Former HP campus in Loveland hits market for $22.8M

LOVELAND — A complex in south Loveland that was once part of the considerable Hewlett-Packard Co. base in the city has returned to the market for $22.8 million, according to a sales brochure for the property.

The four buildings now known as the Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology are located on the northeast corner of the Taft Avenue and 14th Street SW intersection.

Larimer County assessors last valued the property at $4.05 million, less than the $5 million price that the city of Loveland sold the property for in 2011 to current owner Cumberland & Western Resources LLC, based in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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Since that time, Cumberland invested in tenant finishes and leased more than 150,000 square feet, which adds value to the property. “It would cost five or 10 times [Cumberland’s purchase price] to replace that space,” said Nathan Klein, partner with LC Real Estate Group. 

Calls to the team in charge of the listing at CBRE’s Denver office were not returned.

The 2011 sale occurred after a proposal fell apart for NASA to establish a proposed “Aerospace and Clean Energy” center there to develop ways of commercializing its technology. The Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology, or CAMT, had been attempting to create a NASA campus there, but CAMT pulled out.

Robbie Roberts, director of facility development for Cumberland & Western, declined to answer specific questions when reached by BizWest Friday, saying confidentiality clauses are in effect.

He said the ownership had no specific reason when asked why the company placed the complex for sale now.

“I don’t think there was any particular motivation; he just decided to sell,” he said.

The buildings span 177 acres and 811,817 square feet and were once HP’s crown jewel when it employed thousands in research, development and manufacturing roles in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley during the ’60s and ’70s. Hewlett-Packard’s first plant outside of California was located in Loveland.

In 1999, HP spun off Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), which operated from a facility just north of the former HP complex. Then in 2014, Keysight Technologies spun off from Agilent and continues to operate in the former Agilent building. 

Hewlett-Packard, now known as HP Inc. (NYSE: HPE), has contracted to just one office in Fort Collins today. LinkedIn data lists approximately 300 employees in the Fort Collins area.

Electric-vehicle powertrain maker Lightning Systems has previously taken over an entire 142,000-square-foot building in the complex through a lease expansion. EWI Colorado, an applied research and development firm, also operates from the complex. EWI, a nonprofit,  develops, tests and implements advanced manufacturing methods for a variety of industries. The city and state provided $6 million in incentives to lure the organization there in hopes that it would help to attract other tenants.

Ken Amundson contributed to this report.