Developers plan to raise roof for lofts project

FORT COLLINS – Investors have disclosed plans to build three stories
of loft apartments on top of a 103-year-old downtown Fort Collins
office building.
Owners of Northern Engineering, a Fort Collins civil engineering
firm, have agreed to buy and renovate 200 S. College Ave., known as
the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building.
As planned, Northern Engineering would use the existing office space
– a one-story structure with a basement – for its own growing staff.
Seventeen loft units would be added upstairs, which the owners would
sell in a price range of $155,000 to $250,000.
The project is the latest in a wave of downtown housing projects
currently under development in Fort Collins. In all, six different
loft projects are proposed or under construction, representing 82 new
homes.
Called the Old Town Lofts, the 200 S. College project would be
intentionally the most modest of the new downtown ventures.
“We wanted true lofts – we didn’t just want to do apartments,´ said
George Schock, a principal in Northern Engineering.
The units would range in size from 660 square feet to 960 square feet
and will be relatively Spartan in design, more in keeping with
traditional urban lofts. A buyer can pay more for an upgrade to the
finish.
Schock said the Old Town Lofts are likely to appeal to young professionals.
“We’re trying to offer a more affordable project – not so much of an
executive-type loft or retirement-type,” he said.
The developers hope to start renovation on the building by October,
with occupancy possible in June of 2005.
The Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building, located at the southeast corner
of College and Oak, was constructed in 1901, according to Larimer
County property records. The last major remodeling on the building
occurred in 1984.
The most recent tenant in the building was Managed Business
Solutions, an IT consulting firm that moved out in July 2003 to new
offices in south Fort Collins.
Northern Engineering currently has the property under contract with
owner Les Kaplan, and expects to close on the purchase when approval
for the Old Town Lofts is final.
Northern Engineering, founded in 1987, was inspired to take on the
Old Town Lofts project as a solution to its growing business.
The company, with 34 employees, has doubled in size since 2000. It
currently fills about 6,500 square feet in its offices at 420 S.
Howes St. The new offices will span about 9,000 square feet.
The design, described as a “renovated warehouse” look, bears
similarities to Coors Field and other projects in Lower Downtown
Denver. Vaught-Frye Architects and Dohn Construction have formed the
design-build team for the project.
The sale of the lofts will fund the renovation project for the new
owners, who declined to reveal the total investment in the project.
“If we had just moved our office, we were talking a half a million
dollars,” Schock said.
The renovation project will be next door to the Aggie Theater, which
has recently served as a concert venue.
Aggie owner Mike Jensen called Old Town Lofts “a real positive for
downtown” and said he has long-term goals to build residential units
above the Aggie.
“It’s going to take some trial and error,” Jensen said of the new
downtown projects. “I’d like to see which projects are successful and
why, and then model our approach to really meet the needs of people
who truly want to live downtown.”

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