NoCo Newsletter | March 27, 2025

Photo: NAI Affinity featured listing – Johnstown | I-25 Visible Development Land For Sale

NoCo Newsletter | Keeping You Informed on Northern Colorado’s Commercial Real Estate Market | March 27, 2025

Discover our newest listings, recent happenings in the NoCo CRE community & other industry news. This edition brings news of major community developments, international travel at Northern Colorado “Regional” Airport, more unexpected restaurant and retail closures, and more.

REAL ESTATE & BUSINESS NEWS

• Proposal to Turn Boulder Car Dealership Into Apartments Wins Planning Board Nod
  • BizWest | “A plan from a local developer to turn the former Foundation Hyundai of Boulder site on 30th Street into multifamily housing won a favorable recommendation Tuesday from the Boulder Planning Board, but the board’s blessing did not come without its fair share of drama…. ‘We all support housing at this site,’ Boulder Planning Board member Laura Kaplan said. ‘And for those of us who have objections to the project, it literally is about the quasi-judicial function of trying to make it very clearly meet our site-review criteria.’ “
• Old Chicago Closes Loveland Restaurant
  • BizWest | “The Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom location in Loveland’s Centerra Marketplace (permanently) closed abruptly this week….Houston-based SPB Hospitality acquired Old Chicago, a concept originally founded in Boulder by legendary local restaurateur Frank Day, in 2020 after the chain’s previous parent company CraftWorks Holdings LLC filed for bankruptcy.”
• Not Quite Forever 21: Mall Retailer Shuttering U.S. Shops, Including Five in Colorado
  • BizWest | “Citing increased competition from foreign online clothing sellers, F21 OpCo LLC, the Los Angeles-based operator of Forever 21’s U.S. chain of mall retail shops, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware this week — the second time in the past six years — and plans to…shutter its U.S. stores, including five in Colorado. ‘While we have evaluated all options to best position the company for the future, we have been unable to find a sustainable path forward, given competition from foreign fast fashion companies, which have been able to take advantage of the de minimis exemption to undercut our brand on pricing and margin,’ F21 OpCo chief financial officer Brad Sell said in a statement. The de minimis tax exemption allows companies to import certain low-value shipments — an order of clothing purchased from Chinese online sellers such as Shein or Temu, for example — into the country without paying some taxes and duties.”
• Respite Care Breaks Ground for Larger Facility
  • BizWest | “The new 21,000-square-foot center on 2.5 acres at 5000 Vista Del Pico Drive in Timnath, across from Floor and Decor in what will be the Ladera mixed-use development, will double the organization’s space when it opens in early 2026…. ‘This new facility will bring our team back together under one roof. The Timnath building is also a more central location for families across Weld County….We currently have 55 staff but will ramp up to 65 for the summer. We can currently serve 65 kids in our facility at one time. The new building will allow us to serve 150-plus kids at one time.’ “
• Denver NWSL Soccer Team Plans 14,500-Seat Stadium
  • BizWest | “The club, which will begin play in 2026, plans to build a 14,500-seat stadium at Santa Fe Yards at Broadway and Interstate 25. The stadium would be completed in 2028. ‘This will be the largest overall investment in a women’s professional sports team in history,’ Denver NWSL controlling owner Rob Cohen said in a written statement. ‘We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage this massive private investment to revitalize and transform Santa Fe Yards into a new hub of thriving community activity, a place for outdoor recreation, restaurants, retail, and for building connections with our community.’ The 14-acre redevelopment will include the soccer stadium, a 3.5-acre recreational park and future mixed-use development.”
• Denver’s NWSL Team Announces Plans for Temporary Stadium, Performance Center
  • 9News | “Denver’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise plans to build a permanent performance center and temporary stadium on a 43-acre property in Centennial. Denver NWSL announced the plans Thursday to build a 12,000-seat purpose-built temporary stadium that will be used for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.”
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science Receives Largest Private Donation Its History
  • 9News | “Museum officials said the East Wing Project was made possible by a $20 million gift from the Sturm Family Foundation, the largest private donation in the museum’s history. ‘This project will rejuvenate our historic theater, lobby and plaza, ushering in a new era of possibilities for our community,’ DMNS said. ‘The updated venue will seamlessly blend indoor and outdoor spaces, revolutionizing the way you engage with the museum and City Park.’ The museum said the project will occur in phases, with construction beginning in April.”

