County’s real estate looks strong for ’98

Commercial/industrial real estate and residential real estate will continue to boom around the county, industry watchers say.

Most residential growth is expected in Longmont and surrounding areas. Commercial growth probably will happen in Louisville and Lafayette business parks, Interlocken business park and Longmont.

Medium-sized companies are looking for new space, says Michael Guidarelli, an employee at O’Connor Construction, mostly in the 50,000- to 100,000-square-foot range. Many companies currently based in Boulder are looking to move, based on the city’s commercial growth moratorium, a measure lifted this fall.

“I think there’s going to be some lingering effects of that for some companies. I think if you get bit by the dog once, you’re twice shy,” Guidarelli says.

Some companies, especially software companies, feel a need to stay in Boulder city limits to attract the best employees. But others now are looking as far away as Interstate 25, Guidarelli says. And many now are thinking about other parts of the county, even though a couple of years ago such thoughts were unheard of, he says.

“What’s changed out there is acceptance. It’s no different than our Century Park Plaza building on McCaslin (Boulevard). All three tenants were in Boulder and thought they had to be in Boulder. Now they’re in Louisville,” Guidarelli says. “They say, We’re closer to our homes; it’s great.’ The trick is to get them down that learning curve, and sometimes they’ll make a decision.”

Louisville’s McCaslin Boulevard/Dillon Road corridor will be hopping in 1998, Guidarelli predicts, with both O’Connor Construction and Trammel Crow building there. The Colorado Tech Center also will be busy, with at least 10 building starts in 1998, Guidarelli predicts.

On the residential side, Engle Homes Colorado is pursuing several projects in Boulder County, although Eric Eckberg, an Engle Homes spokesman, said it’s tough to find land reasonable enough to build the homes Engle is known for — in the price range of the high $100,000s to low $200,000s.

“The job growth and industry is the industry we like, with high-tech jobs,” Eckberg said. “People like the schools, too.”

Eckberg sees continued growth on both sides of Longmont.

Other residential home builders with plans to build in Longmont include Centex Homes, Melody Homes and Richmond Homes, Eckberg said.

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