Milliken poised for another growth spurt
MILLIKEN — Milliken native Pat Onorato’s childhood memories of his hometown are of a poor community with dirt streets.
“When I was growing up, it was probably about 350 people,” the Milliken businessman recalled. “Basically, there was really nothing to do as a kid. If you weren’t at school or at the playground, that was about all you had to do.”
Onorato, now 55, operates two Milliken businesses: a coin-operated laundry and the Hometown Grocery and Deli.
Since the days when Onorato was a kid in Milliken, the town has grown more than tenfold. The wide spot in the unpaved roads of Onorato’s childhood is now a burg of nearly 4,000.
The town had an estimated population of 3,893 in 2002, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
In 2004, Milliken is poised for more growth.
Sustained growth expected
Based on the number of residential housing lots currently platted — 2,500 — Milliken town administrator J.R. Schnelzer said the town would likely continue to expand. “We probably will see sustained growth for the next five years,” he said.
Greeley-based developer Hall-Irwin Corp. sparked much of the town’s current and potential growth with its 4,900-home, master-planned community Centennial Crossing. Officials have estimated that the development could swell the town’s population count to 11,500 within 20 years.
Hall-Irwin announced in 2003 that it would move its corporate headquarters to Milliken. A $4 million building is in the works, and the move is expected to add 25 jobs to the town’s employment base, Schnelzer said.
Dave Bernhardt, a Milliken dairy farmer and real estate agent, said his town’s comparatively inexpensive real estate and decent schools are helping to fuel growth there. “It’s a nice place to live,” he said. “And a lot of people can afford homes here.”
With its location between Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 85 and U.S. Highway 34, the town is ideally situated for families who embody that Northern Colorado commuter trend where spouses commute from homes in one community to jobs elsewhere in the region or the metro area.
Population growth over the past decade has been dramatic. According to DOLA estimates, Milliken’s population was 1,506 in 1980, 1,605 in 1990 and 2,888 by 2000.
The pace of growth actually had slowed somewhat in recent years, Bernhardt said. But he looks for that to pick up again. “I think if the economy turns, we’ll probably see another spurt of growth.”
A Milliken native, Bernhardt is a third-generation farmer. He and his brother farm an operation their grandfather started in 1920. As neighbors have opted out of agriculture, the Bernhardts have expanded the family farm to some 2,000 acres, with a 1,200-head dairy herd.
New crop
Bernhardt hopes the farm will continue about another 10 years. The future of the land at the northeastern edge of town isn’t in milk and alfalfa and corn as its past has been. Instead, Bernhardt looks ahead to the possibility of producing the new Milliken crop: houses.
If growth in Milliken has been dramatic, it also has been deliberate. In a state where tax legislation has left municipalities hungry for sales-tax dollars, town officials recognized that Milliken must grow in order to flourish.
“Every town in this state is always looking to increase sales-tax revenues,” Schnelzer said. “We are similarly bound to trying to find good solid businesses that provide a sales-tax base.”
Schnelzer said sales-tax revenues have been increasing steadily in Milliken in relation to population growth.
Thanks in part to the onslaught of newcomers to the town, Milliken has updated infrastructure. The changes come with an eye toward further growth, as well as attracting economic development. Schnelzer ticks off some of the town’s accomplishments:
“We’re trying to make it an attractive place to live, work and raise a family,” he said.
Holding onto history
Schnelzer said Milliken is concerned about preserving its history and culture as a small farming community even as it grows toward the future.
“We hope to have a living historical farm as a repository for some of that cultural history,” he said.
The downtown business district has been a focus of concern as well, Schnelzer said. “The board has been very succinct about maintaining a viable downtown,” he noted.
This year, Milliken will upgrade lighting in its central business district. Parking improvements are in the works as well.
The Milliken Business Association, headed by Bernhardt and Onorato, launched the first-ever Milliken Madness Days in 2003 to draw attention downtown. The family event offered games for children and information about local businesses for adults.
The event seemed to boost awareness of downtown business, and Bernhardt said the group plans to hold it again.
Growth, meanwhile, gets mixed reviews among Milliken residents, Bernhardt said. Some of the town’s business people are concerned about getting left behind. Others are optimistic.
Downtown hardware store owner Dave Johnston echoed that assessment. “You’ve got as many different comments on it as you’ve got people to make comments,” he said.
A relative newcomer, Johnston has operated the full-service hardware store with his wife, Evelyn, just over two years. Milliken Quality Hardware has its roots in a previous business with a 45-year history in the town.
Long-time Milliken business owner Barbara Dempsey, who opened Hitchin’ Post Liquors in 1984, summed it up this way: “Most people, in general, are against growth in Colorado,” she said.
Dempsey, who now lives in Loveland, said growth in Milliken has translated into business growth. “Business has increased every year since we opened,” she said.
MILLIKEN — Milliken native Pat Onorato’s childhood memories of his hometown are of a poor community with dirt streets.
“When I was growing up, it was probably about 350 people,” the Milliken businessman recalled. “Basically, there was really nothing to do as a kid. If you weren’t at school or at the playground, that was about all you had to do.”
Onorato, now 55, operates two Milliken businesses: a coin-operated laundry and the Hometown Grocery and Deli.
Since the days when Onorato was a kid in Milliken, the town has grown more than tenfold. The wide spot in the unpaved roads of Onorato’s…
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