REAL ESTATE: Wheeler seeks opportunities north of the border

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — There may not be gold in them thar’ plains, but Wyoming is apparently a land of opportunity in the commercial real estate business.

Wheeler Commercial of Fort Collins, a commercial brokerage and land-development firm, has opened an office in Cheyenne. Bill Neal, a principal in the firm that’s now developing Rigden Farm in Fort Collins, thinks Cheyenne holds promise at the north end of the Front Range.

“We see it as the crossroads of two interstate (highway) systems,” Neal said, referring to I-80 and I-25. “The decision by Lowe’s to go to Cheyenne got a lot of attention. We’re expecting more distribution companies that want that interstate access to go into that Cheyenne market over the next 10 years or so.”

And that means hundreds, possibly thousands, of new jobs. Which makes for retail demand and ? you get the picture.

Neal was referring to the regional distribution project completed in Cheyenne last year by the Lowe’s home-improvement-store chain, the No. 2 such retailer behind The Home Depot.

In addition to the Lowe’s project, Sierra Trading Post recently built a new fulfillment center in Cheyenne for its blossoming catalog sporting goods operation.

Neal expects to develop residential housing projects as well as retail centers in Cheyenne.

“One (home) building company can do between 40 and 60 units per year in a single location,” he said. “That’s showing a little bit of vitality in the housing market.”

On the retail side, Neal hopes to develop a grocery-anchored retail center in Cheyenne “over the next year or two.”

Wheeler also plans to invest in existing buildings.

Cheyenne isn’t Wheeler’s only venture in Wyoming. The company has confirmed plans to build a 50,000-square-foot retail center on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie. Other pending projects in Laramie include an apartment project oriented toward students, and a hotel-convention center along Grand Avenue near the campus.

City lists prime interstate property

FORT COLLINS — The city of Fort Collins has placed a 25.1-acre parcel near the intersection of I-25 and East Prospect Road on the auction block.

City officials are asking at least $2 million for the ground, which is zoned for commercial development. The property, situated near the southwest corner of I-25 and Prospect, was once part of the city’s resource recovery farm, which has been decommissioned. Most of the old 250-acre farm has been set aside as open space.

The land may have been worth more if not for the failed transportation-tax election earlier this spring. The tax would have funded improvements where Prospect Road passes over I-25.

“This intersection at I-25 is close to failing,´ said Fort Collins city manager John Fischbach. Any developer of the ground would have to invest in overpass improvements.

The city’s asking price equates to $1.84 per square foot, within the standard range of undeveloped I-25 ground, said Michael Ehler, a broker for Realtec Commercial Real Estate Services Inc.. “The going rate is between $1.75 and $2.50 a foot,” Ehler said.

As planned, the city will conduct a sealed-bid auction. Bids will be accepted until 2 p.m. Aug. 29.

Money from the sale will belong to the city’s utility division and will go toward defraying service costs to residents and debt.

The sale is a unique turn of affairs for the city. Typically, the city’s real estate deals involve making acquisitions for rights of way.

“I can’t think of any property we surplused and sold,´ said Assistant City Manager Darin Atteberry.

Editor Bob Baun covers real estate for The Northern Colorado Business Report. He can be reached at (970) 221-5400, (970) 356-1683 or via e-mail at bbaun@ncbr.com. His fax number is (970) 221-5432.

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