controversial senior housing project moves forward in boulder

Three years after it was initially proposed, a project that will see the construction of 93 housing units for seniors has won the approval of Boulder’s Planning Board.

What is being called 311 Mapleton will go up on the former campus of the Boulder Community Hospital, adjacent to one of the oldest and most exclusive neighborhoods in the city.

The 16-acre site was purchased by the Boulder-based Mapleton Hill Investment Group in 2014 for $15 million.

In the fall of 2015, that company announced plans to redevelop a property whose roots reach back to the 1890s when it was the home to a tuberculosis sanitarium.

Those plans originally included building 150 units for seniors, a number that was later reduced in response to nearby residential concerns that the project was too large.

A separate issue confronting the project centered on a 3.7-acre portion of the campus which was found to have been designated as open space.

That designation fueled increased local opposition to the project leading to a City of Boulder staff report contending that the open space designation was an error.

According to city documents, plans for 311 Mapleton include the construction of space for a rehabilitation center, 42 rehabilitation beds, and ten memory care units.

Altogether, more than a dozen buildings will be built on a campus that will also feature a series of walkways and bridges.
The project is now on its way to the Boulder City Council for final review.

By Garry Boulard

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