Liquor Mart Property Sold To Out-Of-State Residential Developer

BOULDER, CO - The land underneath Liquor Mart has been sold to a Chicago developer that owns apartment complexes in dozens of university towns around the country. Liquor Mart was Boulder's first liquor store after the city voted to go wet in 1968, and it has resided in its present location at 1750 15th Street since 1973. The $16.6 million dollar purchase closed on Sept 25, reported the Daily Camera this week.

It's unclear how the sale, to student housing developer Core Spaces, will shape Liquor Mart's fate. According to co-owner Dick Tharp, the business had signed an 8 to 10 year lease with previous owner W.W. Reynolds. "We received notice on Monday that we had a new landlord," Tharp told the Camera. "We paid our rent like we're supposed to."

Reynolds had purchased the property two years ago with the intent to redevelop, but the plans stalled due to the current legislative atmosphere around development in Boulder. "Height limitations, significant increase in the linkage fee and construction requirements... City policies made it much more challenging to look at," Tharp's partner Jeff Wingert told the Camera. "We received an unsolicited, aggressive offer, so we sold."

Boulder City Councilwoman Jill Grano took to Twitter to lay blame for the sale on the high linkage fees she has lobbied against. "Evidence that we set our linkage fees too high? Highest in the nation adjusted for rent & 2nd in absolute numbers - prompting a local developer rethink their plans. Then a big-wig out of state developer - who can actually afford to develop here - swoops in," Grano wrote on Thursday night, citing the Camera's story.

Responses to Grano's post were mixed. Some cheered the opportunity for more affordable housing in Boulder–though there are currently no assurances about the price of housing should Core choose to redevelop the lot.

Read the full story from the Daily Camera.

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