Recent Boulder Development Symbolizes How We Are Our Own Worst Enemies
A friend of mine recently sent me a note about what she called “a massive city project [Alpine/Balsam] being built where the Boulder [Colorado] Community Hospital used to be.” She fearfully noted that there would be “multiple heights in the buildings.” To add insult to injury, this project would feature “only one parking space per 2 bedroom unit, all affordable housing.”
“The neighborhood,” she pointed out, “is nervous because everyone will have a car and park it in the surrounding neighborhood so residents will have to fight to park in front of their homes.”
She reminded me that “they also tore down the hospital 1/2 block away from me to build the Academy Luxury Senior Housing which costs $2-7 million just to get in and then $10,000 per month rent.”
I responded by saying that I don’t consider this to be a “massive” project. That in my opinion, the proposed height of the buildings is far too short, which will make the units far more expensive. Taller buildings can make residences less expensive, I reminded her.
I noted my recollection of the terror people felt about how the Academy Luxury Senior Housing project would, they feared, lead to a loss of most or all of the on-street parking that neighborhood residents use.
I don’t believe that happened, I pointed out.
If, I told her, in the highly unlikely event that people at Alpine/Balsam or Academy Luxury Senior Housing take “too many” on-street parking spaces in nearby neighborhoods, the fix is quick and easy: Install parking meters or institute parking permits.
I asked her a question: Do you want the Alpine/Balsam housing to be extraordinarily expensive, or reasonably priced? If you or the neighborhood wants to see reasonably priced homes rather than uber expensive billionaire homes, far less than one parking space per 2 bedrooms must be provided.
In other words, installing one parking space per 2 bedrooms is not only not too few spaces, it is too much, if affordable housing is the goal.
In addition, the price of parking for each home, I offered, must be unbundled from the price of the home so that those living in the homes have the option of not paying for parking they don’t need. Did the terrorized residents forget to mention that, I asked?
Furthermore, for the homes to be reasonably priced rather than being billionaire homes, I noted, buildings must be between 4 and 5 stories in height. Those who oppose these parking and building height suggestions are indirectly demanding that the homes be unaffordable to anyone except billionaires.
Oops.
I let her know that she disparagingly referred to the “$2-$7 million just to get in” and then “$10,000 per month for rent” as a problem at Academy Luxury Senior Housing. She insisted that this was also likely to be the case for the Boulder Community Hospital homes being proposed.
The outrage!
I asked her if she realized that her Mapleton neighborhood residents asked for those high costs.
Such residents, I reminded her, did that indirectly (and apparently unknowingly) by demanding the Academy Luxury Senior Housing homes provide far too much parking, provide excessive building setbacks.
The larger setbacks at Academy were demanded to avoid what some Mapleton residents had earlier and disdainfully characterized as “homes packed like sardines." This, of course, led to larger setbacks and far more expensive homes.
The excessive setbacks demanded also created far too much open space for the Academy project. In addition, neighborhood opposition led to the construction of Academy buildings that are far too short.
In sum, the worried Mapleton neighborhood has only two choices, I said, and they chose billionaire housing prices at Boulder Community Hospital when they demanded too much parking, too much open space, excessive setbacks, and insufficient building heights.
The neighborhood then hypocritically lamented the excessive costs of the Academy housing—costs that were far higher because of neighborhood demands.
The neighborhood could have had a Tuscan village next door. Instead, they chose a suburban Houston-style subdivision that only the uber-wealthy can afford.
Who needs enemies when we have ourselves?
