By Emma Houckes
Boulder City Council approved a purchase agreement between the Central Area General Improvement District, or CAGID, and the developers of the Midnight Auteur hotel. The agreement concerns a property at 2121 Broadway, currently a parking lot at Broadway and Spruce Street.
The developer also owns the Ramble Hotel in Denver and made an unsolicited offer in 2024 for the 2121 Broadway property to develop it as a boutique hotel. The land is expected to be sold to the developers for roughly $5.8 million under a tentative final agreement. Assistant City Manager Mark Woulf said the city’s broker confirmed the price is “above market value and very competitive for comparable downtown properties.”
The existing surface parking lot is the primary parking option for many members and employees of First Congregational United Church of Christ.
Many church congregants were present Thursday night to express concerns about the proposed development, saying the existing parking lot’s proximity to the church is necessary for older adults and members with disabilities.
In addition to the church, the building is also home to nonprofit organizations such as Mindful Works, which provides job training to people with disabilities, as well as 12-step recovery groups and programs that support people experiencing homelessness.
One speaker expressed concern that removing the parking lot would displace the various groups that frequent the building, where parking is already limited in downtown Boulder.
“Removing 59 spaces would make an already strained situation significantly worse,” the speaker said. “Losing this lot would have a profound impact on the people who depend on our building.”
The proposed solution to the removal of the parking lot is the use of the Spruce Street Garage. Those opposed to the hotel purchase said the Spruce Street Garage was not accessible or close enough for people who need accessible parking.
Mayor Pro Tem Tara Winer urged congregants and others concerned about the feasibility of using the Spruce Street Garage to give it a chance. She said the garage is scheduled for repairs, including work on the elevator.
The hotel is expected to generate significant revenue for the city by bringing in new tax revenue and visitors. Woulf and other council members agreed that surface parking is not the best economic use of the land in downtown Boulder. Councilmember Rob Kaplan said
the hotel is expected to capitalize $18.5 million to $28.5 million for the city of Boulder, while the current parking lot primarily generates maintenance costs.
The developer is expected to follow six community benefit covenants in the agreement, including a commitment to work with Visit Boulder and major cultural event organizers, such as the Sundance Film Festival, on the availability of rooms and event space.
Despite opposition from many congregants, supporters of the sale said the hotel would be a lively and profitable addition to downtown Boulder. Supporters praised the developer’s Ramble Hotel in Denver and said a similar space in Boulder would revitalize downtown and bring in visitors from outside the city.
The developer, Ryan Diggins, said his company is committed to cultural programming and community.
“What gets me out of bed in the morning in my career these days is creating spaces for meaningful connection to take place,” he said.
Still, he said he understood the concerns of the church’s congregants and assured them that he wanted to speak with each of them about those concerns.
Councilmember Nicole Speer spoke in support of the purchase as a member of First Congregational United Church of Christ.
“I feel it would be irresponsible to future generations not to keep working on consolidating and concentrating our footprint given we have so much aging infrastructure to maintain,” she said. “We’re already seeing these benefits from the Moxy and Limelight on the Hill. We’ll also see a benefit in reducing our facilities load.”
She offered reassurance to fellow congregants that, now that the private negotiations are over, there will be multiple opportunities for the public to weigh in on design and planning.
Councilmember Taishya Adams was the only council member to vote no on the purchase. Adams raised concerns about the hotel’s projections, which did not include the 2025 water planning scenarios.
“I believe that the city of Boulder needs to raise the bar as it relates to our energy and water demands,” she said.
Safety and mobility improvements in North 30th and South 30th street corridors
Boulder City Council also approved two motions Thursday night authorizing the acquisition of property interests for the North 30th Street and South 30th Street projects.
Both votes were unanimous, and council members praised work that has already been completed on Colorado Avenue between 30th Street and Arapahoe Avenue.
Garrett Slater, senior manager for capital projects, said the North 30th Street corridor project will include bicycle lanes, intersection enhancements, pedestrian facilities and bus upgrades to improve mobility and safety between Walnut Street and the Diagonal Highway. The North 30th Street corridor project is expected to be completed by the end of 2029.
Similarly, the South 30th Street corridor project will include many of the same safety improvements between Colorado Highway 7 and Baseline Road. The South 30th Street corridor project is expected to be completed by the end of 2028 so the community will not have both projects under construction at the same time, Slater said.