Lafayette keeps small-town feel while offering big-time amenities

Located in eastern Boulder County at the crossroads of Colorado Highway 7, U.S. Highway 287 and the Northwest Parkway, the city of Lafayette has a major hospital, several big-name retailers and office and industrial business parks.

The city’s business-friendly amenities support a great place to live — mostly single-family neighborhoods surrounded by parks and the Indian Peaks Golf Course, an 18-hole, Hale Irwin-designed public course.

The Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center has spurred commercial growth in the southeast portion of the city. The full-service hospital has more than 200 beds and room to grow. The first new medical building on the hospital campus opened in the first half of 2012. It features a new infusion treatment center for cancer patients.

Just to the north of Exempla, along U.S. 287, is 82 acres of undeveloped land known as the SoLa development (south of Lafayette). Two hotel sties have been approved for the 28 acres of commercial land closest to 287. Future phases of the project are expected to include a mix of retail, restaurants and medical offices and services related to the hospital. Another 20 acres of land farther away from 287 is set aside for office and commercial business park uses, as well as buildings that house services for seniors.

So far, the Prana 264-unit apartment complex has been built on the site, and another 240-unit complex named Prasana is coming soon. A Dairy Queen/Orange Julius restaurant is open closer to 287, and the city is building a fire station nearby.

Class A office space often sought after by companies is available throughout the city, including at the new Creekside Offices at Old Laramie Trail. The distinctive 8,500- and 4,500-square-foot buildings feature natural stone, glass and vaulted roofs in a Colorado ski-lodge style. On the east side of the city, Vista Business Park has 114 acres open for development of industrial and flex office building space.

Just south of Exempla, Lafayette’s Corporate Campus 119-acre office park is home to some of its most well-known employers, from Kaiser Permanente to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Offices of Epsilon and Meretek Diagnostics Inc. also are located there.

The Lafayette Tech Center 59-acre office and industrial park has more regional heavy-hitter companies, from the U.S. office of Lafuma Corp. to Sporian Microsystems Inc.

Lafayette also has established history with its Old Town Lafayette Main Street area, featuring local shops and restaurants. Locals and visitors enjoy annual festivals that speak to the hometown nature of Lafayette, including the Quaker Oatmeal Festival, the Summer Fun Fest, Peach Fest, Celebrate Lafayette and Home for the Holidays.

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