In 2000, Boulder enacted a policy change designed to increase the number of residential living spaces in some downtown areas as a way to further the vitality of the civic center.
More than a decade later — and with a glut of more than 100 pricey condos sitting on the market — city planners and local business leaders are wondering whether developers should now receive incentives to build more office space rather than housing in the heart of downtown.
“There’s a feeling we’re losing some of our corporate users who might be downtown — they don’t have the space available,” said David Driskell, Boulder’s executive director of community planning. “It also stems from people’s concerns that the housing we’ve seen built downtown has been less diverse in price than we might like.”
Earlier this month, the Boulder City Council gave Planning Department staff the go-ahead to explore extending the existing density bonus — which allows developers to increase the square-footage of their projects if they include housing units — to office and retail space as well.
Get more on this report at .
