CREJ - Journal

17 / 92

May 6-May 19, 2015 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — Page 17
Larimer & Weld Counties
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
Northern Colorado’s apart-
ment and industrial markets
are tight as can be, but that
could change – particularly in
Weld County – if oil prices con-
tinue to drop or stagnate.
Both sectors seem to be hold-
ing their own as companies
already involved in oil and
gas exploration – and compa-
nies that service those firms
– continue to operate, albeit
at a significantly slower pace.
“Existing companies seem to
be trying to hold their positions
and await the recovery of oil
prices,” said Steve Kawulok,
managing director of Sperry
Van Ness/The Group Commer-
cial in Fort Collins.
Kawulok said in a few cases
it is “fairly eye-opening” that
trucks and equipment are sit-
ting in yards during the day,
when normally they would be
out in the fields. Energy activ-
ity throughout the 10th Federal
Reserve District, a seven-state
region that includes Colorado,
fell sharply in the first quar-
ter, according to the Federal
Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Most of the large energy
exploration and production
companies own their real estate,
while the companies that ser-
vice the industry normally lease
their properties, typically 5,000-
to 20,000-square-foot buildings
with yards for outside storage.
“That’s really where we had the
big push in the last few years
in lease-up of industrial space,”
said Kawulok.
“We have seen that calm way
down,” saidKawulok. “Inmany
cases their head offices are tell-
ing the local division managers
to postpone any changes,” he
said, adding a couple of build-
to-suit deals also have been put
on the back burner. Yet existing
properties have not come back
to the market.
There has been a noticeable
decrease in new energy ser-
vices companies coming into
the market, however, accord-
ing to Kawulok, and that is
not likely to change as long
as oil prices continue on their
current path. Even when they
do recover, it will take several
months for real estate activity
to ramp back up, he said. For
the remainder of the year, “I
would say it’s going to be quiet
in that industry in terms of real
estate,” Kawulok said
Realtec Commercial Real
Estate Services concurred that
the slowing energy industry
had minimal impact on the
commercial real estate mar-
ket through the first quarter.
The vacancy rate for devel-
oped industrial properties with
more than an acre of land is an
exceedingly low 1 percent.
“Oil and gas companies may
be reducing workforces and
idling equipment, but are main-
taining their ownership of real
estate,” the company said in its
quarterly Realtec Report news-
letter. “The largest shift seen
so far has been that companies
are seeking shorter-term leases
and focusing more on existing
properties to lease rather than
exploring purchase and build-
to-suit options. As leases begin
to expire, renewal decisions by
tenants will be very telling,”
the company said.
The region’s overall indus-
trial vacancy rate at the end of
the first quarter was 4.9 per-
cent, with Greeley sitting at
3.2 percent vacancy, according
to Xceligent. Xceligent reports
an increased number of “yard
seekers” in the market with oil
and gas companies anticipat-
ing the need for space to store
equipment.
Northern Colorado’s apart-
ment market posted a first-
quarter vacancy rate of 2.12
percent, with Greeley’s rate
decreasing from 1.8 percent to
a miniscule 1.52 percent dur-
ing the quarter, according to
Apartment Insights’ Statistics/
Trends Summary.
The region’s average monthly
rent for properties with 50 or
more units jumped $23 during
the quarter to a record $1,131
per unit.
“Although the falling price
of oil has reduced the rig
count in Colorado by approxi-
mately half since November,
many of which are located in
Weld County, there has been
no apparent softness yet in
the local apartment market,”
the report said. “In fact, Weld
County just posted its largest
quarterly rent increase of $65,
and it had the second-highest
annual growth rate.”
According to Apartment
Insights, although there have
been reports of tenants who
work in the oil business giv-
ing notice to vacate their apart-
ments, so far those units have
been successfully re-leased.
“It may take time for the full
impact of the slowdown in the
oil industry to be felt, and soft-
ening still could occur in the
quarters ahead,” AI said.
“I think everybody’s still
hopeful that there is latent
demand that is not just energy
related,” said Kawulok, noting
millennials tend to start off as
renters. Also, “The construc-
tion industry has maintained
its vibrancy so far, even in the
energy industry’s downsizing
… The energy industry is not
the only employer,” he said.
The Federal Reserve Bank of
Kansas City’s recently released
first-quarter Energy Survey
says oil and gas extraction
and pipeline companies in its
district expect employment
to be down about 12 percent
this year, while support firms
expect to be down by 19 per-
cent. A third of firms said they
were reducing hours, mainly
by eliminating overtime, and
others cited slight cuts in wages
and bonuses for the year, as
well as layoffs.
The district includes Colora-
do, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklaho-
ma, Wyoming, northern New
Mexico and the western third
of Missouri.
