Former McWhinney finance exec to co-develop Fort Collins infill apartments

FORT COLLINS — Keystone Real Estate seeks to co-develop its second apartment project with multifamily provider Jensen LaPlante Development LLC; both are in Fort Collins.

The working-titled Fairway Apartments is in planning for 264 units on 10 acres at South College Avenue and Fairway Lane, between Woodley’s Fine Furniture and Spradley Barr Ford, near the bus system’s South Transit Center.

A Planning and Zoning Commission working session is set for Friday, with consideration on Aug. 19.

Keystone is operated by Ryan Will, formerly on the finance side at McWhinney, who went out on his own seven years ago.

Jensen LaPlante is owned by Jeff Jensen and Chris LaPlante; their website shows more than a dozen apartment projects, along with commercial, medical offices, and light industrial projects.

The two firms previously co-developed Union Pointe in Longmont, and the principals have collaborated often, for “14 years one way or another,” Will said.

Apartments are in eight buildings with 120 units apiece with 1- and 2-bedrooms, along with 24 studios. Will said the studios, at 550 square feet, have been popular at Union Pointe, and larger units run along more of a continuum: 1-bedroom and a den, some larger 2-bedroom units, and so on.

“We wanted to be thoughtful about rent and design units” to a range of pricing, he said. “We want to give residents options.”

Infill Fulfilled

Will said of market-rate apartment rents: “They go up, they go down, though mostly in this market they haven’t gone down.” Preliminary pricing runs roughly $1,300 to $1,600.

“We’re excited about this project,” he said.

That energy stems largely from developers pursuing green building standards and working with the city and Colorado State University’s Institute for the Built Environment on integrated design. Solar power and car charging stations are part of the project, Will said.

Planning documents show other projected elements exceeding city minimum requirements: more parking for bikes and cars, for example.

Will said there might not be as many motor vehicles anyway, with an onsite car-sharing service planned. The expected 416 bike spaces exceed the city’s required number by 8%.

He said the trio hopes to break ground late this year. “There’s a lot of work to do between now and then.”

Working Title

“They’re at 50% site engineering,” said Kai Kleer, a city planner. “They’d have to do full engineering” and if the project is approved, “they would be eligible to submit for final development,” prior to permitting.

Kleer said “strategic infill [that adds] residential to a transit area” is essential for the city in “densifying the transit overlay district.”

Apart from being a selling point on finished units, the transit aspect likely helped finance the deal. Housing and Urban Development 221(d)(4) lending goes to “housing for moderate-income families, elderly, and the handicapped,” a HUD site said. Kleer said it can be connected to transit-oriented projects; Will said they’ve “used this a number of times, including at Union Pointe.”

The 10 acres, made up of four parcels, formerly housed a landscape nursery. Spradley Barr had owned the land since 2001, planning documents said. Larimer County Assessor records show Kriss E. Spradley and William Barr sold it to FairColl LLC in 2017 for $2.2 million. State filings list Spradley as registered agent of the LLC.

Designer and landscape architect TB Group in Berthoud and civil engineer Sanderson Stewart in Fort Collins worked on the project.

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