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Home My WebLink AboutIN-SITU - FDP - 46-02B - MEDIA -Some In -Sit 2/3/ey By KIRSTEN ORSINI-MEINHARD KirstenOrsini@coloradoan.com Ask In-Situ's employees how they feel about their company s move from Laramie, Wyo, to Fort Collins, and many of them will tell you it has everything to do with geography. Some workers who live in Laramie, located about 90 miles northwest of Fort Collins, are torn over the company's move and aren't sure whether they'll re- locate. But employees who already live in Northern Colorado are breathing a sigh of relief that their daily commute will get shorter. Jeff Somer lives in Greeley and commutes more than 200 miles every day to reach In -Situ. Now that the environmental technology manufacturer has de- cided to relocate, Somer just has to wait for the new site to be completed in August "It's just a matter of being pa- tient," he said. Jobs Continued from Page Al a much -needed economic boost for the city. "The In -Situ team and the city's planning staff have worked for numerous hours over the last year," said city manager John Fis- chbach. In -Situ — with 65 employees — has eyed Fort Collins for years as a possi- ble new home, enticed by the city's skilled workforce and business envi- ronment, said Carol McKee, who founded BLYTHE the company in 1978 with her husband, Chester. In 2000, the company set its sights on the city, but officials changed their minds, citing con- cerns about relocation costs and losing employees. In early 2003, In -Situ picked out a 4-acre site on East Lincoln Avenue along the Cache la Poudre River, but faced chal- lenges because it encroached on the floodplain. The Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board stepped in and ap- proved two modifications to the company's plan. The plan then was appealed to the Fort Collins City Council, which upheld the workers face `ough choice In-Situ's president and CEO Bob Blythe — along with a hand- ful of other employees — already fives in Fort Collins. At a press conference Monday afternoon, Blythe told a crowd of people gathered at the company s new site, 221 E. Lincoln Ave, that he hopes all of his employees will make the move. "We're doing everything we can to encourage them to move to Fort Collins," said Blythe, adding that real estate agents will be on hand to assist employees who are relocating. designation. That's when the Northern Colorado Economic Develop- ment Corp. stepped in, promis- ing the company that it would find adequate funding, said JJ Johnston, executive director of the NCEDC. Eventually, the NCEDC came up with a $288,000 incentive package from state and Fort Collins sources, which included a $28,000 job -training grant Aside from finding qualified workers in Fort Collins, In -Situ also was looking to improve its facility, said Bob Blythe, In-Situ's president and CEO. "I think Fort Collins as a com- munity is very attractive," he said. In-Situ's current site — three buildings totaling about 28,000- square feet — is about 100 years old The new site along the river near Old Town was crowded with In -Situ employees, media and government officials Mon- day afternoon as the company detailed its plans for relocation. While the area is now empty — formerly it housed the Poudre Valley Creamery's storage space — it soon will be home to a Employee Jeff Lovato, who currently lives in Laramie, hasn't decided yet whether he'll follow In -Situ to Northern Colorado. It's a tough decision, consider- ing that his wife is in school and Laramie is very different from Fort Collins. The city of 27,000 people has more of a "small-town atmos- phere" than Fort Collins, he said "I don't have any set plans," Lovato said. "We still have a lot of things to go over as a company." Many employees were expect- ing In-Situ's decision to relocate ') In -Situ Inc. i 1 Lincoln AvenueLin�•',' , d j l j C ursens 9S <' Mulberry Street AL o N 1L Miles coloraDoan staff 30,000-square-foot building, val- ued at about $2.7 million. In-Situ's building evenutally could expand to about 59,000 square feet The facility, which will be built by Fort Collins -based Dohn Construction, will be two stories high with accents in timber and a metal roof, said Mark Gause- pohi, project architect of Fort Collins -based Vaught Frye Ar- chitects, which is designing the project "It's meant to be very relevant because the company has been mulling over the idea for years, Lovato said. Carol McKee, who founded In -Situ in 1978 with her husband, Chester, said the company start- ed looking at Fort Collins many years ago. The high -quality labor pool and an attractive community ap- pealed to the company, said Mc- Kee, who no longer plays an ac- tive role in the company. "I'm excited for them," she said. "It's a natural way to ex- pand„ to its site, and it has some angles on the lobby that address the views of the river," he said. Construction on the site will begin soon and is scheduled for completion in August, said Doug Dohn president of Dohn Con- struction. In -Situ applied for a building permit through the Fort Collins Building and Zoning Department in early January, but it hasn't been approved yet, said Ted Shepard, chief city planner. The company's site plan al- ready has made it through the city's review process, and a pub- lic hearing was held in Decem- ber. "In the big picture, they're very close to getting their build- ing permit," Shepard said In -Situ will bring part of its 65- employee workforce to Fort Collins and grow to about 150 people in the next several years, Blythe said. Many of those jobs have an av- erage salary of about $42,000 and offer standard health-care benefits, Johnston said In -Situ only recently an- nounced the relocation of its headquarters. The company's Laramie site is for sale. V. Richard Haro/The Colcr NEW HOME Various dignitaries break ground Monday locating. In -Situ, which makes environmental technc at the site to which Wyoming -based In -Situ Inc. will be re- equipment, will call Fort Collins home this summer. In -Situ sets table for 150 new jobs By KIRSTEN ORSINI-MEINHARD Ki rstenOrs in i @co I orad o an. cc m A decision by a Wyoming environ- mental technology company to move to Fort Collins represents 150 high -paying jobs in the next five years. Workers Laramie -based In- _,e Situ's formal an- nouncement Monday opinions also ends a years -long on move effort by city and eco- nomic development officials to woo the Pacge A2 company. Fort Collins' courtship of In -Situ Inc. officially ended when the environmental technology company unveiled its new corporate headquarters during a press conference About In -Situ Inc. Location: Laramie, Wyo. Founded.1978 Employees: 65 Description: The company manufac- tures water quality- and level -moni- toring instruments, doing business in about 70 countries worldwide._.______. On the Web: www.in-sifu.com at the new site, 221 E. Lincoln Ave. The move should be complete by the end of summer. Officials from the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation and Fort Collins city leaders celebrated See JOBS/Page A2 - reasons to read the Coloradoan Reason No. 34: Forthe latest forecasts of the economic vitality of our community