Developer could help finance interchange

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

A major developer with designs on the Highway 392/Interstate 25 interchange could bring a big boost to securing the $22 million required to reconstruct the failing, congested bottleneck.

Lauth Property Group public relations manager Marc Lotter confirmed that the Indianapolis-based builder and developer has contracted to purchase property at the interchange for future development.

"It's a growing area, a great economy. It's a place we want to be," Lotter said

He declined to discuss any additional details, however, saying, "It's too early for me to speculate what we'll be able to do with the property."

Neither would he say whether the company would be willing to contribute toward the interchange improvements.

"If everything comes together, we'll do something," he said.

Reconstruction of the interchange is necessary before more than 600 acres in the "corridor activity center" could be open for development. That would include the property Lauth has contracted to buy on the northeast corner at the gateway to Windsor, its only direct connection to the interstate.

That 100-acre site was one of four proposed for a regional shopping center in 2003. But plans were abandoned largely because of doubts about how quickly the interchange could be reconstructed.

Fort Collins senior planner Pete Wray said Lauth also is in discussions with owners on the southwest corner to purchase property eventually slated for annexation into Fort Collins. Lotter would not confirm that, however.

Lauth, according to its web site, is one of the county's largest developers and contractors. It owns $1.2 billion in projects, has $1.6 billion in projects under development, and owns or controls 2,500 acres in "select strategic U.S. markets." It has headquarters in Indianapolis and six regional offices, including one in Denver.

"It's somewhat known there's been a land-assemblage out there," Wray said at a Sept. 11 open house and briefing for the more than 30 owners of property within the corridor. The event was sponsored by Fort Collins and Windsor to solicit public comments on draft interchange improvement plans.

"These numbers could change if a large developer comes on board," he noted, suggesting such a development could jump-start the project.

The numbers otherwise were daunting, making clear that improvements still could be many years away, barring some big infusion of funding. As it is, planning consultant Bruce Meighen said the reconstruction would take at least four years even if the money were in hand to start today.

Three funding options were identified in the recently completed draft plan. It was developed during the last year by Fort Collins and Windsor in collaboration with property owners and a 29-member technical advisory committee. That group was composed of consultants and staff from the municipalities, Larimer County and the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization.

All the funding scenarios assume development of properties within the corridor is inevitable to adequately finance interchange improvements.

The first calls for the cost to be carried entirely by shoppers and property owners. Landowners would be subject to a special assessment of $3,000 an acre for commercial property and $1,000 for residential. They also would be assessed a 5-mill property tax, with a $250 per unit impact fee imposed in the surrounding "travelshed." A 0.5 percent private sales tax known as a Public Improvement Fee also would be collected on all retail purchases--similar to the 1 percent fee at the Centerra shopping center in Loveland.

Predictably, that plan was not popular with property owners.

The second option is a hybrid. It proposes a reduced special assessment that expires in 10 years on undeveloped land only. The mill levy and PIF would remain. It, however, assumes public participation by the municipalities, state and MPO.

The final option includes the same public funding with a small special assessment and the PIF. Those funding sources would be supplemented by a 5-mill tax on an expanded property tax district. It would have to be approved by voters in that district, which is expected to prove difficult.

"Almost by default we're in scenario two," said Wray.

Currently, he said, almost $5.1 million is expected to be earmarked for the interchange. He said Fort Collins and Windsor would likely contribute $1 million each, the Colorado Department of Transportation, $1.8 million, and the MPO $1.2 million in federal funds it has authority to allocate.

The plan also addresses the design of the interchange. The entire interchange would be reconstructed in "tight diamond" configuration. This means replacing the bridge, reconstructing Highway 392 to tie in with the existing highway and the new bridge, relocating or reconstructing frontage roads, improving ramps, and adding acceleration and deceleration lanes to I-25.

The plan proposes a six-lane bridge with three through lanes in each direction as well as bike and pedestrian paths. The new interchange also would accommodate a station for potential light rail or bus rapid transit connections to Denver routed through the center of the interstate.

Fort Collins City Council and the Windsor Town Board have discussed the draft plan in a worksession. The respective planning bodies are scheduled to review it in October and make recommendations for elected officials to consider in November.

If the plan is adopted, the next step would be drafting an intergovernmental agree among Windsor, Fort Collins and Larimer County. Then the public funding commitments would be secured and a general improvement district formed with consent of the property owners--allowing the permitting and preliminary design process to begin as early as next year.