Agribusiness  May 21, 2015

City of Thornton moving farm management office from Ault to Eaton

EATON – The city of Thornton, which owns 19,340 acres-worth of land and water rights in Weld and Larimer counties, is moving its farm management office from Ault to Eaton.

The city recently leased 1,302 square feet of former retail space in the Maplewood Shopping Center at 201 S. Elm St. in Eaton where it will move in June. Former state senator Scott Renfroe, the registered agent for the Maplewood I Investments LLC entity that owns the property, said the space was formerly a tanning and hair salon but that it has been vacant for five or six years.

Cobey Wess of Sperry Van Ness/The Group Commercial represented both the landlord and tenant in the Eaton lease deal.

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Thornton first opened a farm operations office in Ault in 1986, renting private space for several years before moving into space in Highland Middle School a few years ago. Emily Hunt, water resources manager for Thornton, said the school district last year informed the city that it wouldn’t be renewing the city’s lease, necessitating the latest move.

Hunt said three employees work out of the farm operations office, primarily doing property management of the land the city leases to farmers as well as managing the land the city has converted to dryland.

The city of Thornton’s land ownership has been a sore point in Weld County for some ever since the city bought the land in 1986. The city’s plan is to eventually pipe water associated with the properties to Thornton, though it is not currently diverting any water.

Thornton owns 17,750 acres on 104 farms in Weld County and 1,590 acres on eight farms in Larimer County. Much of the land is leased to farmers and still used to grow irrigated crops. But the city has converted about a third to dryland, working to restore native grasses in preparation of transporting those sites’ water.

Hunt said Thornton will need the current dryland sites’ water by the mid 2020s, and the city is working on its plan for transporting the water now, including where the pipeline would run. She said none of the city’s other property in Northern Colorado would likely be converted to dryland for another 10 years or so.

EATON – The city of Thornton, which owns 19,340 acres-worth of land and water rights in Weld and Larimer counties, is moving its farm management office from Ault to Eaton.

The city recently leased 1,302 square feet of former retail space in the Maplewood Shopping Center at 201 S. Elm St. in Eaton where it will move in June. Former state senator Scott Renfroe, the registered agent for the Maplewood I Investments LLC entity that owns the property, said the space was formerly a tanning and hair salon but that it has been vacant for five or six years.

Cobey Wess of…

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