Loveland’s ace in the hole

The honeymoon has just begun.After four years of robust commercial and industrial interest in Loveland˜s properties along Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34, developers and agents are still as fascinated with the area as ever. They have good reason to be. What Realtor or developer can ignore the lure of the Rocky Mountain Factory Stores? City tax collections jumped 18 percent from 1994 due solely to the outlet mall. "The market interest has all been in the last four years," said Dan Stroh, president of Stroh & Company Realty and Auctions Inc. He said that prior to the Rocky Mountain Factory Stores˜ opening in 1994, poor market conditions left the surrounding land empty for years. Today, Stroh˜s Loveland Business Plaza just two miles west of the mall, and Crossroads Business Park two miles north, are growing in its lucrative shadow. Prime Retail, the Baltimore, Md.-based company that bought the Rocky Mountain Factory Stores a year ago, maintains that the area possesses the three elements they believe make outlet malls successful: high tourist traffic, high traffic counts and high populations within a 100-mile radius. These remain important factors today, said Brian Lewbart, director of public relations for Prime Retail, because they are the reason the company wants to expand its commercial holdings in Loveland. In the coming year, Prime Retail is seeking tenants to continue development directly west of the outlet stores. They are eyeing about 30 acres of land owned by McWhinney Colorado Enterprises. Prime Retail isn˜t yet saying whether it plans a joint venture with McWhinney or to simply buy land needed when retail tenants are confirmed. Prime Retail owns the Castle Rock Outlet stores and this year plans to acquire some of the Horizon Group˜s holdings, including the outlet mall in Silverthorne. Approximately half a mile west of the outlet mall, the 40-acre Rocky Mountain Village Business Park is starting to see some action. Agent/owner McWhinney Colorado Enterprises has kicked off the business park with a 34,000-square-foot building at 5200 Hahns Peak Drive. The building will be anchored by Factual Data Corp., a credit-reporting and employment-screening company that will eventually occupy two floors. April 1 is the expected move-in date for Factual Data. Also occupying the building will be Clear Vision, a Fort Collins company that is expected to occupy 1,200 square feet. McWhinney Colorado Enterprises will move into the building and occupy 4,000 square feet. Vice president Troy McWhinney said he expects that a total of six tenants will have set up shop in the building by April. Just north of the business park, Prowswood Development, a Salt Lake City, Utah, company, will partner up this year with McWhinney to build a 168-unit, multifamily housing development called Eagle Ridge. Eventual buildout of the area will be 500 units. Groundbreaking for the first phase of the project is expected in May. West of Eagle Ridge, McStain Enterprises of Boulder is the home builder/developer on a single-family home project. McWhinney said plans with the property are to begin construction on 312 single-family homes in the fall. Home sales should begin in 1999. Target, just off Rocky Mountain Avenue and west of the Rocky Mountain Factory Stores in the middle of the Rocky Mountain Village Master Plan, is expected to break ground in February 1998. The Loveland Business Plaza and the Crossroads Business Park have seen a lot of activity in the last few years. This year, expect to see more. The Loveland Business Plaza at U.S. Highway 34 and Denver Avenue has built out most of its 80 acres in the last four years, with businesses and warehousing for "local businesses moving out of smaller buildings into larger facilities," Stroh said. The park is anchored by the 12-screen MetroLux Theater and highlighted by businesses such as Loveland Auto Auction Wholesale Dealers, and a 125-square-foot warehouse owned by a man who needs a place to store his boats and cars. Stroh said he was "being particular" about the last undeveloped 8.5 acres of the park. With its U.S. Highway 34 frontage and proximity to the theater, most of the inquiries about the property have been from the retail sector. Stroh is also the agent for Crossroads Business Park, located at I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard. A 140-acre piece of land on the southeast corner of Crossroads Boulevard, the park includes 60 acres on the north side. Most of the infrastructure for the project is in place. In the upcoming year, work will be complete on Rodchester Drive connecting the park with nearby subdivisions. With Denver International Airport relatively nearby, the outlet mall two miles south and little surrounding residential creating little or no traffic impact for residents, Stroh has a lot of hope for Crossroads Business Park. "I think it can make a statement," Stroh said. "It˜s a strictly industrial/commercial area with its own ramp off I-25." Complex Tooling, a plastic molding company on St. Cloud Drive, is already doing businesses in Crossroads Business Park. Look for two to three additional buildings to go up in the business park in the coming year. West of the outlet malls where Highway 34 becomes East Eisenhower Boulevard, Stroh is handling a 28-acre piece of land. About seven acres south of Sam˜s Club on Redwood Drive have already been sold to the city of Loveland for a public safety building, including fire station and service center. Fire-department officials say Larimer County may move some of its courtrooms into a new building on the same site or possibly share the public safety building with Loveland. Construction is expected to begin on this project by the year 2000. Stroh said the remainder of his property will probably be broken up into units and sold according to planned use. "Sometime after the city begins its construction we will begin our PUD," Stroh said.

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