Environmental Advisory Board reviews sustainable redevelopment proposal for 2952 Baseline

The City of Boulder Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) reviewed a site‑review presentation for a proposed redevelopment of 2952 Baseline at a regular board meeting, where the applicant described plans for four four‑story mixed‑use buildings, one five‑story residential building for student housing, about 59,000 square feet of ground‑floor commercial space and 412 residential units.

The presentation, delivered by Coburn project staff, emphasized pedestrian connections, expanded landscaping and a package of sustainability measures—including cross‑laminated timber (CLT) for parts of the project, rooftop gardens, electric vehicle charging, and building systems designed to exceed the City of Boulder energy code. Board members asked about grocery space retention, transit connections, stormwater and nonpotable water strategies, construction deconstruction and reuse, and the feasibility of rooftop solar.

City planning staff said council had referred the project to the EAB for advice; board members agreed to provide feedback to staff for inclusion in a memorandum to Planning Board and City Council. Chandler Van Schaack, the project case manager, told the board that staff would summarize the advisory board's recommendations in the record and pass them to decision‑making authorities.

Proposal details and sustainability measures Coburn presenters described the site today as a largely asphalt parking lot that includes an existing strip mall (including a Sprouts location and restaurants) adjacent to Williams Village student housing and Route 36. Their concept places buildings and active ground‑floor uses to knit pedestrian and bike connections through the site, hide most parking in garages at the site's periphery and provide short‑ and long‑term bike parking adjacent to paths and building entries.

The development team said buildings would be all electric and designed to perform 10% better than Boulder's energy code (the applicant said Boulder's code is about 20% stricter than the national baseline). The team also identified additional measures: heat recovery systems, low‑flow water fixtures, nonpotable irrigation strategies, electric vehicle charging in garages, electric scooter and e‑bike parking, and a target to recycle 75% of demolished building materials during deconstruction and construction.

The applicant spotlighted one material choice as notable for Boulder: proposing cross‑laminated timber (CLT) for at least one residential building, which the presenter said would be among the first residential CLT structures in Boulder. The project also proposes rooftop green spaces on all buildings except Building C, and a potential urban farming/community garden area on Building D. Presenters described a palette of durable exterior materials (brick, metal, composite siding) intended to increase longevity and reduce lifecycle waste.

Board questions and staff responses Board members asked whether a grocery tenant would be retained; the applicant said conversations with Sprouts were ongoing and that design work preserves ground‑floor space and loading configurations intended to accommodate a grocer. On transit, presenters said existing RTD stops are within a five‑minute walk, and noted a nearby crosswalk on Baseline had already been identified as hazardous; staff said city funding (referenced in the presentation as "grama funding") is available to improve that crossing with the project's street plan.

On renewable energy and solar, presenters said rooftop solar had been discussed but no firm construction‑phase commitment had been finalized; several board members urged clearer, firmer solar and battery plans. On water, staff described contemporary stormwater approaches (rain gardens and on‑site retention) as the primary near‑term nonpotable strategy and said graywater reuse or building‑level wastewater recovery systems would require more technical design during the permitting stage.

Board members also probed construction waste diversion. The city staff member overseeing deconstruction said the city maintains a deconstruction program that supports reuse markets and recycling, and that contractors typically work with reuse outlets and recycling vendors to meet diversion requirements.

Fire resilience and building materials Board members asked about fire‑resistant materials. Staff and the applicant said durable cladding choices (brick, metal, cementitious panels) are both long‑lasting and generally more fire resistant. The applicant acknowledged that CLT is a heavy‑timber approach with distinct fire performance characteristics and said material and siding choices would be selected to balance durability, longevity and fire resilience.

Process and next steps Chandler Van Schaack, the city case manager, told the board the EAB may make recommendations and that staff would summarize any consensus feedback in a memorandum to Planning Board and City Council. Jackson (board member) asked whether the verbal feedback sufficed; Chandler said staff would capture the input and that an internal vote or written recommendations from the board would be helpful if the board wished to formalize guidance. There was no formal board vote on the site review application itself during the meeting.

Ending Staff and the development team said they appreciated the board's detailed questions and requested additional written guidance on solar, expanded canopy and more specific retail‑tenant goals (for example, prioritizing locally owned or minority‑owned businesses). The project remains at the advisory/review stage; staff said building permits and technical design work (including detailed water reuse and energy system choices) are expected later in the process.