The dissolution of a public-private partnership is putting a planned Boulder Junction project at the former Pollard Motors site in jeopardy. Facing a tight deadline and uncertain funding, the city and its remaining partner are unsure if the deal can be pulled off in time to save 179 affordable homes and cost-limited retail space meant to boost local small businesses.
A joint development agreement between the city and Denver-based Zocalo Community Development has been abandoned “following (a) mutual decision,” according to both parties. Zocalo felt the ambitious project — which includes 119 affordable rentals, 48 co-op rooms and 12 affordable and 153 market-rate townhomes for purchase, plus commercial space — could not make it through Boulder’s planning process in time to qualify for $4 million in federal funding.
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The agreement was signed in March after City Council approval, to govern the redevelopment of 4.3 acres at 30th and Pearl streets, catty-corner from Google’s new campus. A key part of funding the project would be seeking an extension of the Qualified Census Tract, a designation on the land made by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as being in need of dollars to encourage revitalization.
Boulder Junction was once in such a tract, but because of myriad developments ongoing there, the Pollard site lost its designation prior to the acceptance of the joint development agreement. Zocalo and Boulder Housing Partners, which was tapped to develop the affordable rentals, jointly applied and were granted an extension But the deal was time-limited: a building permit would have to be in-hand by December 2019.
Developers and the city were initially optimistic the timeline could be met. As the months ticked away with haggling over agreement details, Zocalo began to worry the project would never make it through Boulder’s famously slow planning process in time to meet the deadline and preserve the federal funds.
Read the full story at dailycamera.com.
