Entrepreneurs / Small Business  August 24, 2020

Developer builds ‘oasis’ in Old Town Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS — Ask developer Steve Slezak whether his latest project in Old Town Fort Collins will be his last after a 40-year career, and he’ll quickly answer, “Yes.”

Then he’ll have second thoughts: “It’s my scheduled last project,” he told BizWest recently, “but will it be my last project? Probably not.”

Slezak has reason to shy away from new developments: The Oasis on Olive, a $5.5 million, seven-unit infill project at 310 W. Olive St., took about four years to complete entitlement and permitting through the city of Fort Collins. It’s an experience that has left the 69-year-old developer frustrated with what he sees as landmark-preservation officials seeking to “check a box” on city approvals, sometimes requiring design changes and architectural details he believes serve no purpose, other than to show that an official had control or influence, he said.

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“You’ve got a lot of people who are young, and they’ve got boxes to check, and they can’t see their nose for the freckle,” Slezak said. “They just don’t have any common sense.”

The Oasis on Olive seemingly checks a lot of boxes in terms of city goals: The infill project will bring new residents to downtown Fort Collins, with sensitivity to surrounding historic properties. But the project elicited a wave of concerns and design changes from the Landmark Preservation Commission, Slezak said.

In one case, the commission didn’t like architect John Dengler’s original design for windows on the project, believing that they were not  in keeping with historical window designs.

“They didn’t like my windows,” Slezak said. “They wanted them to be two and a half feet wide and five foot tall, like the historic buildings.”

So Slezak hired someone else to revise the design — Dengler refused.

“I had someone else draw it, and it looked like a toothless old man making a big smile, and windows just scattered all over the place,” Slezak said.

But the commission didn’t like the revised look and opted for the original design.

“That little effort cost me 10 thousand bucks in design fees,” Slezak said, noting that changing the windows also required changes to floor plans.

“They’re very candid about the fact that financial considerations don’t play a role,” he said.

Slezak also was frustrated at height limits on the project. The nearby Cortina lofts project, built in 2004, was allowed 96 feet in height, while Slezak’s site was in an area that ostensibly would be allowed 86 feet. But the Landmark Preservation Commission limited him to 40 feet because that’s the height of Slezak’s neighboring historic buildings.

“When you’re building on an incredibly expensive piece of property, and you have very little square footage to amortize the economy of scale, some additional footage, height, would have been enormous,” he said. 

Still, four years after initial submittals, The Oasis on Olive officially broke ground last fall, nestled behind those two other properties that Slezak owns at 227 and 231 S. Howes St. Those historic homes were converted into office space decades ago.

The Oasis in Olive is under construction at 310 W. Olive St. Courtesy Re/Max Alliance

With Oasis on Olive, Slezak developed a boutique infill housing project in the backyards of the Howes buildings, offering high-end units. He’s targeted individuals who are capable of spending $735,000 to $835,000 for a unit, and desiring to live in Old Town without a lot of neighbors. He’s also offering them an opportunity to customize the interiors. The units cost from almost $600 to $1,000 per square foot, depending on finishes. Covered parking is included.

As Dohn Construction Co. nears completion of the project by Christmas, Slezak has sold three units on the third floor to one individual, who will make one large unit. That leaves four units left to sell.

The property is being marketed by Re/Max Alliance agents Jennifer Fields and David Johnson. Prices for the remaining units range from $735,000 to $825,000, Fields said.

Fields credits Slezak for his hands-on oversight of the project, noting that he insisted on using old brick, a certain stucco and a “timeless” design.

She said buyers are drawn to the project’s location and “the uniqueness of how small it is and the ability to customize to their liking.

“There really isn’t anything like it [in Old Town], she said. “That location brings value as well. It’s kind of this hidden little gem.”

Slezak’s 40-year career includes eight years with The Neenan Co., a Fort Collins-based construction and architecture firm. He’s also been involved in a wide variety of projects in Fort Collins, Greeley and Windsor. He favors projects on the smaller side but has developed projects of up to 50 units.

“What I’ve always tried to do is buy stuff that’s not necessarily on the market, stuff that is small so that I can do something very unique and get in and get out without having enormous commitments,” he said.

Projects couldn’t get much smaller than the 8,500-square-foot, seven-unit (now five-unit) The Oasis on Olive, offering high-end buyers an opportunity for Old Town living without many neighbors, but with close proximity to the Lincoln Center, the financial center, Colorado State University and Old Town restaurants.

The Oasis on Olive also will feature an unusual addition to the development plan: an historic garden.

The property at 231 S. Howes St., built in 1898, was formerly occupied by Adelia Davis, Fort Collins’ first female registered pharmacist and a renowned, award-winning rose gardener. Her roses survived, even after Davis’ death at the age of 101 in 1986.

“These things are amazing, and they just survived like you wouldn’t believe,” Slezak said.

As part of the redevelopment, Slezak proposed that he be allowed to recreate the garden as a community amenity. It also meant that he would not be required to add a detention pond, which he said was unnecessary.

Now, the garden — including the transplanted roses and irises — features a walking path made of original Fort Collins sidewalk stone.

With the pending completion of The Oasis on Olive, Slezak admits to pondering his next project. When it comes to retirement, he said, “Then what are you going to do, smartypants? I’ve got my eye on a couple of things, and if this goes, and I can jump on the opportunity before it runs out, then I’ll probably do it, and I’ll probably do it until I die.”

© 2020 BizWest Media LLC

FORT COLLINS — Ask developer Steve Slezak whether his latest project in Old Town Fort Collins will be his last after a 40-year career, and he’ll quickly answer, “Yes.”

Then he’ll have second thoughts: “It’s my scheduled last project,” he told BizWest recently, “but will it be my last project? Probably not.”

Slezak has reason to shy away from new developments: The Oasis on Olive, a $5.5 million, seven-unit infill project at 310 W. Olive St., took about four years to complete entitlement and permitting through the city of Fort Collins. It’s an experience that has…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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