Businesses follow population into south Weld County area

As more rooftops appear in southern Weld County, an increasing number of businesses and retailers have moved in to accommodate the growing population.
Southern Weld County includes the communities of Johnstown, Milliken, Mead, Firestone, Dacono, Frederick, Platteville and Fort Lupton.
Wendy Nafziger, vice president of the Longmont Area Economic Council, said several new businesses have moved into the south Weld County area in the last couple years.
Furthermore, Nafziger said inquiries about locating a business in the south Weld County area have also increased sharply in recent months.
“Our prospect activity through our office is up some 200 percent from last year,” she said.
Three new businesses have located at the Vista Commercial Center, a business park development on Colorado Highway 119, just west of Interstate 25, she said.
Barrier Clean makes cleaning room garments, the white suits for industrial use, she said. Another company, Mountain Optech, develops memory storage systems.
A third company, Pac International, is a turnkey engineering firm that makes robotic systems for assembly lines to produce beverage cans. It performs the engineering for the assembly line manufacture of the cans, she said.
On I-25 itself is High Country Millwork, which makes custom cabinets for high-end clothing stores.
Another new business in the area is the Spitfire Group, a technical consulting firm for the software industry, she said.
Ron Klaphake, executive director of the Greeley-Weld Economic Development Action Partnership, said there is quite a lot of new retail development in the south Weld County area.
“There’s a new King Soopers going up in Firestone right now,” he noted.
Growth in the south part of Weld County is spurred by so many new rooftops, he said. “That’s what is driving a lot of stuff, from banks to grocery stores,” he said.
Industrial growth has not necessarily kept pace, however.
South Weld County absorbed a blow about a two years ago when Flextronics, a large manufacturing plant located in the Del Camino area, shut down.
High Country Millwork has filled part of the former Flextronics building. Still, the manufacturing sector is lagging, Klaphake said.
“There’s not a lot of movement in the entire country. They say there’s a recovery going on, but there’s so much excess capacity.”
Still, John Franklin, town planner for Johnstown, said more businesses are expanding or moving into the Johnstown area.
Just recently, ground was broken on the new Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital, to be located south of U.S. Highway 34 and east of I-25 in the 2534 commercial project, he said.
“It will be completed next spring and will be a 40-bed hospital with 150 employees,” he said.
A few other businesses that are slated for the area include a new recreational vehicle and boat storage facility near Johnson’s Corner. That building is almost completed. Also, the Loveland Auto Auction is moving from Loveland to Johnson’s Corner and will open there next spring, he said.
A new Loaf ‘n Jug convenience store will open in Johnstown next year at the interchange of Colorado Highway 60 and I-25. “It’s going up now,” Franklin said.
Hays Market grocery store in Johnstown is expanding in the downtown area by about 50 percent. “They’re starting work on the foundation and it will be done by early next year,” Franklin said.