Sundance may have put Boulder in the spotlight, but one local developer is already laying the groundwork for the city’s next act: A flexible, 2,500-seat venue designed to host everything from rock shows and ballet performances to film screenings and community rehearsals.

If it’s built, the project planned near 33rd and Bluff streets could be the most ambitious addition to Boulder’s arts infrastructure in decades, and a potential new home for both global festivals and local performers alike.

The plans come as the Sundance Film Festival is set to debut in Boulder in 2027 after moving from its longtime home of Park City, Utah,

A local private developer, Conscience Bay Company, is in the early planning stages of a new Performing Arts and Event Center, which could have a capacity for 2,500 guests. It is intended to host music concerts, dance and theater performances, as well as private events and is meant to serve as a cultural anchor within a new mixed-use residential and arts district. The project also includes plans for a 125-plus room hotel directly adjacent to the event center. The developer is currently running a request for proposal (RFP) for venue operators as well.

“We’re trying to create something unmistakably Boulder,” said Daniel Aizenman, director of development for Conscience Bay Company. “Something that carries the same charm, detail, and sense of place as the Pearl Street Mall, but for performance and community gathering.”

The idea, Aizenman said, began with a Create Boulder event where local leaders presented a report detailing the city’s unmet demand for rehearsal and performance space. While that original study proposed a more modest 750-seat venue, Aizenman and his team conducted their own market analysis, which pointed to the viability of something larger. Conversations with national venue operators followed, and interest quickly snowballed.“All of the operators said the same thing: Boulder is primed for this,” Aizenman said. “That gave us enough confidence to begin the process.”

For scale, Boulder Theater can fit 850 fully seated guests. The Fox Theatre can sit 600 people. Macky Auditorium can seat just over 2,000 people.

The company is now evaluating proposals from prospective operators, with a goal of launching design work later this year. If all goes to plan, the venue could open by early 2029, potentially in time for that year’s Sundance Festival.

Aizenman said the project is being designed with economic sustainability in mind. This marks a sharp departure from many public performing arts venues, which often rely on city or state subsidies.

“We’re looking for an operator that can bring in national and international events to keep the venue financially viable,” he said.

“But also one that’s deeply committed to working with Boulder’s local arts community, offering rehearsal space, education programs and a stage for performances that can’t fit anywhere else.”

It’s a concept that has drawn support from longtime arts advocate and former Boulder City Council member Jan Burton, who now serves as chair of Create Boulder. More than a decade ago, Burton helped commission a community-wide study of Boulder’s arts infrastructure.

The results were clear then, and to her, remain clear now: Boulder needs more space.

No official cost estimate for this specific project has been released; however Burton noted that similar performing arts centers in the past have typically cost somewhere between $60 million and $80 million to build.

“We’ve been talking about this for years,” Burton said. “The Dairy is small. Macky is expensive, and the stage is oddly proportioned. Chautauqua is only available half the year. And the Canyon Theater? You can’t even charge for tickets.”

Burton said the proposed black box design, with flexible seating and configurations, makes the project especially appealing. She noted that most local arts groups can’t consistently fill large, fixed-seat auditoriums.

A black box design is adaptable — often it’s a simple, square room with black walls and a flat floor, allowing for a wide variety of staging and seating.

The new venue, she said, could strike the right balance by welcoming large-scale touring acts while subsidizing community use, including nonprofits and local arts organizations.

“If the rock concerts help pay for ballet classes and student performances, that’s a win,” she said.

While the project wasn’t originally conceived with Sundance in mind, both Burton and Aizenman said the timing is serendipitous and potentially catalytic.

“This wasn’t built for Sundance,” Aizenman said. “But it could absolutely support it. We’d love to be part of that vision.”