Alpine-Balsam Implementation

Current stage

• Q4 2024
  • Floodway and site infrastructure construction begins
  • Regulatory approvals on Alpine-Balsam development and the Western City Campus
• 2025
  • Floodway and site infrastructure construction continues
  • Western City Campus Construction begins

The city will begin construction of a floodway mitigation channel to remove the properties on the Alpine-Balsam site from the flood zone in 2025. This work will be more than just a floodway, and will include extensive landscaping, an improved bicycle lane, enhanced pedestrian crossings, a plaza and pedestrian walkway improvements.

Anderson Consulting Engineers was hired by the city to design the flood mitigation channel and facilitate the federal FEMA process (known as a Conditional Letter of Map Revision or “CLOMR” and Letter of Map Revision or “LOMR”) to redraw the floodplain map. Stream Landscape Architects was added to the design team in early 2022 to ensure aesthetic and natural elements envisioned in the Area Plan are realized. The design was submitted for a Floodplain Development Review permit in April 2023 and was submitted to FEMA for the CLOMR in late 2023. City staff have worked with Mile High Flood District to obtain a construction contractor so that construction can commence immediately upon receiving regulatory approvals. CEI constructors has been selected as the General Contractor the for the floodway project.

ZGF Architects were selected in July 2022 as the design team for the Western City Campus and tasked with proceeding on the design of the Pavilion Building renovation, new civic plaza, parking garage, and other site-wide elements. Since ZGF was selected, extensive work has been done to analyze the city’s needs, determine the required environmental and regulatory requirements, and develop funding strategies. Saunders construction was selected in June 2024 as the General Contractor for the Western City Campus. Work will begin in 2025.

• Visit the Western City Campus project page for more information

Led by Boulder Housing Partners. More information and updates to come!

The city successfully completed the deconstruction of the hospital in fall 2023. Many materials from the hospital were directly reused in other projects or recycled. Overall, 94% of all the building materials from the deconstruction of the hospital were diverted away from the landfill. The steel from the hospital was removed and reused in several city projects, including the new Fire Station 3.

See page 13 of the Winter 2023 Community Newsletter for an article about the sustainable deconstruction of this site.

• Sign-up for the Western City Campus and Site e-newsletter to receive project updates.
• Sign-up for the city’s planning e-newsletter to receive city-wide planning updates.