Boulder developer, architect tap Breckenridge market

By Amy Stogner

BRECKENRIDGE ? Boulder developer David O’Neil and the Boulder architect firm Wolff Lyon are building what they call an affordable-housing community in Breckenridge.

The homes, ranging in price from $250,000 to $375,000, include 63 two-story, cottage-style, detached, single-family homes; 35 townhomes, 16 duplexes and eight living/work units. The developer is targeting Summit County residents and Front Range residents wanting a second home in the mountains.

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The community is designed to create a family oriented environment rather than a second-home resort without full-time residents. “This offers many advantages for the second-home buyer, especially young families,” O’Neil said. “Parents can send their kids out to the village greens to build a snowman or kick a soccer ball while they watch from the kitchen window.”

Peaks seven and eight, riding stables, a recreation center, bike trails and backcountry areas also are close to the development, O’Neil added. So far, 38 of the homes have been built, 24 have been sold, and six are under contract.LOUISVILLE

PICOLIGHT LEASE: The Etkin Johnson Group has leased 60,362 square feet of space in Building A at 1480 Arthur Ave., in the Colorado Technology Center, to PicoLight Inc., a Boulder-based optoelectronics company. “This most recent lease signing puts the building at 65 percent leased,´ said Barbara Meyers of Etkin Johnson. “This has become a very popular site. We’re very pleased with the level of interest and overall success of the center.”BROOMFIELD

NEW MIXED USE: An office development called The Summit Corporate Center is being built near FlatIron Crossing mall. The center, to be developed by Greystar Capital Partners LP, is part of an integrated office and urban-scale residential development called the Summit at Broomfield.

The project will consist of two office buildings and five, four-story, multifamily housing buildings at Summit Boulevard off Coalton Road. The office buildings, to be completed in the fourth quarter 2001, will have rates between $19.50 and $20 per square foot triple net. A triple-net lease requires tenants to pay all ongoing maintenance expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance and upkeep of the property.BOULDER

NEW LOCATION: Freeman Property Advisors Inc., a Boulder-based real estate firm started in September by longtime Boulder Realtor Andrew Freeman, recently moved its offices from 1942 Broadway to 1628 Walnut. The building the company moved out of was 480 square feet; the new one is 2,800 square feet. Since September, Freeman said the company has grown from two employees to 10, including the addition of Gary Myre as facilities management director. Previously, Myre was a facilities manager for Valleylab Inc. and a Boulder city councilman. MORE DORMS: A $1 billion master plan approved recently by the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents includes a $102 million dormitory expansion at Williams Village in Boulder.

The five-story building will feature apartment-style units and provide 1,900 beds for students. Portions of Williams Village will be leased to a developer to finance, design, build and operate the new housing. CU will own the land but not the buildings.

Construction is slated to start in the fall of 2002 with completion sometime between 2003 and 2008.SAE CIRCUITS: SAE Circuits Colorado Inc., a Gunbarrel-based manufacturer of printed circuit boards, or the components inside a stereo receiver, is expanding its facilities by 11,000 square feet.

The company owns one building on N. 63rd Street in Gunbarrel and was leasing part of another building that it now is purchasing, said Jack Jeffries, the company’s vice president. Between the two buildings, SAE Circuits had approximately 46,000 square feet of space. The purchase of the second building will give the company an additional 11,000 square feet, allowing for more employees and additional equipment storage space.LONGMONT

PEAK INDUSTRIES: Peak Industries Inc., a contract manufacturer of electronic products, is expanding its Longmont facility.

Peak Industries has one 66,000-square-foot building at 4300 Road 18, just east of the Interstate 25 frontage road, and it is building a second, 45,000-square-foot building to house a combination of production and office space, said Mark Hopkins, company president. Peak Industries Inc. plans to add between 40 and 50 employees within the next nine months, he said.WESTMINSTER

HIGH-END HOUSING: The Ranch Reserve, a housing development of 122 homes to be built on 83 acres at The Ranch Golf and Country Club, a quarter of a mile south of 120th Street on Federal Boulevard, is pre-selling homes.

The homes, which range from $400,000 to $2.5 million, will be custom-designed by the homeowners. The houses range from 2,300 to 7,000 square feet above grade, or 3,800 to 12,000 square feet, including finished basements.

The Ranch Reserve is next to a development called The Ranch, an approximately 10-year-old development with about 1,500 homes, said Marie Callaway, spokesperson for The Ranch. Some homes already are under construction, she said, so if someone needs a house within 30 days, they can select one that has been started.

The Ranch began taking contracts May 26 and already has sold 77 homes. “On projects like this, we usually expect four to five sales a month,” she said. “We have been averaging 10 to 12 a month.” Callaway expects the project to be finished within 18 months to two years.GENERAL

KUDOS FOR ETKIN JOHNSON: The Etkin Johnson Group, a Denver-based real estate developer that has projects throughout Boulder County, has been selected as Owner/Developer of the Year by the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

“This is a tremendous honor for our company,´ said Bruce Etkin, owner and manager. “We have identified and pursued opportunities that not only make sense for us, but for Colorado’s business community. We feel that we are providing the kind of developments that are beneficial to the local economy and to our tenants.”

The Etkin Johnson Group has approximately 4 million square feet of commercial space and another 483,000 square feet of space under development. Some of the company’s current developments include the 157,000-square-foot Colorado Technology Center, the 294,000-square-foot Lafayette Corporate Campus, the 191,000-square-foot Church Ranch Corporate Center and the 129,150-square-foot Arapahoe/Peoria Business Center.HELP FOR THE DISABLED: A community-service organization, Freedom by Design, was formed at the end of last year to remodel the homes of people with disabilities to solve safety, access, mobility and comfort issues. The Denver-based organization was started by the American Institute of Architects and the Buchanan Yonushewski Group.

Several area architects and contractors have signed on as project managers for an entire project, which includes interviewing and surveying potential recipients, selecting the homes, designing solutions, finding product materials and suppliers, and constructing or arranging for construction of needed renovations. Freedom by Design has 19 home projects in the works.NEW LEASES: Todd Rosen of AmCap Properties Inc., a Denver-based real estate firm, recently completed two lease deals at Willow Run Shopping Center at the northeast corner of 128th Avenue and Zuni Street in Westminster. Wagon of Wings, a restaurant, will lease 1,300 square feet and The Space Specialist, a company that sells spas, will lease 1,040 square feet. Rosen also recently leased 2,400 square feet at Broomfield Plaza, at the northeast corner of 120th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard, to Flatirons Scuba and Travel Inc.Contact Amy Stogner at (303) 440-4950 or e-mail astogner@bcbr.com