Boulder Campus Master Plan - Request for Faculty Response

 

Dear Boulder Campus Faculty,

 

The Boulder Campus Master Plan is now available for review at http://www.colorado.edu/masterplan. The Plan outlines the future development of the CU Boulder Campus. If you would like the Boulder Faculty Assembly to consider your views, please send them to bfa@spot.colorado.edu.

 

Thank you.

 

Francis A. Beer, Chair Boulder Faculty Assembly

Hello!

Thank you for soliciting faculty opinion on the Campus Master Plan. I have one principal concern. This relates to plans for the Grandview area development. Historic Boulder, an organization dedicated to preserving Boulder's magnificent historical heritage, has recommended strongly against destroying the character of the Grandview neighborhood. I concur with this recommendation. I do not believe that the University will benefit in the long term if it destroys any major part of the unique historic Boulder environment. The University has the possibility of expanding the campus in the eastward rather than the northward (Grandview area) direction. I believe that the University should abandon efforts to develop this Grandview area and cooperate with the city of Boulder to preserve this Grandview area and cooperate with the city of Boulder to preserve this unique neighborhood. We must ask ourselves whether the University is an entity totally apart from the city of Boulder or whether the University should work in cooperation with the City to create the most attractive possible environment for the City and the University. I opt for the latter and recommend that alternatives be pursued to the current Grandview plan.

Prof. Bill Krantz

To: Frank Beer
Fr: John McIver
Re: Comments on the CU, Boulder Campus Masterplan (Thoughts toward a new golf facility for CU and a Faculty Housing Fund)
Dt: December 1, 1999

Of course you know of my interest in golf. I have been surprised that CU remains one of the few major universities without a university golf course. That the future of the Flatirons property is now up for discussion I thought it appropriate to consider the possibility that CU rectify that situation.

But I don't want to build a golf course for the athletic department. (They have other priorities like spending $100 million dollars on football.) One of the most devastating aspects of the development of Boulder has been the loss of affordable housing for faculty. The result has been the end of a faculty community with new assistant professors forced by housing costs to live increasingly far from campus in Longmont, Lafayette, Golden, and Denver. While the legislation establishing CU includes the authorization for a faculty housing program, it has never been implemented by the Legislature or the Board of Regents in such a way as to offer any substantial help to faculty similar to programs that exist at many other major universities. I believe a golf course, provided that it is operated independently of the athletic department, will provide income to build an endowment for a faculty housing program.

Importantly, the "endowment" created by golf course profits could be immediately invested effectively in faculty real estate rather than in the typical Foundation "minimal return" investment. One million dollars per year in golf course profits supports 10-20 new faculty housing purchases in $50k-$100k parcels. Because golf course profits are being invested in real estate there is no need to protect the endowment as conservatively as other donated funds are protected by Foundation investment policies. Profits on real estate would be shared between homeowner and University on the eventual sale of housing so that the income grows as an investment.

Finally, I believe this type of construction project at CU-South would minimize conflict between CU and the City of Boulder over the use of this property. (Clearly the city is concerned and despite the masterplan's claim that the city has no authority in this area, the conflict remains and just gets bigger when it becomes an issue that is combined with the current dispute over Grandview Terrace.)

Building a Golf Course at CU

Land. If we're ever going to have a home golf course at CU we have to build it at the Flatirons property. These 300 acres provide ample space to build a golf course, a practice facility, and still leave the university the opportunity to site another building or two. Clearly at the current price of land in Boulder there will likely never be another piece of property the university could buy for such a facility.

The development of the Flatirons property as a golf facility would be of a type that would bring the least conflict between university and city than any other use of the space, i.e., it will continue to look like the open space to which it is attached. (This is not to say approval of such plans still won't take years and access to necessary water will undoubtedly be an issue.)

Design. The first step after finding available land is finding a designer. It seems to me we have an obvious candidate in Hale Irwin unless Indian Peaks has a contract that precludes him from working a course within a specific distance from their course. (That Erie is now building a new course with Hale as the designer suggests there are no restrictions.) If CU could get Hale to "donate" the design it could save a million dollars in the development of the course.

If Hale can't or won't help, Steve Jones might be willing to do so. I don't believe that he, like an increasing number of his fellow PGA competitors, is in the design business but if not perhaps both of us could benefit. We get a design and he gets the opportunity to create a signature course. I'm less excited about this prospect simply because I believe that the renovation of a former mining site will have particular and unique problems and that a "beginner" may not have the experience to deal with these issues.

Cost. The costs of building a golf course are substantial and up front. A modern golf course might run five to eight million dollars in design fees and construction costs (including a clubhouse). This breaks down into the land, site preparation, design cost, fairway and green construction (one recent estimate I've heard is about $100k per green), infrastructure (irrigation systems), planting of trees and shrubs, clubhouse and traffic paths. Clearly land and design costs may be minimized but real dollars will have to be raised to pay construction costs.

On the other hand, I think maintenance can be handled as an operational expense without university budget subsidy and without prior capital. I envision a facility that offer will playing privileges (possibly at differential rates) to students and faculty and also can generate revenue from general public play. Let's consider the ASU course as a model in which one of the best programs in the country is able to offer a wonderful facility to its athletic teams and at the same time take $60-$100 (depending on the season) greens fees from the public to support the operation and maintenance of the course. (While Indian Peaks is $30, Irwin's other course in Colorado, Cordillera, play to $200 a round. Upscale public facilities continue to make money throughout the nation. We don't need to - nor can we - charge $200 but if we build a nice facility I think we can charge for it. The average price of a local course is now moving into the mid-$30 range and increasing at 10% per year. The latest new "resort course" in the immediate area - Interlochen - is charging $115 per round.)

Fund raising. The demand for and popularity of golf offers the university the opportunity to fund raise for such a course. I'd bet the Foundation would have an easier time raising money for a golf course than any other project on campus. This is not to say that this is the first thing the CU campus needs but that we'd more likely to find private donations for such facilities than a new Political Science building.

In any case we sell the course as "The Legends at Boulder" and line the walls with Irwin and Jones memorabilia to emphasize the (somewhat surprising) history of CU golf. Unfortunately, Buffalo Run in Commerce City already has stolen our thunder to a degree -- right down to a statue of Ralphie in front of its clubhouse. If Ohio State can put Nicklaus all over its walls, we can put 4 US Open trophies (or reasonable facsimiles) on ours.