Developer updates Broomfield council on Baseline master plan, projects and affordable housing progress

Real Berry general manager Carl Harris delivered an update on the Baseline master-plan community, describing the development's guiding principles as “environmental stewardship, healthy living, and innovation” and outlining entitlements and near-term work. Harris said Baseline is entitled for roughly 1,100 acres with 172 acres of planned open space and an entitlement of 9,205 residential units, though he told council the developer currently expects the likely full build-out to be closer to 5,000—6,000 residences and substantially less commercial square footage than originally entitled.

Harris framed the commercial opportunity as “an extremely robust 17.2 million square feet of commercial” entitlement but added, “we are not going to get that,” and said his best estimate for full build-out of commercial space is “closer to 4 to 5 million square feet.” He described progress on on-site amenities and infrastructure: about 119 acres of dedicated open lands, 2.5 miles of dedicated trails, an on-site K—12 school (Prospect Ridge Academy) and more than 1,200 residential units already constructed representing over 2,500 residences.

On sustainability, Harris said Baseline is working with the Butterfly Pavilion and described the community as “the world's actually first pollinator district” in partnership with the Butterfly Pavilion; he also said an internal analysis shows a roughly 51% reduction in water consumption relative to comparator projects because of irrigation choices such as purple pipe reuse, rock mulch, and native/xeric plantings. Harris said the team is pursuing home energy ratings and green power purchasing as additional sustainability measures.

Harris outlined near-term projects and phasing: Center Street and Raleigh Park are in the city's development-review queue (quasi-judicial status) with formal hearings already scheduled on the city calendar; he said Center Street could break ground this summer and Raleigh Park construction is targeted to begin in April, with the full park potentially finished in 2026——2027 timelines depending on phasing. He also said a medical-commercial catalytic project dubbed Project Oak is advancing and could accelerate east-side development and the Huron Street relocation timeline.

On housing mix and affordability, Harris confirmed a pending purchase-and-sale agreement for a condominium product and said Lincoln Avenue Communities has executed an agreement to deliver deed-restricted affordable housing in a two-phase project that the developer described as for-rent at roughly 60% AMI. Council members urged the developer to pursue some deed-restricted for-sale affordable units; Council Member Ward said, “I would really implore you to try and find at least some of those units to be for sale,” and Harris said the developer is continuing to explore options but financing and CHFA timelines complicate immediate delivery.

Council members focused questions on walkability and street crossings (especially Sheridan Boulevard), parking and the ability to retrofit surface parking in Center Street later, and the effect of the developer's rebrand from McWinnie to Real Berry. Harris said the rebrand reflects a strategy to broaden the firm's national investor reach but that core investments and long-term hold strategy remain unchanged.

What happens next: Harris and staff will return for subsequent hearings when Center Street, Trailmark West, and Raleigh Park proceed through the formal development-review and public hearing process. Council asked for clearer timelines where feasible and more detail on phasing, traffic crossing safety, and school planning tied to Adams 12 enrollment projections.

Note on figures: The developer presented specific entitlement figures but also cautioned they are market-dependent and subject to change. Where the transcript contained unclear numeric formatting for some items (for example an ambiguous readout of deed-restricted unit counts), the article reports the developer's qualitative point that Lincoln Avenue Communities will deliver deed-restricted affordable housing and that precise for-sale counts were not specified in the presentation.