ECONOMIC & EMPLOYMENT NEWS

• New Customs Office Eases International Travel at Northern Colorado Airport
  • BizWest | “Whether you call it NCRA or NCIA, the runway is there, the private air traffic to and from other countries is there, and, thanks to Lind, the Customs office is up and running. Lind had applied for and in 2022 won federal approval to locate the office at the airport, which is jointly owned by the cities of Loveland and Fort Collins, so fliers traveling to and from Canada and other international destinations wouldn’t have to go to airports in Broomfield or Casper, Wyoming, to be processed through Customs. He then asked the airport’s governing commission for $200,000 annually to operate the office, but was turned down because that panel said its priority was to build a new terminal in hopes of winning the return of scheduled airline service. So instead, Lind worked out an incentive agreement with the City of Loveland to finance and staff the office at Discovery Air. The Customs office underwent a test run last May, involving a Gulfstream 550 aircraft with Canadian passengers that was arriving from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The final step was recruiting a full-time Customs and Border Patrol officer. That job was filled in August by Charles Crosswait.”
• Greeley Puts Off Authorizing Legal Action Against Windsor Over IGA
  • BizWest | “The IGA outlines the ways that Greeley and Windsor agreed to coordinate on planning, land use, utilities and other general development matters for land adjacent to the communities along the corridor. According to the tabled resolution, Greeley claims that Windsor broke promises about sharing costs of improvements along the corridor, was well as some involving wastewater treatment that ‘have seriously jeopardized proposed commercial and residential development of those annexed properties.’ “
• Colorado Bankruptcy Filings Climb 20% in February
  • BizWest | “Colorado bankruptcy filings increased 20% in February, continuing a pattern of steady increases from recent years. The state recorded 491 bankruptcy filings during the month, compared with 409 for the same period a year ago. Individual filings totaled 476, up from 399 in February 2024. Business filings totaled 15, up from 10 the prior year.”
• Job Seekers Hit Wall of Salary Deflation
  • WSJ | “It used to pay to switch jobs. Now it doesn’t. The salary difference between those who stay in their roles and those who change jobs has collapsed to its lowest level in 10 years, according to the latest federal data. Job stayers increased their wages by about 4.6% in January and February. Meanwhile, those who switched jobs received only slightly more at 4.8%. That gap has narrowed considerably since the start of 2023, when job switchers could fetch an average salary bump of 7.7%, compared with job stayers’ 5.5%….’People are responding by staying put.’ “

COMMUNITY & OTHER INDUSTRY NEWS

• Client Testimonials
• Larimer County’s Biggest Private Employers: Here’s Who Makes the List
• Old Town Square No. 4 in USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards Best Public Squares List
• Most Peaceful Place to Live? Fort Collins Tops the List With Outdoor Recreation, Low Noise
• Here Are 15 Road Projects at the Top of Fort Collins’ List for the Next 10 Years.
• Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce: Northern Colorado Economic Overview
• Northern Colorado Boasts Nine of Top 20 Fastest-Growing Communities in State
• 2 Colorado Cities in Top 4 ‘Best Places to Live Rankings
• Denver International Airport Ranked No. 6 in Passenger Traffic Worldwide
• Support Your Local Bold Voice of Business by Contributing to the 13th Annual Moving Fort Collins Forward! Campaign

FEATURED LISTING

NAI Affinity is pleased to present this outstanding interchange development site at the NWC of I-25 and County Road 16 in Johnstown. The site is approximately 5.7+/- acres with immediate access to I-25 via County Road 16. The adjacency to, and visibility from, I-25 makes this site an appealing location for commercial development. Ideal uses for site include: gas station, car wash, quick service restaurants, auto repair, light manufacturing, wholesale & distribution, animal care/sales, entertainment & recreation, and more.

Click here to learn more about this prime commercial development land opportunity right off I-25.

See previous newsletters here.

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