Major changes are afoot in a key commercial zone of University Hill, where more than a dozen businesses — including many that are synonymous with the neighborhood — may soon be displaced by a planned hotel and underground parking lot that officials hope will catalyze the area’s revitalization.

The redevelopment — slated for a series of connected parcels just west of Broadway between Pleasant Street and University Avenue — would be across the street diagonally from a similar, related project by the University of Colorado, which seeks to build a large conference center, hotel and underground lot at Grandview Avenue.

On Tuesday night, the Boulder City Council — the city has a financial interest in both plans — authorized its staff to continue negotiations related to the twin projects.

While the Grandview project now awaits requests for proposals from private developers, the plan west of Broadway calls for removal of half a city block.

Tuesday’s discussion marked a significant moment for the owners of the many foundational Hill businesses that knew this day would come, but said they still feel jarred by the prospect of losing their spaces and possibly never returning.

Among those that would be displaced if the project goes through: Cosmo’s Pizza, No Name Bar, Bova’s market, The Fitter clothing and smoking accessory shop, Dot’s Diner, Tra Ling’s Oriental Café and Salvaggio’s Deli — plus about 10 others.

“It was in the lease agreement, so it’s not sketchy, but it’s tough,” said Nader Wahdan, owner of Bova’s, which has served the Hill for four decades. “I’ve been blocking this out of my mind hoping it’s not going to happen, but now it’s happening, and it’s a tough pill to swallow, because we’re just little fish, and these big hotel developers are the sharks.”

There are 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail planned for the new development, but there’s no guarantee that any one current tenant would stay. Jay Bianchi, owner of Owsley’s Golden Road music venue and bar, and the adjacent Sancho’s Broken Arrow, worries about a loss of identity.

“I think there’s some pretty important places here that feel like they’re a part of Boulder,” he said. “On the large scale, it’ll be better maybe for alumni coming here and being able to stay, and it could mean a lot more tax revenue for the city because hotels fill up here, but I think it takes away from the quaintness of the place, too.”

The city is doing a number of things to make the Hill a more appealing destination for a greater variety of people, including installing a new “event street” on Pennsylvania Avenue and improving lighting and alleyways throughout a district where fast-casual dining and dilapidated commercial buildings currently reign.

But the hotel and lot plans — devised by private landowners, but closely watched and supported by the city — would be the centerpiece of that general effort.

Count Bonnie Dahl, longtime owner of The Fitter — a 43-year-old Hill staple — as one of the business owners who’s actually OK with being displaced.

“Change is always going to work well for some, and not for others, but this has to happen,” she said. “The Hill has stayed stagnant for decades, and nothing has changed. The Hill’s been going downhill. It’s very decrepit, so it has to have a big step toward vitality.”

$83 million project

The total projected cost of the development, which calls for 150 rooms and 170 public parking spaces (plus 80 more leased to the hotel), is about $83 million, according to city staff.

The majority of that cost would be covered by the Denver-based BMC Investments, and the hotel would be operated by Sage Hospitality, which also operates the Crawford Hotel at Denver’s Union Station.

Boulder would pitch in between $18 million and $20 million, though, for the parking garage, with best-case scenarios projecting about $14.3 million in profits over the first 30 years.

Given the dearth of parking on the Hill — and the interest of city leaders in improving the appearance and function of the neighborhood at large — the council was happy to grant authorization of a letter of intent for the project.

“This is really exciting to me, and I think it is to a number of people in the community,” said Councilman Andrew Shoemaker, a Hill resident. “One of the reasons I ran for council was to try to see projects like this happen on the Hill. … It’s a really wonderful step forward.”

Matt Joblon, CEO of BMC Investments, said he believes the project will bring sorely needed parking, create jobs, replace blight and provide citizens and visitors both with an “amenity and living room.”

“This project in particular is not about us, not about this particular hotel,” Joblon told the council. “This is about the Hill. … This is one of the most special opportunities I’ve ever seen in my entire career.

“This is an opportunity to completely revitalize, reenergize an area that has so much potential.”

The project would go before Boulder’s Planning Board as soon as late 2017, for a concept plan hearing. Though the proposed layout of the facility is not yet decided, Sarah Wiebenson, Hill community development coordinator, said she doesn’t expect its height to exceed 55 feet.

“From our current understanding, they would be complying with all zoning regulations on the site,” she said.

On the other side of the street, though, the university’s conference center and hotel raised concerns about height among some council members.

David Driskell, the city’s planning director, said that rough, early diagrams indicated that the university’s Grandview project could run in the range of 60 feet tall.

The height was of great interest to council members on Tuesday, even though the proposal isn’t subject to the city charter or review because it calls for use of university land.

But Shoemaker, de facto council spokesperson for all things Hill — Councilwoman Jan Burton lives in the neighborhood, too — said that CU’s plans, in conjunction with those on the other side of Broadway, are exciting ones.

“Either one of these projects is a game changer,” he said. “Together, it’s an amazing opportunity for the city of Boulder, for the university, for the students, parents, faculty and for the citizens of Boulder to bring the Hill back.”

Alex Burness: 303-473-1389, burnessa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/alex_burness