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July 1-July 14, 2015 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 11
Larimer & Weld Counties
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
A rail company is rolling out
a rail-served industrial park in
the town of Eaton, just north of
Greeley.
“Eaton is a great location in rela-
tion to energy opportunities and
future agricultural opportunities.
It’s just kind of in a sweet spot,”
said Bud Mushlitz, president
of rail services and facilities for
Omaha Track, the park’s devel-
oper.
A grand opening for the 118-
acre Eaton Industrial Rail Park
will occur July 16, celebrating
transformation of a brownfield
site that housed a sugar-beet fac-
tory into a rail-served regional
industrial park. Located along-
side U.S. Highway 85, “This is
one of the few rail-served facilities
that’s going to have direct access
to Union Pacific,” said Mushlitz.
Bounded byWeldCounty Road
72 on the south and East Fifth
Street on the north, the park con-
sists of 100 acres on the south side
of East Collins Street and approxi-
mately 18½ acres to the north.
There are three energy users on
site, and Omaha Track expects to
attract traditional and alternative
energy users, agricultural com-
panies and more. The growth in
the dairy industry, for instance,
opens opportunities for compa-
nies that provide inbound feed
product and outbound agricul-
tural byproducts, Mushlitz noted.
Omaha Track anticipates leas-
ing land for build-to-suits, but,
“We’re really open to anything
thatmakes sense for both parties,”
he said.
The town of Eaton demolished
the sugar-beet factory approxi-
mately two years ago and “has
been a wonderful partner in this
development,” said Mushlitz.
Originally a railroad tie remov-
al and resale company, Omaha
Track is a major North American
rail materials and services pro-
vider. “We are diversified, and
we provide multiple services, all
associated with the rail transpor-
tation industry, and one of those
is we design, develop and build
industrial rail sites,” said Mush-
litz. “This is probably going to be
our biggest and boldest facility,”
he said.
While Eaton Industrial Rail
Park is focused primarily on rail
users, sites are available for other
light-industrial, manufacturing,
warehouse and storage uses.
“It has great highway access
and very few limitations,” said
Mushlitz. “There is a lot of growth
up there,” he said, adding that
while the traditional energy
industry ebbs and flows, it con-
tinues to play an important role
in the region. “I think the next 10
years is going to be fueled by the
energy growth. I think beyond
that it’s going to be a lot more
diversified,” he commented.
The Eaton Industrial Rail Park
sits on what was one of 21 dor-
mant brownfield sugar-beet fac-
tory sites in Colorado. Located
in the heart of Eaton’s business
center, for 40 years it served as a
daily reminder of its former life
as a major employer that sup-
ported Colorado agriculture and
provided revenue for the town,
said Stephanie Salazar, Eaton eco-
nomic development consultant.
“Redevelopment of the Eaton
sugar-beet factory site is a testa-
ment to the perseverance of Town
Manager Gary Carsten, and town
board members over the past 40
years. Thanks to the support and
vision of several partners, includ-
ingU.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Region 8, Union Pacific
Railroad and Omaha Track Inc.,
this project has become a reality,”
Salazar said.
Salazar said the park will help
the town’s vision of attracting
businesses from diverse industry
sectors. “We want people who
work here to buy homes in Eaton
and become part of the fabric of
the community,” which has top
rated K-12 school system, 18-hole
golf course and new housing that
ranges fromstarter homes to exec-
utive housing. More rooftops will
grow the retail sector, providing
goods and services to residents
and generating sales tax dollars
for amenities including a planned
regional recreation center sched-
uled to break ground next year.
The industrial park also will
create a greater awareness of the
town andwhat it has to offer, Sala-
zar said. “The town of Eaton is a
hidden gem. Most people don’t
know where it is located or that
it is named after the fourth gover-
nor of Colorado, Benjamin Eaton.
That is about to change,” she said.
Other News
n
Colorado Heirloom Inc.
paid
$1.5 million for a 16,200-square-
foot industrial property at 1215 S.
