Flood plain changes arouse interest of property owners

Flood plain changes arouse interest of property owners BOULDER — David Rose worries that if the 100-year flood plain status changes for his company's buildings at 5690 and 5700 Valmont Road, he might not get to redevelop them in the future. At least one key government building — the Boulder County Justice Center at 1777 6th St. "We're in a flood area one way or another. Among other things, city workers replaced and enlarged the bridge on Broadway that runs over Boulder Creek and enlarged the bridge at 55th Street, according to city documents posted on its website. Workers also removed a large apartment building on the right bank of Boulder Creek at Eben G. Boulder Community Hospital's new Foothills campus also could be affected by a catastrophic flood event, he said. Buildings in the Viewpoint On the Parkway office park on the southeast corner of Foothills Parkway and Arapahoe Avenue would be affected, too, he said. City workers and consultants created the proposed new map to reflect improvements the city has made to the potential flood plain boundary through the years, said Robert Harberg, utilities project management coordinator for the city of Boulder. City workers have created a proposed new city 100-year flood plain map, that could create more development restrictions for Rose and his company Rosewood Construction, he said. But as an example, one owner Hix insures pays about $2,000 per year for about $500,000 worth of insurance replacement cost on a $9 million building in the flood plain, Hix said. "If the buildings are leased, (building owners) just push the costs back to the tenants, who probably pay higher rent," Hix said. Reynolds Cos. Several of the company's owned buildings on the southeast side of Pearl Parkway and Foothills Parkway will not have flood plain status anymore if the proposed new map is approved. Some buildings also are expected to lose their flood plain designation in the Sunrise Center shopping center on the northeast corner of 30th Street and Arapahoe Avenue, said Jeff Wingaert, a commercial broker at W. While a 100-year flood may not sound like an imminent threat in Colorado, previous floods on the Front Range have been deadly. Virtually every one of Boulder's central business district is in the 100-year flood plain. Buildings in the 100-year flood plain must have flood insurance if the building owners have a mortgage, said Charles Hix, owner of Hix Insurance Associates in Boulder. , a commercial real estate company in Boulder, sees positive changes in the proposed new map. City workers then plan to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to achieve the map proposed as the new flood insurance rate map, according to city documents. City workers received more than 100 phone calls or emails about the proposed new map in response to a recent postcard sent out to every property owner located in the flood plain boundary, said Christie Coleman, the city's flood utilities project manager. "We have gotten a great deal of public interest. It started in the Big Thompson Canyon west of the city. "They may survive a 100-year storm, but not the breach of Barker Dam," Hix said. The new map received initial approval from the city's Water Resources Advisory Board on Monday, Feb. In total, 107 buildings would be removed from the 100-year flood plain boundaries in the new map and 72 buildings would be added to the 100-year flood plain map. Flood plain changes arouse interest of property owners Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 06/03/2012