Boulder issues immediate closure notice for off-campus student housing building

BOULDER, Colo. — The city of Boulder issued a notice of closure for a privately owned, off-campus student housing building that doesn’t meet code requirements after students have already moved in for the school year.

Students who live at 891 12 Street on University Hill, known as the Ash House, were notified of the closure Monday afternoon. The closure will temporarily displace 60 students, and at least 13 of those students will need to find new permanent housing, the city said in a news release. 

The notice was issued after the city discovered that the property owner created additional bedrooms without city approval. Now, units don’t meet code and life-safety requirements, the city said.

“This is an incredibly unfortunate situation, and we truly regret the inconvenience and disruption for renters,” Brad Mueller, director of Planning & Development Services, said in a news release. “However, safety is always first, and the conditions discovered represent an immediate risk. 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.”

Paul Hartigan, parent of a University of Colorado Boulder student, told 9NEWS he arrived to help his daughter move out at 4:30 p.m. Monday. He said the notice was put on one of the walls in the house.

“Due to safety violations this building is being closed immediately,” the notice said. “Please remove personal items that you will need for the foreseeable future as access will be restricted going forward. Residents of all legally established bedroom areas will be allowed to return after the safety violations are resolved.” 

Julie Shellhorn, another parent, said 60 students were outside the apartment building with their belongings Monday evening. Many students didn’t know what to do with the quick notice of them having to move out by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to Shellhorn. She said her son’s roommate and other students don’t have help since they’re from out of state.

According to the city, the building, also known as the Marpa House, was approved over a year ago for residential use with the goal of being used for student housing. The property owners, 891 12th St LLC, converted the building into 16 three-bedroom units last school year, which the city approved. Each unit was required to meet current building code for all living spaces.

The city said based on applications that were submitted and approved, 48 students would live in the building. During the primary construction, Boulder addressed multiple zoning violations and issued parking warnings, but each one was resolved by the owners, the city said. 

Last week, the city’s Code Compliance Division was made aware through a tenant complaint that 15 new bedrooms were built. The new bedrooms were constructed without building and electrical permits, land use approval and life-safety inspections, the city said. 

According to the city, the new bedrooms came days after building inspectors had inspected the initial construction. Thirteen of the 15 bedrooms were occupied, the city said. 

The city said there is no scenario where they would approve a fourth bedroom be added to each unit under current code or zoning.