Do you want 3 or 6?
Feb 18th, 2008 by sorbe
What is going on with Marisol Imports? 915 Pearl Street was previously owned by Tom Eldrige and is currently owned by Phil Shull, owner of Deneuve Construction. This space is in for project review to build luxury condos and a new retail space. I heard through several grapevines that Frasca Food And Wine restaurant will be moving into the space once it is complete.
I’d like to discuss creative, inventive, and new ideas to be implemented into this development, (as opposed to the mainstream mixed-use you see around town). How about putting a restaurant on top of the building, how many of these do we have in Boulder?
What kind of personal interactive design would you like to see with the new space? Courtyard, rooftop garden, EPA rated fire pits for making smores, public local art gallery displays, modern lounges, etc? Check out how other businesses are using their buildings:
Blue Velvet : Rooftop garden, community table, and fire pits
Rooftops and Urban Agriculture : Links connecting you with Urban Agriculture around the world. What other cities are doing and how they do it.
what does the 3 or 6 refer to? # potential condos?
Indeed. I’m not sure which tendrils of the grapevine you’ve been hip to, but MANY people in and out of the Boulder establishment have been speculating about the future of 9th & Pearl and Marisol Imports. Last I’d heard, there was an underground movement to turn the place into an eco-conscious theatre & gallery with rooftop cafe. On the other side of the spectrum, quite the multi-million dollar scandal that about Art Source International scheming on the Eldridges….
Eden, Yes that is correct. They are leaning towards fewer residential units.
Marie, What side of the spectrum do you fall out on?
Hard to say. You could say I’m privy to many, committed to none. Fact remains though that that corner is crucial to the remnants of old-town character. I hope people can find a good architectural compromise, but given the recent building history and entrenched networks, I’m only cautiously optimistic that whatever new building is put there won’t be similarly appalling as One Boulder Plaza and all the rest of it. Don’t even get me started on the St. Julian hotel- the inside IS lovely, but the outside? I mean, come on- with sandstone, green glass & wrought iron as the fundamental building materials, they could have made something extraordinary. It’s hideous. And what about the North Boulder multi-colored Communist era barracks (I’m talking visually, not sociopolitically). You’d think with all the brilliant minds, elevated atmosphere, and disposable income in that city, the downtown commercial building gentrification process would actually result in inspired works of green engineering & western yuppie design.
On a more upbeat note however, if the eventual developer WERE to come up with a design and actually get it cleared by the city for, say, a public rooftop garden cafe ON TOP OF the luxury condos, that would really be something. Not to mention the best view in the entire city. Not so sure that Skiing Magazine wants their office view to be a brick wall though.
The rooftop garden is a great idea, and it would be very visible as you drive down 9th towards Pearl. Check out the blue velvet post that we wrote on a restaurant in LA that is located on a rooftop. What do you think about the other rooftops in Boulder, in terms of gardens.
Rooftop renovation: urban greenspace