which sprawling apartment complexes were removed from the rental market and changed into Boulder’s version of affordable housing: condos.

The list of converted apartment complexes is lengthy. From the early 80s,…