Northern Colorado Briefs UNC gets State Farm windfall

GREELEY – Buildings and land occupied by State Farm Insurance Cos. in Evans belong now to the University of Northern Colorado.

The gift from Westfield Development Co., the Denver-based owner of the property just southwest of the junction of U.S. Highway 85 and the U.S. 34 Bypass, is estimated at $11 million.

The value, based on county records, makes the gift the largest in the institution’s history. Last year, Kenneth Monfort gave $10.5 million to what is now known as the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business at UNC.

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Westfield, developers of the Promontory commercial park in west Greeley, bought the 250,000-square-foot building and six acres of land from State Farm as part of its arrangement to build State Farm Cos.’ new regional headquarters at Promontory. UNC will have until 2003 – when State Farm vacates the Evans site and fills its half-million-square-foot Promontory campus – to decide how it will use the property.

McWhinney settles on name

LOVELAND – McWhinney Enterprises has chosen the name Centerra to identify the 3,000-acre development at the intersection of Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34 formerly known as Rocky Mountain Village and the Global Technology Center.

The name change will be phased in over three months, bringing under one umbrella the various elements of the master-planned development that will span both sides of I-25 just north of U.S. 34.

“After a year of research, we strongly felt that the name Centerra better reflects the future direction that this project represents,´ said Chad McWhinney, president and chief executive of McWhinney Enterprises. “Our development truly is the center of activity in Northern Colorado.”

Centerra now includes Factual Data National Headquarters, Writer Corp., FirsTier Bank, Empfacts National Headquarters, Prime Outlets shopping center, Centerra Marketplace, Target, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn, Eagle Ridge Apartments, and a variety of restaurants including Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon and Chili’s.

The Group Inc. Real Estate will soon be breaking ground on a 2.2-acre site for their second Loveland office and Banner Health Colorado has purchased a 10-acre site for a regional outpatient and ambulatory services center.

Cybercrop lands funding

FORT COLLINS – CyberCrop.com, an Internet-based link between grain producers and buyers, obtained an undisclosed amount of venture funding in a third round of financing. Investors include the Internet Capital Group, which participated in two earlier venture funding rounds.

In an April funding round, CyberCrop netted $10 million to expand its business-to-business grain market network.

CyberCrop President and Chief Executive Scott Deeter said the new funding will help pay for new features, such as futures and options order origination.

CyberCrop has been mentioned among Northern Colorado companies that might be next in line for initial public offerings.

Cache Bank clear of C&D order

GREELEY – Federal regulators have lifted a cease-and-desist order imposed on Greeley’s Cache Bank, allowing it to resume its day-to-day operations on a normal basis.

Settlement of Cache’s lawsuits against four auto dealerships helped pave the way for the lifting of the order, as did installation of a new management team at the bank.

The bank claimed fraud in its dealings with Chamberlain Auto Group, Honda of Greeley, Greeley Dodge and Downtown Deals on Wheels. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which regulates commercial banks, said weak auto loans were a factor in the imposition of the order.

Byron Bateman took over as CEO of Cache Bank and Mike Phillips stepped in as president in July. The two joined the bank staff in March.

Bateman and Phillips are in the midst of expanding Cache services in Greeley and have applied to state regulators to add a trust department to its offerings. Cache employs 30 in Greeley.