On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, Planning Board will consider a concept plan for a mixed use development with retail and 183 rental housing units on a 1.5 acre site on the east side of Folsom between Walnut Street and Canyon Blvd. Right now, the sites (1840 Folsom and 1844 Folsom) are occupied by a 1 story and 3 story office building, each with surface parking.
The central location of this project would allow for car-lite living, and is the perfect place for compact development such as this. The site has a Walk Score of 89 as it is just blocks away from several grocery stores, retail, restaurants, and services for day to day needs. Folsom is a key corridor in the Core Arterial Network that is slated to be improved for all road users, which will greatly improve the bikeability of the area. Combined with amenities such as secure bike parking, this would allow many residents to opt to go car-lite or car-free, and rely on more sustainable modes to get around town on a day to day basis.
This development would provide a mixture of unit sizes ranging from studio to 3 bedroom, and the height of 5 stories allows for a greater number of homes for new neighbors. It adds much needed housing to our city that has a strong housing and jobs imbalance. Other cities such as Minneapolis have shown us that increasing the supply of housing can stabilize or reduce the drastic increase of rents.
Not only is the developer increasing the supply of housing, but they are greatly reducing the size of the units, making them more affordable. The average unit size is 759 sq. ft. Studios are 485 sq. ft. and 3-bedrooms are 1,200 sq. ft. This is an advantage to the community because it enables more middle income people to live in the central part of the city.
The project is aiming for a 1:1 ratio of car parking to dwelling units. Most of those parking spaces are in a shared garage below ground, with the remainder tucked away behind the building, away from the active pedestrian spaces. The shared nature of the parking allows for more efficient utilization of the space, and the underground construction allows for maximizing the above ground housing and retail space that might otherwise have been parking. However, given the highly walkable, bikeable, and transit-accessible location, the number of parking spaces provided exceeds the actual need, especially since many nearby developments have overly abundant parking. A more effective use of the ground floor space would be to allocate it for additional housing and resident amenities.
The developer is proposing to comply with Boulder’s parking principle (SUMP) that parking be Shared, Unbundled, Managed and Paid. “Unbundled” means that the parking spaces will be priced separately from the units, meaning that only those who rent a parking space will pay for one. However, underground construction comes with a high price tag ($60,000-$70,000 per space), and the price of the parking spaces will likely not come close to cost-recovery for the construction of parking. This means that the rents of all the residents, even those who do not have a car or rent a parking space, will be subsidizing the garage parking. Instead, the owner should commit to price the parking to fund the full cost of the parking facility, so as to not unfairly burden those who wish to live more frugally without a car.
A final thought: this project represents a large increase in density and affordability that was implemented by the City Council with its adoption of the Zoning for Affordable Housing that went into effect January 1, 2024. Before that change, 40 units—very large and very expensive—could be built on this site. But now we are getting 183 much smaller and less expensive units, bringing more people to what is already a 15-minute neighborhood.
With such a central location—walkable, bikeable, and with easy access to transit—this is the perfect place for mixed use including housing units our city greatly needs.
Get Involved: How you can reach Planning Board
Email Planning Board to express your views. Any correspondence you wish the Board to review is best received via email at least 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting.
Attend or speak in person or via Zoom Tuesday evening. The meeting in Council Chambers begins at 6pm. The Zoom link is posted here 24 hours before the meeting.
Speak in your own words: tell the Planning Board why adding more housing affordable for regular people is important. Telling about your own struggles finding housing in Boulder has a powerful impact. If you can make the story personal that is great, but if you want to voice general support for housing, that is OK too.The Planning Board Agenda and packet with more information about the projects are here.