59 parking spaces. $5.8 million. That's king of mind-boggling to me. The article said the developer is not required to put in parking spaces, but I'm kind of wondering where 110 people renting rooms are going to park if they don't. I'd like to believe that everyone coming in for a Sundance festival or Parents' weekend at CU or whatever is going to take transit to get there and walk or use bike share while they're in the city, but even in Boulder, that's just not realistic yet.
I imagine they will put underground parking in when they build the hotel, making this less a story about removing parking and more about transferring ownership of the parking from public to private hands. But at those prices, it's hard to justify the city hanging onto it.
From an urbanist/anti-car perspective, it's not a terrible location for a hotel, though. It's like a block away from the Pearl Street Mall, one of the most successful car-to-pedestrian street conversions I've seen, coming up on its 50th anniversary. That could cut down on some of the car trips you'd expect a hotel to add, as visitors can go out to eat or shop without getting into the rental car.
Edit: Well I read the article again, more carefully this time and found out that: "Fox Tuttle Transportation Group, a consultant hired by the city, found that nearby garages have enough capacity to absorb parking demand from the hotel and loss of those spaces." So forget what I said about how they're probably going to build a parking garage. I guess you unload your suitcases and then go park in a nearby garage. 🤷
