New report stresses need for BVRC retail

BOULDER ? Last summer the city of Boulder and the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority (BURA) commissioned Economics Research Associates (ERA) to perform a market analysis of the Boulder Valley Regional Center (BVRC).

In the first draft just out, ERA identifies the BVRC as one of the primary sources of taxable retail sales for the city ? 29.1 percent in 1999. If only core retail groups, including food stores, eating places, apparel stores, household furnishings and general retail, are counted, the BVRC has nearly 40 percent of citywide sales, according to the analysis.

It’s clear to see why the study is important when nearly 30 percent of the city’s tax base is at stake. While Crossroads Mall, one-fifth of the BVRC, slowly erodes with more than a 6 percent loss in retail sales from 1995 through 1999, ERA reports that the BVRC without Crossroads experienced nearly a 6 percent gain for the same period.

Brad Power, executive director of BURA, said, “Everything south of Penney’s at Crossroads has outlived its usefulness.”

Uses for the BVRC other than retail include a conference center, cultural facilities, entertainment or parks and open space, as suggested by the ERA report.

Bill Anderson, vice president of San Diego-based ERA and the project manager for the study, said a hotel in the BVRC depends on a conference center or product differentiation. In the report’s executive summary, he stated that the total room demand in the Boulder has decreased 8,000 room nights from 1994 to 1999. In order for the city to experience new demand for rooms, more groups would need to come to Boulder, for example, business groups to a conference center.TENANTS HAVE SHOWERS: A new building at 3090 Sterling Circle will be close to a 110-acre city park planned for both sides of Valmont Road west of 55th Street. The 11,000-square-foot building will lease for $12.50 to $14.50 per square foot, based on tenant finish, and include showers in both men’s and women’s restrooms.

“It’s an amenity the owners decided to include because of the proximity of the park,´ said Neil Littmann, a broker associate at the Colorado Group Inc., the firm handling the building’s leasing.

Three partners of 2540 Sterling LLC own the building and formed the company before the city changed their property’s address from 2540 to 3090. They are wanting five-year leases from tenants for the fiber-ready structure.

Littmann said more than 40 percent of the building has been leased. About 4,421 square feet is still available. “The building is industrial services zoned, but the space can be built out to 100 percent offices, as well. It’s ready for a tenant right now,” he said. The building cost about $1 million.COOL PEARL PARKING: The parking garage at 15th and Pearl streets won an award for its design and architect team, RNL Design and Shears & Leese Architects LLC. A Citation Award from the American Institute of Architects was given in the Urban Design category at the Denver 2000 Annual Gala Awards for the $11.2 million, 260,000 square-foot, mixed-use facility.LONGMONTVILLAGE FULLY OCCUPIED: Meadowview Village, at the intersection of Nelson and Airport roads, has filled its existing space with two new tenants and is 100 percent leased. Jack and Jason Kruse of the Colorado Group are the leasing agents.

Premier Mortgage signed a lease for 3,382 square feet of office space in Building B of the three-building complex. The company will be moving sometime before Dec. 1 from its current location at 825 Delaware Ave. The mortgage company was represented by Bob Ambrosius of Blackfox Real Estate.

A pilates studio, Kolesar Studios, was scheduled to open mid-October at Meadowview Village, but could not be reached for comment. The studio leased 1,526 square feet adjacent to Hunters Restaurant and Mystic Garden Spa in Building C. Sue Goodwin of the Colorado Group represented Kolesar. BANK TOWER FILLED: The FirstBank tower at 1707 W. Main St. is

completely leased. Spectralink Corp. and the Dolphin Group leased the last available office space for the building, which is managed by the Colorado Group. BROOMFIELDBOUTIQUE EXPANDS: L’Occitane En Provence, with one store on the Pearl Street Mall, has added another at FlatIron Crossing. The firm specializes in natural personal-care products from Provence, France. The 500-square-foot space is built of wood walls and terra cotta tiled floor to replicate the French countryside.SUPERIORFIRST IN COLORADO: A SuperTarget opened in Superior Oct. 8 at 400 Marshall Road, southwest of the Superior-Louisville exit. The store is the first of its kind in Colorado. It boasts 175,000 square feet of combined general merchandise space and an Archer Farm Market, Target’s internal brand name for its food stores. Target builds three types of stores: the regular Target of 90,000 to 150,000 square feet of general merchandise; the Greatland Target of 135,000 square feet; and the SuperTarget of 175,000 square feet combined with an Archer Farm Market.

The new store’s manager is Phyllis Berka, a 33-year employee who has managed two other SuperTargets and numerous regular Target stores. Berka said the new store has more than 300 employees, and it is open daily from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Two more SuperTargets are planned for Colorado, one in Thornton and one in southwest Denver. Target has a total of 24 stores in the state, including one in Boulder and one in Longmont. The first SuperTarget opened in Omaha, Neb. in 1995. ERIE LAND AVAILABLE: John DeFilippi, owner of the Right Move Inc. moving company, is further developing his 17-acre Right Move Business Park in Erie. The park is on County Line Road between Arapahoe Avenue and Leon Wurl Parkway on the Weld County side.

Of the six lots at the park, two have buildings ? one with 25,000 square feet and the other with 40,000 square feet. The three tenants leasing the space are Napro Biopharmaceuticals, Furnitronics and Accelerated Performance Inc. About 4,000 square feet of office space is available at $10 per square foot. Susan Wilson of the Colorado Group is handling leasing.

In addition, four commercial lots zoned for light industrial are for sale, ranging from $325 to $375 per square foot for frontage on County Line Road. Contact Scott Smith at the Colorado Group.

The Right Move has been in business in the area for more than 12 years. DeFilipi said the company has tripled in size since it started, growing from 40 to 120 employees. The company is headquartered in Erie. It has an office in Fort Collins and a new branch is opening in Colorado Springs in mid-November.HIGH-END SUBDIVISION READY TO OPEN: Candlelight Ridge, a subdivision west of Erie, has more than 90 lots of about an acre each preparing to go on the market. Five builders have been approved to construct the $500,000 to $800,000 homes. The developer has preserved view corridors for each lot, and a park acts as a buffer between the Candlelight Ridge subdivision and another subdivision to the east. RE/MAX Alliance in Boulder is the marketing agency.

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