“Firms have sharply cut capi-
tal expenditures and many are
also reducing employment and
hours. However, firms’ break-
even oil prices have also fall-
en considerably the past six
months, to an average $62 per
barrel, down from $79 per bar-
rel six months ago,” said Chad
Wilkerson, vice president,
economist and Oklahoma City
Branch executive. s
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
The Girl Scouts’ Magic Sky
Ranch, a 733-acre property 40
miles west of Fort Collins, has
been listed for sale for $12.7
million.
Surrounded by the Roo-
sevelt National Forest, the
ranch includes year-round
and seasonal accommodations
for approximately 144 to 400
people, with heavily forested
terrain, open meadows and
numerous rock outcroppings.
“There are nearly 60,000
square feet
of building
i m p r o v e -
ments, most
of whichwere
built in 2007,
featuring a
f unc t i ona l ,
m o d e r n
design while
incorporating
elements of
the farming and ranching roots
of its Northern Colorado his-
tory,” said listing broker Terry
Matthews, senior vice president
at DTZ.
The Girls Scouts of Colorado
has owned the ranch since 1968
and will not be using it after
the sale.
Amenities include a dining
hall and full commercial kitch-
en with a 260-person capacity;
offices, anurse’s clinic andapart-
ment; an activity center with a
climbing wall, classrooms and
stage; a 26-stall equestrian cen-
ter with a classroom, tack room,
hay storage and two isolation
stalls; ropes courses; a 28-lane
field archery course approved
by the Field Archery Associa-
tion; six year-round residential
buildings, each with a 24-per-
son occupancy, with a kitchen,
restroom and group meeting
area; four seasonal cabins that
can accommodate 14 people
each; a lodge, an original resi-
dence that accommodates 40
people; and water rights. Most
buildings are ADA accessible
and have fire sprinklers.
DTZ’s Russell Baker and John
Baker are marketing the prop-
erty with Matthews.
Other News
n Brian Pebley, doing busi-
ness as CHAMP Sports Acad-
emy, subleased the former
Steele’s grocery store in Wind-
sor for an indoor sports training
facility.
The property at 1159 W. Main
St. comprises 19,183 square feet.
Spartan Nash, which is affili-
ated with Nash Finch Co., is the
sublandlord. Greg Kaufman of
Colorado Springs Commer-
cial, a Cushman & Wakefield
Alliance, represented Spartan
Nash in the transaction.
n ANB LLC purchased 6,992 sf
of medical office space at 1100
Poudre River Drive in Fort Col-
lins. Drs. Robert C. Homberg,
David M. Abbey and Michael
C. Lynch were the sellers.
Randy Marshall of Sperry
Van Ness/The Group Commer-
cial handled the transaction.
n Waukesha-Pearce Indus-
tries leased 6,300 sf of industrial
space at 393 N. Denver Ave. in
Loveland from Denver Avenue
Associates LLC.
Gage Osthoff of Realtec
Commercial Real Estate Ser-
vices represented the tenant.
Craig C. Hau of Sperry Van
Ness/The Group Commercial
represented the landlord.
n Dean Dickinson bought a
3,000-sf hangar condo at the
Fort Collins-Loveland Munici-
pal Airport in Loveland for
$431,000, or $143.66 per sf.
Paul Brevard sold the prop-
erty at 5210 Staggerwing Drive,
Unit 5293. Patrick O’Donnell
and Bruce Campbell of
Realtec-Loveland represented
the buyer. Nathan Klein of
Loveland Commercial was the
listing broker.
n PDQ Properties LLC paid
$578,000 cash for 2,570 sf of
office space at 1607 and 1825 E.
18th St. in Loveland. The buyer
plans to remodel the property
for lease.
Larry Hawe of Sperry Van
Ness/The Group Commer-
cial LLC represented the buyer.
Mike Eyer of CBRE represented
the seller.
n A 2.95-acre parcel of land
at 4025 and 4080 Clydesdale
Parkway in Loveland sold for
$512,000.
J. Cure Land LLC purchased
the property from Community
Banks of Colorado for possible
future development.
Jerry Chilson of Sperry Van
Ness/The Group Commercial
and Mike Eyer of CBRE were
the listing brokers. Riley Miles-
ki of U Realty represented the
buyer.
n A bookstore and chiroprac-
tor leased spaces at 680 E. 29th
St. in Loveland.
Book Haven LLC and Daw-
son Chiropractic Corp. each
leased 2,350 sf from BH 29th
LLC.
Cobey Wess of Sperry Van
Ness/The Group Commercial
and Julius Tabert of CBRE han-
dled the transactions.
n Flooring-B-Gone leased
2,172 sf of industrial space at
453 Industrial Parkway in Fort
Collins. Jason Ells of DTZ repre-
sented the landlord, the Pauline
H. Carlson Trust.s
The Magic Sky Ranch, west of Fort Collins, is listed for sale at $12.7 million.
Terry Matthews
‘Existing
companies
seem to be
trying to hold
their positions
and await the
recovery of
oil prices.’
– Steve Kawulok, Sperry Van
Ness/The Group Commercial