Dandelion owner targets Milliken as location for mini-storage facility

MILLIKEN — The former owner of Dandelion Mini Storage in Fort Collins plans to reenter the storage rental business with a new complex in Milliken.
Bret Lamperes, who sold Dandelion Mini Storage in February, has acquired 2.5 acres of development ground on the north side of Colorado Highway 60, across the street from the new Centennial Crossing development.
Lamperes plans to build about 35,000 square feet of storage space, which translates into 180 rental units. He hopes to open the project by spring of 2005.
Lamperes, who also owns Dandelion Moving Co., bought the former Rite Place Self-Storage complex, 213 N. U.S. Highway 287, in 1999. He sold the 253-unit complex to TAU Enterprises LLC, owned by Bob and Kathy McGuirr, for $1.1 million.
The sale was part of Lamperes?s effort to restructuring the moving operation. But he believes the mini storage business is entering a new wave of demand in Northern Colorado. Storage occupancies in the region had slipped as low as 80 percent in the post Sept. 11 slump, but have since rebounded to better than 90 percent, Lamperes said.
In addition to the Milliken site, Lamperes said he?s interested in building a second location in western Weld County ? he owns land near Windsor at the intersection of Colorado Highway 257 and Weld County Road 74 ? as well as new facilities in Fort Collins and Sidney, Neb.
The Milliken site should benefit from the massive Centennial Crossing project, now being developed by Greeley-based Hall-Irwin Corp. Plans call for about 4,900 homes in the development.
A new project also allows Lamperes to design bigger units that can accommodate boats and recreational vehicles.
?Older units aren?t normally big enough,? he said.
Meanwhile, Lamperes has relocated his moving operation from the mini storage complex to temporary facilities at 1600 Riverside Ave. in Fort Collins. The company will take permanent headquarters at 1626 Riverside Ave. which is undergoing remodeling.
Dandelion Moving has also signed to be a Northern Colorado agent for national mover Wheaton Van Lines.
?That means we can offer more competitive rates for long-distance moves,? he said. Lamperes expects the Wheaton alliance to boost revenue at least 10 percent this year.
The company has also launched a public dock service, in which Dandelion will receive supply shipments for companies that are short on storage space. The target market for the service is small contractors, Lamperes said.

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