Alpine-Balsam Redevelopment
In 2015, the city of Boulder purchased the entire hospital campus site at 1100 Balsam Avenue at the corner of Balsam and Broadway streets, as well as two properties on Alpine Avenue and two small properties on North Street. The city purchased the site for several reasons. First, it is an important site to the community and a rare opportunity to help ensure that future redevelopment of the site fits the community’s vision and goals and enhances the character of the neighborhood. Second, the site presents an additional option for the city to consider as part of a larger facilities-visioning process that may save resources by consolidating office space and public-facing services that are currently leased to the city in a number of locations. The city will also be considering other potential uses for the site to best benefit the community.
The first year of the design workshop, 2016-2017, focused on the Alpine-Balsam initiative, a major long-term planning, design and development initiative of the city of Boulder, centered at the site previously occupied by Boulder Community Hospital. The goal of the 2016-2017 workshop was to create a baseline of knowledge and ideas supporting community dialogue around urban design and planning opportunities at the site and in nearby neighborhoods. The project relied on collaborative work across multiple disciplines, including faculty and staff in environmental sciences and design, and children and youth organized through Growing Up Boulder. The project was funded by CU Boulder's Office for Outreach and Engagement.
To ensure the site’s history and character were incorporated into the project, public input was solicited throughout the process. It will take many months of gathering community input and planning before the current site can be transformed, but the process of evaluating potential uses is part of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update. City staff will work with the community to explore future options and will solicit input to ensure that the development fits in with the community’s vision and goals.
A Boulder Community Project: Alpine Balsam, city of Boulder website
Student projects on former hospital site the focus of Dec. 9 open house, CU Boulder Today, Dec. 2, 2016
Open house marks anniversary of collaboration between CU Boulder and the city, CU Boulder Today, April 28, 2017
Partners: City of Boulder, Goose Creek Neighborhoods, MetroLab Initiative, Community Engagement Design and Research Center, Growing Up Boulder, Program in Environmental Design, CUEngage, Environmental Studies Program, Masters in Environmental Design.
Classes
Four classes were taught in fall 2016:
ENVD 3144: History & Theory of ENVD, Jota Samper, assistant professor.
ENVD 3152: Geospatial Applications for Planners, Brian Muller, associate professor.
ENVS 4800: (Sec 005) Sustainability and Community, Brian Muller, associate professor.
ENVD 3122: Research Issues and Methods in Design and Planning, Shawhin Roudbari, assistant professor.
Three classes were taught in spring 2017:
ENVD 3300: Praxis Studio, Stacey Schulte, senior instructor.
LEAD 4000: Leadership in Context and Emerging Challenges: A Capstone, Kira Pasquesi, program director, CU Engage.
ENVD 4794 Capstone, Brian Muller, associate professor.
Additional researcher: Joel Hartter, ENVS associate professor.