Grant Ave. in Loveland.
Aki Palmer
and
Jim Palmer
of
DTZ
represented the seller,
Cade-
ka Proeprties LLC.
n
David C. Fry
purchased
13,600 sf of office space at 1501
S. Lemay Ave. in Fort Collins for
$1 million. Fry is affiliated with
Sage Benefit Advisors, which will
occupy a portion of the space.
Largely vacant for many years,
“The building, during escrow,
leasedupquite a bit through some
relationshipswith the buyer,” said
Stuart Thomas
of
DTZ,
who rep-
resented Fry in the acquisition.
The buyer is improving the prop-
erty, which will be approximately
70 percent leased upon comple-
tion of the upgrades.
Mark O’Donnell
of
Doberstein
Lemburg Commercial Inc.
repre-
sented the seller,
David Cooper.
n
Allura Properties LLC
paid
$675,000, or $211.60 per sf, for
3,190 sf of office space at 1615 Fox-
trail Drive, Suite A3-190, in Love-
land.
Flatirons Sports Medicine
LLC
was the seller.
The property will house a skin-
laser treatment and wellness cen-
ter.
Patrick O’Donnell
of
Realtec-
Loveland
represented the seller.
Bill Reilly
of
Sperry Van Ness/
The Group Commercial LLC
rep-
resented the buyer.
n
Denver Development LLC,
an affiliate of Cutarelli Vision, pur-
chased a 0.92-acre lot at Harmony
School Shops in Fort Collins for
construction of a medical office
building.
“A new building with a high-
quality user such as Cutarelli will
be an excellent addition to the
high-quality users, including 24
Hour Fitness, Walgreens, Chipo-
tle, Mad Greens, Firehouse Subs,
etc., currently located within the
Harmony School Shops retail cen-
ter,” said
Jake Hallauer
of
Chris-
land Real Estate Cos.
The center
is at the northeast corner of Har-
mony and Timberline roads.
Hallauer and
Ryan Schaefer,
also of Chrisland, represented
seller
Revesco (USA) Properties
of Fort Collins 2 LLLP
in the trans-
action.
Aki Palmer
and
Jim Palmer
of
DTZ
represented the buyer.
n
Merrill LLC
leased 4,500 sf
of office space at 436 W. 67th St.
in Loveland from
Jonathan C.
Fosse.
Patrick O’Donnell
of
Realtec-
Loveland
handled the transac-
tion.
n
The Church in Denver
paid
$461,000, or $113.21 per sf, for a
4,072-sf church building at 717
Whedbee St. in Fort Collins.
New Hope Fellowship Inc.,
formerly known as Victory Cha-
pel of Fort Collins, was the seller.
Annah Moore
of
Realtec Com-
mercial Real Estate Services
and
Kelly McBartlett
of
The Group
Real Estate
were the listing bro-
kers.
Roni Froelich
of
ERA Her-
man Group
represented the
buyer.
n
Martin and Reed LLC,
a law
firm, leased approximately 3,000
sf of office space in The Jerome
Building at 800 Eighth Ave., near
the Weld County Courthouse in
downtown Greeley.
The building recently was pur-
chased by
800 Holdings LLC,
which plans amajor renovation of
the property. Martin and Reed’s
lease is the first to be signed since
the building sold.
n
New Horizon Financial
Group
leased 3,000 sf of office
space at 1501 S. Lemay, 100 A, in
Fort Collins.
Jerry Chilson
of
Sperry Van
Ness/The Group Commercial
represented the tenant.
Mark
O’Donnell
of
Doberstein Lem-
burg Commercial
represented the
landlord,
1501 S. Lemay Owner-
ship Group.
s
Rail-served industrial park in business on old sugar factoryEaton Industrial Rail Park is located along U.S. Highway 85 with direct access to Union Pacific rail.
Photo by John Wark
An aerial view of Eaton Industrial Rail Park