Centennial Crossing developer shifts gears

MILLIKEN- The difference between success and failure in real estate is often a function of timing.

Hall-Irwin Corp.’s timing for Centennial Crossing, a 2,200-acre master planned community currently under construction, is a case in a point.

Hall-Irwin began the project in 2000 by purchasing the land and working with town officials on designing a mixed-use project. Plans for Centennial Crossing include housing, retail and office space, a golf course, a trail system, an outdoor amphitheater, a baseball complex, a recreation center and an outdoor pool.

While the project is anticipated to fill out by 2015, the process has met with some unexpected detours.

Brett Hall, chief operating officer of Hall-Irwin, likened the process to building a town from scratch.

“If you look at the master plan there is a place for retail, there is a place for the gas station, for the medical buildings, for the recreation and where the schools are,” he said. “It is basically like designing a town.”

Hall-Irwin chose the property on the east side of Milliken because of its proximity to transportation corridors – Interstate 25, U.S. Highways 34 and 85 and Colorado Highway 257. Growth patterns and trends show migratory patterns heading straight towards Milliken.

Unfortunately, the migratory patterns aren’t quite as hot as Hall-Irwin had hoped.

The project started with national builders like U.S. Home, Richmond America and Ryland Homes. Hall said the nationals just didn’t have a feel for the project and overestimated the market needs of Milliken.

Jason Johnson, Denver area sales manager for Ryland Homes, said the project just wasn’t what the company expected, so Ryland pulled out last year. Richmond has one lot left before it exits the project, and U.S. Homes has nine remaining.

Hall-Irwin found a better fit with locally based builders, including Bailey Homes Inc. of Fort Collins, Neo-Tec Construction of Greeley and Warren Construction Unlimited LLP of Loveland. These builders now offer homes starting at $150,000.

“When the national builders pulled out there was natural decline in activity,´ said Ken Robinson, director of real estate for Lot Holdings Investments, the division of Hall-Irwin that is managing Centennial Crossing.

Robinson said there has been a recent upswing in housing activity and that he anticipates they will close on 100 homes in 2005. The development currently has 528 developed residences including duplex units and single-family homes, which Hall acknowledges is below projections.

In December 2003, Hall-Irwin announced the occupants of its new Trader’s Junction retail center at Centennial Crossing. The announced tenants included a coffee shop, a salon and a Curves for Women health club. Development-related businesses headed for Milliken included Gongloff Real Estate, Leaf Engineering and Thorp Architects.

Today, only Curves for Women and Thorp Architects remain at the site. Gongloff Real Estate and Leaf Engineering never opened their doors.

“Generally speaking, the mom and pop operations haven’t done very well,´ said Hall- Irwin’s Brett Hall.

Anytime Fitness Corp. has signed a letter of intent to occupy one of the vacancies in the center, leaving three remaining spaces.

“We have not stopped recruiting for this center,” Lot Holding’s Robinson said. “We currently have a Chinese restaurant interested and we are talking to a title company who is interested in the space next to the former spa.”

Robinson said he is experiencing some difficulties attracting attention to the site – and is looking for a retailer or restaurant to attract people from Johnstown, Milliken, Platteville and beyond to Centennial Crossings.

“What I would love to see out here would be a good sports bar or the like,” he said.

Centennial Crossings is persevering through the difficult times and Hall said the company stands behind the project even if it is selling at a slower clip than projected.

“You can draw arrows of all that growth and it is coming here,” Hall said. “This is the area of the future.”

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