Affordable living, jobs, I-76 fuel growth in Lochbuie

LOCHBUIE – It may have a strange name, but this small town on the southeast edge of Weld County along Interstate 76 has been one of the region’s fastest growing for construction.

Despite the recession, Lochbuie (pronounced lock-boo-ee, the Scottish term for “blue lake”) issued 99 single-family home building permits in 2009. That’s a high number for this community of 5,550 when you consider that Fort Collins – a city with more than 27 times the population – issued only 158 single-family home building permits in the same year.

The growth is also quite an accomplishment for a town that started in…