Troutman office condos planned

FORT COLLINS — Two local businessmen are taking the popular concept of office condominiums to a new level with a three-story, Class A project called Troutman Office Park.

The 20,700-square-foot building at the northwest corner of Troutman Parkway and JFK Parkway will incorporate high-technology features some refer to as a “smart building.” While other offices in the region have been retrofitted with smart technology, this likely is the first building in Northern Colorado to include the features from the ground up.

Individual condo units can be prewired “to use the coming tele-video technology,´ said Bill Watson, one of the project developers and owner of Watson Financial Services.

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“People in the building will have the ability to dial up through a modem and, using a video chip in their computer, they can talk to anyone in the world,” Watson said.

The technology allows for collaboration on data, work on joint projects and interactive conferencing, all without the necessity of taking a trip.

Watson and fellow developer Ken Vander Wall, owner of Vander Wall Insurance Agency, have formed Troutman Office Park Association, or TOPA, to develop the project.

Both Watson and Vander Wall will relocate to Troutman Office Park. Other buyers include Jim Newcome, a financial planner, and Gene Little of Walter Robert Associates.

Little also is involved in bringing the “smart building” technology to Troutman Office Park by working with Tele Media Applications Inc. of Denver. He also is working to market the condos to other potential buyers. A recently installed sign at the property offers further details to buyers.

“We’re primarily targeting professionals such as chiropractors, attorneys and CPAs,” Watson said.

TOPA intends to have construction under way by August. A contractor has not yet been selected.

Troutman Office Park will sit on an almost 1.5-acre parcel that supports a 4-to-1 parking ratio. TOPA took an option to buy the property about one year ago from the city of Fort Collins. The city got ownership of the land after a special improvement district deal there failed.

The developers expect the total project cost to run about $2.6 million.