Jake Hallauer, CCIM
Vice president, Chrisland Real Estate Cos., Fort Collins
The intersection of Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34 is without a doubt “Main and Main” for the Northern Colorado region. Those highways are the two main transportation routes for the region (with a total traffic count of over 118,000 vehicles per day near the intersection) and the highest concentration of retail offerings exist at, or near, the intersection, with another major retail center, Johnstown Plaza, partially developed and partially under construction. The retail center is just one of many projects within 2534, the 542-acre mixed-use, master planned, community at the southeast corner of I-25 and U.S. Highway 34, that are under construction.
Below are many of the projects that are under construction at 2534, as well as some of the existing businesses located within the development, by property type.
Multifamily. The Gateway apartment community, located just south of the Johnstown Plaza retail center, includes 254 luxury apartments and is in lease-up and nearing completion of construction. The community is being constructed on an approximately 10.5-acre site. As of April, the community was nearing 50 percent occupancy. The amenity package includes a pool, clubhouse, bocce ball courtyard, hammock garden, a barbecue area and more. An entity affiliated with Chrisland Real Estate Cos. sold the site to the developer, Spanos Corp., and Chrisland brokered the transaction.
Hospitality. There are two hotels under construction at 2534 – a Wingate by Wyndham (around 75 keys), which will be open for business later this summer, and a Comfort Suites (around 93 keys). The convenient location, coupled with the many existing, planned and under-construction retailers and entertainment offerings in the area creates significant demand for hotel room nights, as does U.S. Highway 34 being the main route taken to Rocky Mountain National Park, which boasted more than 4 million visitors in 2015. An entity affiliated with Chrisland sold the site to the developer of the Comfort Suites and Chrisland brokered the transaction.
Retail/restaurant. Existing retailers and restaurants at 2534 include: Bonefish Grill, Verizon Wireless, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Starbucks, Ethan Allen, Culver’s, Lee’s Cyclery (Trek bicycles), Bank of Colorado, U.S. Bank and others. Entities related to Chrisland were developing the retail center, located at the southwest and southeast corners of U.S. 34 and Thompson Parkway, until early 2016, when those entities sold the majority of their land holdings to Scheels, which describes its concept as the “Disneyland of sporting goods,” and a developer who is developing the Johnstown Plaza retail center, which is projected to be over 1 million square feet at full build-out and include other anchors, junior anchors, shop retailers, fast-casual and full-service restaurants. Scheels is under construction on its 250,000-sf store and plans to open Sept. 30, 2017. Chrisland brokered the sale of the land to Scheels and the developer of Johnstown Plaza.
Additional retail development in the area includes Liberty Firearms Institute, an approximately 100,000-sf facility, which includes retail firearms sales and indoor shooting facilities, located just south of Johnstown Plaza, and approximately 22,500 sf of shop space along U.S. 34, to the east of Johnstown Plaza, being developed by a Northern Colorado-based developer and leased by David, Hicks & Lampert Brokerage. Jersey Mike’s Subs and Mod Pizza have leased spaces within the project.
Medical. There are a number of medical-related users at 2534 including: Kaiser Permanente, the Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital, Gonyon Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery, Arete Surgical Center and Clear View Behavioral Health. Clear View’s 92-bed, state-of-the-art facility was the most recently constructed project having opened in October.
Industrial. The light-industrial portion of 2534 has become very active recently with recent sales of land to High Country Beverage, a beer distributor who is under construction on its headquarters facility, which will be approximately 130,000 sf, and to Swire Coca-Cola U.S.A. for an approximately 125,000-sf regional distribution facility. Chrisland brokered both of these sales. Additionally, a small site recently was acquired by a self-storage developer.
The activity at 2534 remains extremely strong with numerous transactions in some phase of negotiation, or under contract, and very strong interest from many developers, or users, for a variety of property types. We estimate that the aggregate value of the projects that will be completed, are under construction or will break ground at 2534 in 2016 will approach, or exceed, $500 million. 2534 remains the address of choice in Northern Colorado and we expect this to continue until full build-out, which likely won’t take long at the pace we’ve seen the project absorb over the past 24 months.
