Developers planning 2017 groundbreaking for $500M mixed-use project in Loveland

LOVELAND – Windsor developer Martin Lind’s Water Valley Land Co. on Tuesday announced plans for a 90-acre development in Loveland that will include 425,000 square feet of retail space, 426,500 square feet of office space, two hotels, a 12-screen movie theater and 825 apartments.

Dubbed Brands at the Ranch, the development will sit immediately south of The Ranch and be bounded on the west by Interstate 25, the east by Fairgrounds Avenue and the south by Crossroads Boulevard. Slated to break ground next year, the roughly $500 million project’s first phase is expected to be open by the fall of 2018.

Both a 145,000-square-foot ice rink and an 80,000-square-foot natatorium with Olympic-sized pool are also included in the plans, as well as three parking garages totaling 2,506 parking spaces and multiple large surface parking lots.

The project marks a major upsizing of the vision Water Valley had for the area a decade ago, which Lind said in a phone interview late Tuesday night included a single-story strip shopping center with anchor tenants and outlying pad sites.

“It’s a much bigger deal than we ever conceived 10 years ago,” said Lind, who noted that the project has already spurred a lot of commercial interest in land Water Valley owns to the east of Fairgrounds Avenue. “It really is an exciting project for the region.”

Water Valley is developing the project along with Stellar Development of Overland Park, Kan. The two unveiled the project at the International Council of Shopping Centers trade show in Las Vegas.

Water Valley owns the majority of the land included in the project, though Larimer County owns roughly a third of the site on the north side. A land swap of sorts is in the works for the county portion of the site. But Lind declined to divulge details of the pending acquisition of the county land, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

“The excitement that this project has generated right out of the gate demonstrates the incredible development opportunities that exist in the Loveland area,” Loveland mayor Cecil Gutierrez said in a press release from the developers. ”This will bring added tax revenue and jobs to a fast-growing area of the state.”

The mixed-use development is laid out as a pedestrian-friendly lifestyle center that includes a large central plaza. A major focus of the site will be on attracting retailers and restaurants new to the local market, developers said. Developers have already secured a letter of intent from Schussler Creative for two restaurant concepts, Winter Wonderland and Zi Imperial Kitchen. Letters of intent have also been signed for a Tucanos Brazilian Grill and with Galaxy Theaters, which will operate the movie theater.

“Retailers have shown a tremendous amount of interest in Brands at the Ranch right out of the gate,” development and leasing consultant Steve Graham said in the press release. “We are going to be bringing first-to-market shops and restaurants that complement existing amenities.”

Lind said Tuesday that the site is already entitled for the uses developers are proposing for Brands at the Ranch.

“It’s just a matter of site planning and permitting now,” Lind said.

on Facebook on LinkedIn