Developers buy up land near Colorado 60
Plans for area include high-density housing By Alicia Beard
The Daily Reporter-Herald
JOHNSTOWN — In a deal sweetened with water rights, Thornton-based developers have paid $6.3 million for land at Interstate 25 and Colorado 60.
Carlson Associates recently bought 125 acres with plans to develop it for a mix of housing. The property is near the northeast corner of Colorado 60 and High Plains Boulevard.
“We’re just planning on developing some single-family lots, and a quarter of it will be high-density, multifamily,” said Craig Thornton, principal of Carlson Associates.
The transaction came with 20 shares from Home Supply Ditch and Reservoir Co. Nick Christensen, principal of Chrisland, the company that brokered the deal, said the water shares typically sell for $60,000 to $80,000 each. Each share supports about 16 housing units an acre.
What makes Home Supply shares particularly valuable, he said, is that they already are decreed for municipal use.
“It’s certainly one of the largest residential transactions to have occurred recently,” Christensen said.
Thornton said the purchase is the company’s first entry into the Northern Colorado market. The proximity to I-25 and the local growth surrounding the interchange at U.S. 34, five miles to the north, attracted them to the area.
Christensen said the development fills a need for housing that is a short commute to the commercial and retail development. The U.S. 34 interchange boasts of The Promenade Shops at Centerra, Chrisland’s 2534 development and the Medical Center of the Rockies. The hospital is set to open February 2007.
“It’s complementary in that it provides more housing in the vicinity of 2534,” he said.
The property, sold by Fort Collins-based Imago Enterprises, was annexed into Johnstown in June 2005, said John Franklin, town planner.
The town already has approved initial plans for 375 to 934 housing units.
The development, called High Plains Estates, is north of Rocksbury Ridge and east of a future 50-acre park, Franklinadded.