Perennial Gardener set to expand business

FORT COLLINS — Ellen and Ted Zibell, owners of The Perennial Gardener at 154 N. College Ave., are assuming ownership of 160 and 164 N. College Ave. The Zibells plan to open a 3,000-square-foot store called Sense of Place this spring. The new business will sell home furnishings and gifts.

The two businesses will appear as separate buildings from the street, but inside the stores will be linked, as two departments of one store.

The Zibells acquired the building through a trade with the former tenant, Mister Money USA pawn shop. The Zibells purchased a new location for the pawn shop at 746 N. College Ave. and traded the new site for the locations on the 100 block of North College Avenue.

Mister Money wanted to move because it is a destination business and needed parking, said Tim Lanham, vice president of Mister Money. The Zibells wanted to expand their business downtown so they could attract foot traffic and be in a tourist area.

For more than a year, the two businesses worked on a deal.

“We tried to create a win-win deal,” Ellen Zibell said.

Construction will start this month on the project, and the new store is expected to open this spring. The Zibells plan to lease out 164 N. College. They do not have any prospects for the 2,800-square-foot building.

Crossroads changes hands

LOVELAND — Trollco Inc. has purchased the former Crossroads Business Park and renamed it Centergy Business Park. The Windsor investment company, which is also developing Water Valley, purchased 143 acres with 33 sites. The sites are fully serviced by water and sewer and are ready for construction.

“It’s the only ready-to-go business park in the region along Interstate 25,´ said Martin Lind, president of Trollco.

A variety of lot sizes are available, from three-quarters of an acre to more than 10 acres. Prices range from $1.10 a square foot to $4.50 a square foot. The prices are driven by proximity to I-25, visibility and exposure, said Michael Ehler, a broker associate and partner at The Group Inc. who is marketing the project.

Located at the intersection of I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard at the Loveland/Fort Collins Municipal Airport exit, the park’s neighbors include Prime Factory Stores, the airport, the Wal-Mart Distribution Center and the planned Larimer County events center.

“It’s a great location right on the interchange,” Ehler said.

Prior to the sale, the property was owned by an out-of-state investor and was not marketed aggressively, Ehler said.

The Group Inc. has just begun to market the park. A convenience store is under contract, and lodging companies are looking at the site, Lind said.

“It sat in a dormant stage for 13 years because of reasons unrelated to the market,” he said.

Commercial, retail, restaurant, light industrial and distribution have been targeted as potential users of the site. The park has blanket approval for both commercial and industrial uses by the city of Loveland.

The first building is expected to go up in early spring, with businesses moving in late summer or early fall.

Greeley sporting-goods store moves west

GREELEY — Garretson’s Sports Center is moving to west Greeley. Zeke Garretson, owner and founder of the sporting goods store, purchased the former Greeley Honda building at 3817 W. 10th St.

The retail store is moving from its downtown location at 801 Eighth Ave. the first week of March, Garretson said. He plans on closing for only a few days during the transition.

Garretson will move the retail store because it needed more space. The new store is about one-third larger than the downtown location, jumping from 12,000 square feet to 18,000 square feet.

“A lot of town is going west. For future use, it’s the best way to go,” Garretson said.

The downtown location opened 12 years ago. Garretson founded the store in Sterling in 1965 before moving to Greeley in 1983. The company now has only one store in Greeley.

“We have strong ties to downtown, but it’s not a place to expand that we felt was beneficial,” he said.

The new building is being gutted and will be one open area, Garretson said. The new location will also be on one floor instead of two, like the current one.

“We’ll have a lot more inventory on the floor,” Garretson said.

Sales and leases

Oakridge Executive Village is now open in southeast Fort Collins. Jim and Patricia Siefken, owners of Carousel Properties, opened the cluster of 40 luxury condominiums in the Oakridge Business Park.

Robert Gabrielson bought 277 14th St. SW in Loveland for $230,000. He purchased Crossroads U-Store-It and plans to manage the business. The building has 14,030 square feet. James Nichols sold the business and is consolidating his real estate investments in Fort Collins. Dan Eckles and Tricia Diehl, of Realtec Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., handled the sale.

International Grills Inc. has leased 2413 S. College Ave., site of the former Denny’s restaurant. The company plans to renovate the 5,500-square-foot building and open two new restaurants, Buku Bowl and Z-Teca Grill. Data Lab Management of Fort Collins Inc. owns the property. Jim Mokler and Rhys Christensen of Realtec handled the lease. International Grills recently opened Z-Teca and Buku Bowl in The Orchards Shopping Center in Loveland.

Thanh and Hanh Do leased 151 S. College Ave. and have plans for opening a Vietnamese restaurant at the location in late February or early March. Oak Street Plaza is the landlord of the building, of which the couple leased 2,539 square feet. Dan Eckles and Tricia Diehl of Realtec handled the lease.

The Egg & I leased 3,600 square feet at the Village at Burlington in Longmont. The new location, located at 2055 Ken Pratt Blvd., Suite A-C, is across the street from the Twin Peaks Mall. Pratt Land LLC is the landlord of the property. Pratt Agency Inc. and Rhys Christensen of Realtec handled the lease.

Sprint Spectrum leased 144 square feet at 19 Old Town Square Suite 238-34. Nick Christensen of Realtec and Ed Stoner of Old Town Square Properties Inc. handled the deal.

Ken Forsley leased about 1,000 square feet at 1020 Luke St. in Fort Collins. The space will be used for a physical-therapy office relocating from The Fort Collins Club. The lease was handled by Dan Eckles and Tricia Diehl of Realtec.

Party Productions, a party-supply store, leased 3,450 square feet at 4619 Mason St. Dave Veldman of Veldman Morgan and Steve Pfister and Nick Christensen of Realtec handled the lease.

Anne Childers can be reached at (970) 221-5400, (970) 356-1683, (800) 440-3506 or via e-mail at achilders@ncbr.com. Her fax number is (970) 221-5432.

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