Open space in Boulder County is growing in popularity not only outdoors, but indoors too.
The high ceilings and open floor plans associated with residential lofts are increasingly becoming a major part of every new local housing project. West End Lofts, Uptown Broadway and the Holiday Neighborhood are just a few examples of new developments advertising loft space.
But when a real estate agent boasts that he has a “loft” space to show you, what exactly does “loft” mean. For most people, any 9- to 12-foot ceiling residence perched over commercial space would be considered a loft - something Boulder has plenty of. However, depending on how one defines a loft, some could say that Boulder is loftless.
“The term loft has been used loosely in the real estate market during the past five years,” Boulder Re Max Marketing Associate John McElveen said. “A true loft is in an old industrial building with exposed bricks and trusses. With all the new construction in Boulder, everyone calls what they are doing a loft, but they are not true lofts, they are loft-like.”
Even West End Lofts, which McElveen is marketing for Re Max, aren't true lofts by that definition, he said. The mixed-use development at Ninth and Walnut streets does, however, feature many similar traits of a true loft with its 12-to 18-foot high ceilings and an open floor plan. Those characteristics make it a loft in the eyes of most consumers. That's a good thing for the development's namesake - West End Loft Look-a-likes would sound a bit cumbersome.
Out of the four living units at West End Lofts, two remain for sale, McElveen said. Unit B is priced at $799,000 featuring 1,540 square feet of space with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. And Unit C is priced at $1,095,000 for 1,987 square feet of space with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The growing drive toward building lofts or loft-like residences stems from the trend of mostly young people returning to live in the cities, McElveen said. “A lot of them want to be in the heart of an urban environment,” he said. “Since there's not a lot of space in the cities, a loft makes it (the residence) feel more open and airy.”
The trend is more evident in larger cities such as New York and Boston, but even in a smaller city like Boulder, there are those trading their suburban homes for loft-like living downtown.
Andy White and his wife recently purchased a loft-like unit at the Iron Flats development near Spruce and Folsom streets in downtown Boulder. The couple moved after selling their three-bedroom house with a yard in South Boulder.
“It's so much easier to get around and we find ourselves walking to everything downtown,” White said. “I'm literally, four-tenths of a mile from work.”
Even though there's less space than in the house in South Boulder, White said the single open first floor of the kitchen, dining room and living room makes the entire unit seem larger.
“The ability to personalize my home is more flexible,” White said. There are fewer walls to block creative layouts, he said. White added that the space is also easier to take care of, especially with no outdoor lawn.
The uniqueness of the Iron Flats loft-like units is that most of them are individual residences from top to bottom with private entrances from the sidewalk. Some of them, such as White's home, even have a rooftop patio.
These newer, more individual loft-like residences seem to resemble more of a rowhouse, but depending on the interior architecture, they may still be considered lofts, Denver and Boulder architect Tim Van Meter said.
Van Meter designed the lofts for the Uptown Broadway mixed-use project in North Boulder. His interpretation of a true loft is slightly different and less stringent than McElveen's definition.
“A loft is quantifiable,” Van Meter said. “The meaning of a true loft is a space that is over another space, with the space above looking down on the space below,” he said. “Some people think that anything with a ceiling above nine feet is a loft, but that's not the case - that's just a room with a high ceiling.”
Under Van Meter's definition, a loft doesn't necessarily need to be in old warehouse or above a commercial space. If it has an open floor plan with double-high ceilings, which has allowed for an additional open level, then it's a loft.
Although growing in popularity, Van Meter said a lot of U.S. cities and communities still shy away from building lofts, especially those contained in mixed-use projects.
“A lot of cities prohibit these types of urban environments, because their codes don't allow it, Van Meter said. “It's tough to get a city to change its zoning codes.”
Van Meter praised the City of Boulder for being proactive in this respect. The move to change some of the zoning laws has allowed more housing density and diversity to an area looking to preserve its outdoor open space.
* Loft (lôft) n. a large, usually unpartitioned floor over a factory, warehouse, or other commercial or industrial space, which is converted into an apartment or artist's studio. -- Webster's Dictionary