Oak Street Plaza nets $920,000, due for face-lift

Second floor to be added to building

FORT COLLINS — A face-lift and the equivalent of elevator shoes are in store for the Oak Street Plaza building, its new owner says.

Faro Nojoumi, who owned the Crown Pub building for 15 years before selling it, paid $920,000 Feb. 3 to purchase the building, which sits at the northwest corner of South College and Oak streets, from Oak Street Plaza LLC.

Dan Eckles, the managing partner for the six people who make up Oak Street Plaza LLC, said the partners decided to sell the building because “they didn’t want to take it to the next level.” Eckles said that included renovating the building to add a second floor and more office and retail space.

“I didn’t want to move out of the downtown area,” Nojoumi said. “I lived here for 15 years above the Crown Pub.”

Nojoumi plans to add another 12,000-square-foot floor to Oak Street Plaza, which will be devoted to loft-type studio apartments. Nojoumi estimates the renovations will cost close to $2 million.

“Downtown, any downtown, needs people living there,” Nojoumi said. “I bank and shop locally here, and I like to live downtown. It has a very European touch. I hardly ever use my car.”

Nojoumi said his plans for the Plaza include promoting the existing retail tenants by attempting to host cultural events on the main floor of the building such as music concerts and displays of artwork. Construction on the second floor should begin sometime in 2001.

The purchase is the latest move by Nojoumi, who has made a career out of buying old buildings and renovating them. In March, Nojoumi and partners Don Braddy and Keith Galeener will open the eponymous Laporte Barbecue and Grill.

“Our next project is 137 Matthews,” Nojoumi said. The building at that address is an old house that has been divided into a fourplex. Nojoumi plans to renovate the exterior of the building and return it to its original condition.

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