Boulder County Purchases Office Building to Enhance Energy Efficiency and Greater Public Access

Several departments currently housed at the county’s North Broadway Complex (1333 Iris Avenue) will relocate, offering services from the new 28th Street location once a modest energy efficiency upgrade and remodeling is complete. This transition is expected to take more than a year.

The $14.2 million purchase comes after the county completed a Space Optimization Study (SOS) in 2024, which informed future county office plans in Boulder. The study found:

• Increased use of on-line and self-service options in the post-pandemic environment.

• Continuing need for an enhanced customer-facing office consolidation option which could not be met through remodeling of other county-owned facilities in Boulder. This includes the inability to meet access needs through the Historic County Courthouse and the Clerk & Recorder’s Office.

• The opportunity to reduce the county’s Boulder-based office footprint by 17%, enhance energy performance and reduce North Boulder Complex operating carrying costs by $15 million over the next eight years by relocating customer facing services. For example, the energy savings cost difference between operations at the North Broadway Complex and the 28th Street hub location is conservatively estimated at $1.7 million over the next eight years.

• Easier and more efficient public access, energy efficiency and safety from the new location.

“Relocating in-person service delivery from the North Broadway Complex affords an opportunity to meet several county goals and to explore future uses of the North Boulder Complex property to meet other community priorities,” stated Yvette Bowden, Assistant County Administrator and executive sponsor for the SOS project. “Good governance and the stewardship of public resources is always a county priority thoughtfully considered for both short-term impacts and long-term opportunities. We will also continue operations in Boulder’s downtown core at the Historic County Courthouse where recent investments in the public-hearing room space and other county offices have already benefited from energy and access investments made over the past five years.”

Community priorities and the county’s ongoing responsibility of the North Broadway Complex property, a public asset, will be considered beginning in 2025. Any future use of the property will be subject to applicable land-use designation and zoning processes.