Pacific Auction eyes move after selling Longmont property on Main

LONGMONT — Pacific Auction Cos., a staple in Longmont since 1976, is exploring multiple options for a move after recently selling its property at 1330 Main St. to the owners of Victory Motors of Colorado across the street.

O.J. Pratt, who has owned Pacific Auctions since 1984, said Thursday that his company will remain at the site through the end of the year. He said he’s unsure yet whether the business — which focuses primarily on estate sales locally and has an auto auction in Commerce City — would remain in Longmont or leave the city limits.

He said the need for more space and a site with lower property taxes were big drivers in the move. He said the nature of his business requires wide-open spaces more than it does the Main Street visibility.

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“We’ve got multiple options that we’re looking at, and we just haven’t firmed up what we’re doing yet,” Pratt said. “We came up with a buyer that needed our property worse than we did.”

The entity 1330 Main LLC, formed by Victory’s Josey Conn, paid Pacific $2.05 million for the property, which Pacific purchased in 2011 for $1.1 million. The site was the former home to Hajek Chevrolet, but sat vacant for years before Pacific bought it.

Pratt said he couldn’t comment on Victory’s plans for the property, and Conn could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Conn owns the properties across the street at 1325 and 1331 Main, according to public records. But Victory also has a lot at 1 S. Main St. that is owned by Boulder developer Stephen Tebo, who also could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The 1330 Main St. property is zoned commercial. Automobile sales is a conditional use in that area, meaning that if the site were to be used for auto sales again, the new owners would likely need to go through a conditional-use review with the city’s planning and zoning commission, as well as possibly seek a variance to rules stating that such businesses be set back 250 feet or more from residential areas.

Aside from Pacific’s operations at 1330 Main, two companies — Lara Auto Accessories & Tire Shop and Monster Muffler lease space there from Pacific. Pratt said those companies will also be able to stay through the end of the year. After that, he said, it’s up to the new ownership.

“I don’t really know what their plan is,” Pratt said.