FORT COLLINS — The first major commercial infill project to take place downtown in a decade should break ground this March.

Not only will the southeast corner of Mountain Avenue and Mathews Street host the expansion of Loveland’s Home State Bank, but two additional buildings are planned for office and residential uses.

The acre site was home to Mawson Lumber & Hardware Ltd. until a fire seven years ago forced the business to move to its current site on Lincoln Avenue.

Tom and Nancy Moore, owners of the lumber business, retained ownership of the Mountain and Mathews property.

“We’d been looking for things to do there and heard different proposals,” Tom Moore said. “We’re delighted to have Home State Bank there.”

With plans to locate the bank on the corner, thoughts turned to maximizing use of the remainder of the property, now used as an informal parking lot.

The two-story, 10,000-square-foot bank building will be half occupied by Home State, with the remainder leased as office space. It will connect to a two-story, 5,000-square-foot building with offices on the ground level and three loft apartments above.

The rear of the property will host four town homes with garages – a total of 4,800 square-feet.

Architect David Kress of RB+B Architects, formerly Robb, Brenner & Brelig Inc., said the office buildings and town homes will be separated by a courtyard.

Andy Miscio of Miscio & Stroud Inc., broker for the entire transaction and leasing agent for the office space, said the entire project could run close to $3 million.

The last infill activity downtown, he said, was Opera Galleria.

Grubb readies Longmont office

LONGMONT — Grubb & Ellis Commercial Real Estate Services is preparing to open its only other office outside of downtown Denver.

Plans call for opening a Longmont office, possibly within the next 60 days, to serve not only Longmont but also Loveland, Fort Collins and Greeley.

Rick Schreck, broker associate with Grubb & Ellis and one of two brokers who will work in the north office, said the move is driven by a 140-acre development in Weld County that his company is handling.

The property, in the final stages of being annexed to Longmont, is on Colorado Highway 119 just east of the McLane Western distribution plant.

Already announced at the site is a 120,000-square-foot headquarters for Concepts Direct Inc., a mail-order business for specialty stationary, address labels and related products. The company has outgrown its current 56,000-square-foot building in Longmont. The move also will allow Concepts Direct to double its employee base from 250 to 500. Goals call for construction to be complete by September.

The company is purchasing all 140 acres from Dick Norton and reserving 40 acres for its project. The remaining 100 acres will be developed as a light-industrial, office and retail park.

Grubb & Ellis is conducting a pre-screening process for potential developers for the business park. Contenders include The W.W. Reynolds Cos., Etkin Equities, Pacifica Holding Co. and others.

Concepts Direct already is planning to include a day-care center in the park, as well as a retail store for its products.

Schreck said the Grubb & Ellis’ Longmont office will be used as a launching point for the company’s full-service commercial real estate activity in Northern Colorado.

“Now, we refer business in Loveland and Fort Collins to other companies,” he said. “That’s not to say it hasn’t worked, but the area is getting so big. We wouldn’t open an office unless we can provide full service – retail, industrial, office, investment and land.”

The company earlier had discussed plans to open an office in Fort Collins or Greeley but ultimately chose Longmont to be close to the Concepts Direct project, Schreck said.

Grubb isn’t the only Denver-area brokerage using Longmont as a bridge between the metro area and Northern Colorado. Colorado & Santa Fe Land Co. of Broomfield has stated its intention to open a Longmont office to serve its growing Northern Colorado holdings, including two properties in Fort Collins.

Loan program helps rehabs

FORT COLLINS — While new construction downtown may be rare, renovation and upgrades are not. But neither are they cheap.

So with assistance of the Fort Collins Local Development Co., a 20-year-old organization providing low-interest, short-term loans to facilitate economic redevelopment and aesthetic renovation, several new projects could be under way.

A $15,000 loan from the LDC will help new owners remodel the building at 153 W. Mountain Ave. Previously owned by Karen Hanson and occupied by her Invision Marketing Inc., the historic building recently was sold to two buyers, The Architect Studio and Jim Sell Design.

Hanson is awaiting construction of a new building in the OakRidge Business Park.

The buyers of the downtown building each paid $205,000 for their respective halves of the property.

The LDC also is loaning $20,000 to artist Les Sunde, who owns four different buildings on Pine Street. He will use the money to consolidate other loans he had to renovate some of his property.

And $2,500 will go to assist in the reroofing of 531 Remington St.

Mitch Morgan, president of HorizonWest Properties Inc. and president of the LDC, said the organization had applications in excess of $200,000 late last year. Most of the funds have been loaned, but as loans amortize, the fund builds up again.

Information about the LDC or a loan-application packet can be obtain by writing to the LDC c/o Mitch Morgan or Dave Veldman, Veldman Morgan Commercial, 760 Whalers Way, C-200, Fort Collins, 80525.

Miscio & Stroud readies expansion

FORT COLLINS — Miscio & Stroud Inc. Commercial and Investment Real Estate Brokers is undergoing a significant expansion and broadening its focus.

The commercial real estate firm recently has hired Danny Fleming as a full-time business broker.

He will focus solely on business-to-business sales not only in Fort Collins but also throughout the Front Range and state.

Fleming, former owner of Adventure Outfitters in Fort Collins, said commercial real estate companies often wish that they had an in-house person to whom they could refer the time-consuming job of business brokering.

“There’s a significant demand for people wanting to move here,” he said. “A lot of them simply are interested in living in Colorado and are looking for a business to buy.”

Fleming said he intends to design free seminars for buyers on what to look for when buying a business and for sellers on how to value their business and other pressing questions.

Additionally, Ron Fryrear has joined Miscio & Stroud as a sales associate focusing on the Loveland area.

He recently received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration, Real Estate and Finance from Colorado State University and is six hours short of a Master’s of Science degree.

Orthopaedic Center breaks ground

LOVELAND — Orthopaedic Center of the Rockies and Healthsouth Corp. recently broke ground on a 12,000-square-foot facility at the corner of 29th and Ginnala streets.

The two health-care corporations will offer comprehensive orthopaedic care and rehabilitation under one roof.

The Orthopaedic Center will accommodate three full-time Loveland orthopaedists, several rotating physicians from Fort Collins, 10 full-time staff members and a radiology site. Healthsouth will offer full-service rehabilitation and occupational medicine.

Construction should be complete in early spring. Clark Construction Co. of Loveland is the general contractor, and Architecture One of Loveland provided design services.

Raynor shuts door on old facility

FORT COLLINS — Front Range Raynor Door Co. has moved to expanded space with better exposure at 3847 S. Mason St.

“We bought the ground about four years ago,´ said Pete Long, who with Roger Schaake owns the commercial and residential door business.

Not limited just to garage doors, however, Front Range Raynor also provides gate systems and security shutters.

The Mason address provides room for a spacious showroom where customers can “test drive” products before making a purchase.

Long said it’s the only such showroom in Northern Colorado.

An 11,000-square-foot building houses the showroom, plus a warehouse and shop. Approximately 20 people are employed at Raynor.

Leasing activity

Anderson News Co. leased 7,000 square feet of industrial space at 106 Link Lane North from William Vegter All-Phase Electric Supply Co. Dan Eckles and Tricia Diehl of Realtec Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. handled the deal along with Andy Miscio of Miscio & Stroud.

Carol Wood can be reached at (970) 221-5400, (970) 356-1683, (800) 440-3506, or via e-mail at ncbr@aol.com.