The southern end of Fort Collins is a fast-growing area, and a group of developers has plans in mind for even more growth.
Erin O’Toole: So, I understand the plans include a new multimillion-dollar residential development that would link Lady Moon Drive and Trilby Road. How will those two pieces of the puzzle be connected?
Jeff Nuttall: That connection will be a part of a large residential development that just got approval from the county this week. The project is a $200 million residential development to be called Kechter (Keck-ter) Farms. Kechter Farms will be a single-family development that has been in the planning stages since 2005. In addition to 166 acres of developed land, the project will preserve 120 acres of open space surrounding the reservoir, and that space will never be developed.
O’Toole: That sounds like a huge development…
Nuttall: It really is. Building will likely start in about a year. After that, it will take between six and eight years to arrive at complete build-out on the project. In all, the development will include 406 homes, ranging in price from just over $400,000 to more than $1 million.
O’Toole: So how do commercial developments fit into the plan?
Nuttall: Fort Collins developer Les Kaplan owns 85 acres near the intersection of Harmony and Lady Moon. Thirty acres of that property is now under contract to be purchased by Banner Health, which revealed its plans to build a hospital and ER there last month. Kaplan has either developed or has plans for all but 30 acres of his land.
His most recent project there is the 240-unit multi-family project Terra Vida, which was completed in mid-November and is about 29-percent leased. Once Terra Vida is filled, a second multi-family project is planned for an adjacent parcel.
O’Toole: That alone is a lot. Does Kaplan have any other plans?
Nuttall: Well, it’s still up in the air but the remaining land could include retail space, possibly including a hotel and convention center or perhaps a health club.
O’Toole: The population growth in that part of the city was really tremendous before the recession. What do these new development plans look like?
Nuttall: Well, the City of Fort Collins first began thinking about a formal plan for this area years ago. A plan was approved in 1995 and spells out approved land uses for the area south of Harmony including infrastructure installation and the merging of Lady Moon Drive and Trilby Road.
O’Toole: And where does that road work come into all of this?
Nuttall: Kechter Farms will surround the juncture of Trilby and Lady Moon. As the Kechter Farms subdivision goes in, the roads will be connected, creating a thoroughfare linking drivers to College Avenue on the east and Harmony Road on the north.
Jeff Nuttall is the publisher of the Northern Colorado Business Report.
