The University of Colorado hopes to break ground in 2027 or 2028 on a housing development for faculty, staff and students at the site of the shuttered Regal Cinebarre theater in Louisville.

But several key steps must be taken in the coming months to meet that timeline, CU officials told Louisville City Council members during the board’s meeting last week.

The university hopes to begin negotiations with the city this year on a development agreement — an “agreement (that) will reflect the values of Louisville” — for the residential project on a 8.85-acre property at 1164 W. Dillon Road, near the interchange of U.S. Highway 36 and McCaslin Boulevard, CU associate vice chancellor Derek Silva said.

“Once we have a development agreement that’s gone through the entitlements process and is approved, we’ll have (a request for proposals) that we can go out to developers with,” he said. The hope is to put out an RFP and have selected a developer in 2026, with design work and construction following soon after.

CU bought the Regal Cinebarre theater site last year for $10 million for the purpose of building housing, which has become unattainable for many CU workers and students within Boulder city limits.

“Housing is becoming a challenge,” CU associate vice chancellor Lori Call told Louisville officials. “It isn’t a new phenomenon, but it is increasing at CU.”

Louisville, she said, “has been home to CU affiliates for generations. Today, we have about 800 faculty, staff and students living in Louisville.”

Call said that CU does not plan “to have 18-year-olds living at this site. …This is not going to be a residence hall” for undergraduate students. Rather, the typical resident is likely to be “younger professionals” who work at the university or graduate students.

The ex-theater site boasts a “great asset” in its proximity to a Regional Transportation District bus stop where CU affiliates can get to the main campus in about 14 minutes, Call said.

The university hopes to work with Louisville city officials and development partners during the planning process to ensure that the housing project helps “reinvigorate the McCaslin (Boulevard) corridor” and “bring a little more energy to the area.”

CU officials “want some mixed-use” elements included in the project, such as a restaurant or coffee shop, Silva said, which would be open to the public.

“This isn’t going to be a gated community, this is a place where we want people to congregate,” Call said.

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