Boulder is lining up a major downtown swap: a busy surface parking lot at Broadway and Spruce could soon trade cars for cocktails, hotel rooms, and rooftop events.
The city has reached a tentative agreement to sell the 59-stall lot at 2121 Broadway to a private hospitality developer planning a roughly 110-room hotel. In place of the sea of asphalt, the concept calls for publicly accessible gathering areas, ground-floor retail geared toward local businesses, and an event-friendly rooftop. City leaders are framing the move as a play to boost downtown energy as Boulder prepares to host the Sundance Film Festival in 2027.
According to the City of Boulder, the lot is currently managed by the Central Area General Improvement District (CAGID), and the tentative deal would transfer ownership to the developer. A city parking study cited in the announcement concluded that nearby garages can absorb demand from the lot. City Manager Nuria Rivera‑Vandermyde called the partnership “an opportunity to turn a parking lot into an economic driver in our core downtown.”
Midnight Auteur LLC, the development entity named in the agreement, is the boutique hotel company co-founded by Ryan Diggins, owner of Denver’s The Ramble Hotel, and David Kaplan of Death & Co. The group’s materials highlight cocktail-centered lobbies and design-forward public spaces that double as neighborhood living rooms. Diggins, who grew up near Boulder, told the city the project is “an incredible privilege and a responsibility,” according to public statements tied to the deal.
Plan Would Add 110 Rooms And Public Spaces
The proposal calls for roughly 110 hotel rooms along with ground-floor commercial space offered at below-market rates for qualifying local businesses, plus programmed public areas and a rooftop designed for cultural events. The sale is not finalized, and the city has not publicly released a purchase price, as reported by Axios Boulder. The timing lines up with Boulder becoming the new host city for the Sundance Film Festival beginning in 2027, according to the Sundance Institute, a backdrop that helps explain the city’s interest in boosting downtown hotel capacity.
Community reaction has been mixed. Local reporting by the Boulder Reporting Lab notes that the Spruce lot is among downtown’s busiest and that both parking habits and the area’s character are central to neighborhood debate. Commissioners who looked at early concepts last year praised the idea of a public-facing hotel lobby, while some nearby residents warned that construction and increased tourism could chip away at the district’s small-town feel.
What Happens Next
The Downtown Management Commission is set to review the proposal next Tuesday, and City Council is expected to take up final terms in early August, according to Axios Boulder. If the council signs off on a buy-sell agreement, the project would shift into the city’s standard development review process, including planning, design, and permitting reviews. That stage would give neighbors, city boards, and other stakeholders additional chances to weigh in before any building permits are issued.
