HomeMy WebLinkAboutGALATIA REZONING - 36 90B - MEDIA - CORRESPONDENCE■ Proposed
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ROBERT BAUN
Th 9-3 11D S i to
The Coloradoan J
Plans are percolating for
a major regional shopping
center at the northeast cor-
ner of Interstate 25 and
Prospect Road.
In documents filed with
the city of Fort Collins, the
landowner at the I-25/Pros-
pect intersection is peti-
tioning to rezone part of
the ground to allow for a
45-acre retail complex.
The landowner, cattle-
man Dallas Horton, is in
talks with a shopping cen-
ter developer to build the
center — if the rezoning is
approved.
A 45-acre complex
nearly Foothills Mall -size
"equates to 400,000 to
450,000 square feet" of re-
tail space, said Steve Pfis-
ter, a commercial real es-
tate broker who is repre-
senting Horton in the proj-
ect. Pfister said he could
not identify the shopping
center developer, but said
it's a company with a track
record.
"They've built about 6
million square feet of shop-
ping centers during the
'90s, and most of that in the
last five years," Pfister said.
Asked about a timetable
for the shopping center,
Continued from Page Al
of I-25 and Prospect. Prelimi-
nary plans also point to a busi-
ness park development and resi-
dential neighborhoods on Hor-
ton's land.
Concurrently, landowner Les
Kaplan is asking the city to an-
nex 47 acres north of the Horton
Pfister said," It depends on
how our zoning proceeds."
Categorically, the center
would attract the types of
stores that are typically
seen in shopping malls or
as "big box" retailers, Pfis-
ter said.
At 450,000 square feet,
the proposed center is
about three -fourths of the
size of the Foothills Fashion
Mall, the biggest in Fort
Collins. The Prime Outlet
Center in Loveland spans
about 350,000 square feet.
A large shopping center
could mean major sales tax
property, which is also proposed
for residential development.
Residential demand on the
east side of I-25 could be driven
in part by location of a future
high school site. Last year, Hor-
ton sold 100 acres along East
Prospect Road to the Poudre
School District. The district has
gains for the city of Fort
Collins. Based on tradition-
al sales per square foot, a
450,000-square-foot shop-
ping center would likely
generate at least $120 mil-
lion in retail business per
year, said Alan Kremarik,
financial director for the
city of Port Collins.
"That would mean $25
million to $3 million a year
in sales taxes, if it doesn't
take away from the existing
stores," Krcmarik said.
"That's always the ques-
tion: Where do your shop-
pers come from?"
Based on the success of
the Prime Outlet Center,
which is also along I-25,
Pfister thinks a new shop-
ping center would be "a re-
gional draw with a lot of
sales tax coming from out-
side our area."
The rezoning on the cor-
ner is necessary because
the current zoning at the in-
tersection allows only for
20 acres of retail use. Hor-
ton wants to take another
25 acres — now zoned for
industrial use — and add it
to the retail zoning.
In all, Horton owns 132
acres at the northeast corner
indicated it could it build a new
high school there by 2006.
The trio — Horton, Kaplan
and the school district — have
also agreed to coordinate their
planning efforts.
"It's the first time I can think
of that the school district and
surrounding property owners
See RETAIUPage A2
have worked closely together in
the design of a school site and
the uses that take place around
it," Kaplan said.
"It's an opportunity to coor-
dinate streets and provide
buffering and to make sure the
crosswalks are in the right
place."
L eoxelder
Creek
Proposed
High School
i
0 1.800
Feet
Coloradoan staff