Local developer’s first flex project breaks ground in Lafayette

LAFAYETTE — Local developer Hunter Jorgensen will soon begin vertical construction on his first flex-industrial project at Lafayette’s Vista Business Park.

Under the banner of his holding company Mojo Partners LLC and working with his family’s general contractor business Sugarloaf Building Co., the 30-year-old Boulder native is building the 26,120-square-foot space on Horizon Avenue using mass timber construction and prefabricated wall panels from Europe.

“It will be the first building of its kind being shipped over in this part of the country,” Jorgensen told BizWest. 

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“We normally see pre-fab and modular construction lend itself to hotels and multifamily housing because they’re easily replicated shapes and unit sizes,” he said, and flex spaces are similar in that regard. 

Mass timber construction, a catch-all term for the use of materials such as glue-laminated beams, laminated veneer lumber and nail-laminated timber, “does the same thing as a steel superstructure … but not only do they sequester carbon, they also come from sustainable forestry practices,” Jorgensen said. “That aspect is huge in the Boulder County market.”

In addition to being more environmentally friendly, this type of construction allows the building to go vertical much faster than a traditional building. 

Jorgensen expects to be able to complete the shell and core of the building in 12 to 14 weeks with a crew of only six to eight builders. 

The project was making its way through Lafayette’s review process in late 2019. At that time, Jorgensen had identified a potential tenant to take over half of the space, but the COVID-19 pandemic both caused that tenant to back out and the project to take a pause in marketing and development. 

“COVID changed everyone’s appetite for risk and commitment,” Jorgensen said.

Despite the pandemic and its impact on office space, he’s optimistic about the market.

“Back in 2019 when we were going through the entitlement process, me and my partners identified this space as being attractive,” he said. “Boulder County’s economy was growing then, and it’s back growing now. Business and people are moving here left and right. As we’ve seen through 2020 and into 2021, the industrial-flex market has been the most resilient product in commercial real estate.”

Jorgensen said the property would be compatible with a variety of uses, from an indoor volleyball facility to a hemp and CBD extraction operation. 

“Flex space can be marketed to the widest variety of users,” he said.

Ideally, Jorgensen would lease the entire property to a single user for a company headquarters. 

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