Boulder closes off-campus housing building for unapproved bedrooms

DENVER ( KDVR ) — The city of Boulder gave notice Monday to the tenants of a privately owned, off-campus student housing building that the property would be closing because the owner had created bedrooms in each unit without city approval.

The building is located at 891 12th St. on University Hill and was historically known as the Marpa House. It’s currently known as the Ash House. The city said the building was approved for residential use “over a year ago” to help provide market-rate rental housing for students at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The city said the property owners, 891 12th St. LLC., converted the building into 16 three-bedroom apartments — all of which were required to meet the city’s current building code. The city said applications were submitted and approved to allow 48 students to live in the building.

However, the closure notice will displace approximately 60 student renters, and at least 13 of those students will need to find new permanent housing. No one will be allowed to live at the Ash House and access will be “severely limited” until the units are restored to approved and permitted conditions, the city said Monday.

“This is an incredibly unfortunate situation, and we truly regret the inconvenience and disruption for renters,” said Brad Mueller in a city release. Mueller is the director of Planning and Development Services, which includes the Code Compliance division.

“However, safety is always first, and the conditions discovered represent an immediate risk,” Mueller added. “The building code exists to ensure minimum safety, health and quality of life standards exist for all rental housing. The city determined swift action was needed given the egregious nature of the violations.”

Residents were notified Monday afternoon. Legal services of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Off-Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations Office and Student Legal Services are providing assistance and information about housing resources. The city said it is also pursuing legal remedies to hold the owners accountable for the apparent building violations.

Code and zoning violations addressed during construction

The city said that during the primary construction of the building during the 2023-24 school year, Boulder officials addressed several zoning violations and issued parking warnings.

Each of the issues was subsequently resolved by the owners, the city explained. But last week, the Code Compliance Division of the Planning and Development Service Department was informed through a tenant complaint and an investigation of “a new and serious violation of an illegal division of living space.”

The city said 891 12th St. LLC had constructed 15 new bedrooms without building permits, land use approval or life-safety inspections. The city said the bedrooms were “evidently” constructed “immediately after city building inspectors had conducted inspections on the previously allowed and permitted construction.”

The city said that as of Monday, 13 of those 15 bedrooms were occupied.

“We anticipate there will be significant de-construction disturbance within a confined space to remedy the situation. There was also unpermitted work that causes immediate safety concerns,” Mueller said in the city’s release. “We recognize the upheaval this causes and will be working with the owner to address the dangerous situation as expeditiously as possible.”

The city said it could not have approved fourth bedrooms for the apartments under the current zoning and code of the Ash House. Boulder officials also noted that the owners did not have electrical work permits for when the bedrooms were added.

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