Greed doomed Redtail Ridge
On Oct. 1, the freight train hauling a huge load of potential change known as Redtail Ridge came to a grinding halt in Louisville. Medtronic, a Fortune 500 company that was to be the anchor of the proposed development in southeast Boulder County, announced it was withdrawing from the project headed by Brue Baukol Capital Partners.
The medical technology giant was to be the shiny object that would attract other businesses to the 5.8 million-square-foot development at the Phillips 66 site along the Boulder Turnpike.
In a Daily Camera article, Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. Vice President Sam Bailey said: “It’s hard to tell which city council meeting or planning commission with the city of Louisville was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The continued offering by both Brue Baukol and Medtronic to provide concessions to satisfy the community’s desires continued to go without recognition.” Mr. Bailey’s comment was completely inaccurate.
Instead of placing the blame on the City of Louisville and its citizens, Bailey should examine the blunders of Brue Baukol. Throughout the process, leaders of the Denverbased company have touted themselves as “locals” who know what’s best for Louisville. In reality, Brue Baukol has been seriously out of touch with the people of Louisville.
The developer’s only real interest in our historic town was to use Redtail Ridge as a means to fill the bank accounts of its corporate investors and to line its own pockets. Throughout the process, Brue Baukol miscalculated, misplayed, and ultimately misjudged.
The plan for the massive, 20-plus-year construction project was problematic from the start. Louisvillians opposed Redtail Ridge for a variety of reasons: new residential units in a car-dependent community, loss of open space, negative impacts on wildlife, increased traffic, increased carbon emissions, construction headaches, etc.
Most of all, many saw the size of Redtail Ridge as a threat to Louisville’s small town character – an intangible that citizens fiercely fight to protect.
Medtronic’s role in Redtail Ridge was crucial, a marriage of convenience that would benefit both the medical device maker and Brue Baukol. Medtronic has outgrown its Louisville office (which employs 500) and most likely was to receive a very attractive land deal at Redtail Ridge.
Brue Baukol’s strategy was to shamelessly use Medtronic to strongarm city leaders into changing the comprehensive plan designation from “rural” to “suburban.” This change would have enabled Brue Baukol to add more than 2000 residential units to Redtail Ridge.
Brue Baukol’s not so subtle message to city leaders was: “Change the property designation or lose Medtronic.” Throughout, Medtronic was all too willing to play along.
Once the reality of Brue Baukol’s intentions began to become known, Louisville citizens responded with passion and purpose. More than 800 letters opposing Redtail Ridge were sent to city leaders. On June 26, Louisville’s Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject Brue Baukol’s proposal. Nevertheless, the developer chose to take Redtail Ridge to the City Council.
The message was clear to all, except Brue Baukol. Instead of reducing the size of Redtail Ridge, Brue Baukol arrogantly and inexplicably chose to stand its ground.
During virtual meetings in August, the City Council was besieged with passionate pleas from citizens to reject Brue Baukol’s request. The council voted to punt the ball back to the planning commission, which has since been awaiting revisions from Brue Baukol.
On Oct. 1, Medtronic said “enough.” It announced plans for a new corporate headquarters in nearby Lafayette. Even vocal opponents of Redtail Ridge have expressed a desire to find a way to keep Medtronic in Louisville. The City of Louisville did its part to retain Medtronic, offering more than $1.5 million in tax incentives for the company to expand at Redtail Ridge.
In the end, Brue Baukol’s gambit backfired. Throughout the entire process, there was a clear pathway to compromise: cut the size of Redtail Ridge, but find a way to give Medtronic what it needs. Greed and arrogance got in the way of a solution.
The future of Redtail Ridge is as clear as skies along the Front Range during fire season. Sam Bailey of the Denver Economic Development Corp. is wrong in blaming the City of Louisville and its citizens. The “straw that broke the camel’s back” was not Louisville’s city government or its citizens. It was the developer, Brue Baukol.
Chris Wheeler is a Louisville photojournalist and producer of the television documentary, “Coronavirus Winter: A Small Town Portrait in Black and White.”