Colorado Real Estate Journal - December 17, 2014
Developers are betting more people who work in Boulder would live there if they could, and so they’re building housing and amenities where there are jobs. Gunbarrel, which along with East Boulder accounts for nearly 80 percent of Boulder’s primary jobs, is a recipient of that investment. Crossbeam Concierge, a national real estate investment company that specializes in multifamily, recently opened Apex 5510, the first large-scale, modern apartment community in Gunbarrel. The smoke-free community at 5581 Spine Road offers mountain views, gourmet kitchens, custom cabinetry, an upscale clubhouse, off-leash dog park and other amenities within walking or biking distance of employers including IBM, Crispin Porter + Bugusky, Qualcomm, Lockheed Martin, Celestial Seasonings and others. Rents are roughly $1,300 to $2,300. Just south across Lookout Road, the Wolff Co. is under construction on Gunbarrel Center, which will have 251 apartment units in an urban-style development with 16,000 square feet of commercial space. Brad Blash, co-founder and m a n a g i n g partner of C ro s s b e a m C o n c i e r g e , w e l c o m e s the competition because of the retail and restaurants it will bring, and he believes there’s room enough for both multifamily projects. “Fifty-thousand people a day commute into Boulder who can’t afford to live there, or they don’t have a sufficient amount of housing stock to house those folks,” he said. Instead of being among the thousands who commute to more than 9,000 jobs in Gunbarrel each day, he said, “Why not have phenomenal views, access to the trail systems and be able to walk to work?” Apex 5510, which Crossbeam Concierge is developing in partnership with Trammell Crow Residential, is an approximately $48.5 million development whose amenities include a resort-style pool and spa, a sundeck with mountain views, electric-vehicle charging stations, dedicated bicycle parking, a fitness center, residential lounge, dog “spa” and community garden within five miles of downtown Boulder and the Pearl Street Mall. It includes a retail space being targeted for a coffee shop or similar use and is right next door to Finkel & Garf’s brewery and taproom. Crossbeam Concierge, which met its affordable-housing requirement through a partnership with the Koelbel family, which delivered 66 units off site, provided a public easement for a trail extension the city of Boulder is building. That will enable tenants and others to connect to more than 300 miles of trails in the Boulder and Longmont area. “Boulder is about getting outside and staying healthy,” Blash said. “You can lace up your shoes or get on your bike and be in Boulder’s pristine open space and mountain parks in minutes.” Boulder, generally, saw next to no new apartment development from the 1980s until the past few years, and it is very difficult to build large-scale projects in the central part of the city. “Affordable market-rate apartments are in very high demand,” said Blash. “The opportunity for development really is from 28th Street out to Gunbarrel.” Other areas of Boulder also are seeing increased development with the upswing in the economy. “I think institutional capital is recognizing Boulder as a high-barrier-to-entry market, and we’re seeing a lot of investment,” said Blash. “Boulder has a profile from an institutional investment perspective that people would say is similar to San Francisco or Seattle in the sense that it’s difficult to develop, but once you’re there you have a great, captive demand base and you have a city that’s dynamic. “We have always done well as an investor in the Boulder market,” Blash said. Others have, too. Developers of the Two Nine North apartments near the Twenty Ninth Street shopping area received $392,857 per unit when they recently sold that property, a record per-unit price for the Denver metro market. In Gunbarrel development “is driven by a number of factors, including the desirability of the location, employer base, availability and price of land, and the area’s well-educated and highly skilled workforce,” said Jennifer Pinsonneault, business liaison for the city of Boulder Community Planning and Sustainability department. While he agreed that there is a “clear need for high-quality apartment housing in the Boulder area,” Rob O’Dea, spokesman for the Wolff Co., said, “The Gunbarrel location specifically has an amazing density of great employers that are in close proximity to the project site.” Gunbarrel Center, which is next to a King Soopers-anchored shopping center, will deliver residential units early next year. Commercial space will follow in June and July. With employment and now apartments, Gunbarrel needs to mature in terms of more restaurants, retail and housing options, Blash said. “That’s happening little by little, and we’re excited to be a part of it,” he said.