Objection to the proposed size and scope of 1440 Pine Street building for Attention Homes

We urge City Council reconsider parts of the plans for 1440 Pine Street.

Right now, the entire discussion about mass, scale, density and use is driven by the out-of-state  developer's finance package rather than by community concerns and needs.  Any changes to the proposal would trigger a review by the funder, the Colorado Housing Finance Authority, a fate  the out of state developer would like to avoid at all cost.  

But the developer's concern about reviews shouldn't be the City's first priority.  This project is too important and too risky to be driven by the profit motives of an out-of-state developer.  Long after the developer is gone,  the neighborhood will be dealing with the consequences.  While the developer will walk away with millions of dollars, the neighborhood will be home to a facility that must serve the  homeless for the next forty years.     

The developer argues this building will serve a   "community benefit" - a vague, subjective term as  yet undefined by the City.  As applied to this project, any "community benefit" completely ignores the needs of the vibrant, stable community already here. 

This plot of land - one of the last undeveloped plots in downtown Boulder - is a precious resource.   There are so many ways this plot could serve the entire spectrum of the community's housing needs.    For example, building true transitional homes, on the scale of Mother House, that could guarantee a smaller number of young homeless adults receive the service and support they require rather than be warehoused in an apartment building. 

Please consider our concerns as neighbors and tax paying residents of Boulder. We need to come up with a collaborative solution that works for all concerned.

Thank you.