Colorado Real Estate Journal - January 7, 2015
FirstBank has arranged a $29.8 million construction loan for what will be the largest apartment community ever built in Greeley. It also represents a milestone for FirstBank. “This is the largest loan FirstBank has ever made in Northern Colorado,” said Kevin Minner, a senior vice president at the bank. “This isn’t the largest loan ever for FirstBank, of course.” The bank has had a presence in Northern Colorado for 21 years, he said. The loan was made to Creekview Investments LLC for the 348-unit Creekview Apartments at 8200 W. 20th St. The limited liability company was created by J&J Construction of Northern Colorado/Journey Homes, which is the developer. The first building in the community will open in February, said Darrell McAllister, chief financial officer for the builder. When completed, the community will have 16 three-story buildings, each with 21 to 24 buildings. Each building will have approximately 25,000 square feet. The project also will include 200 separate garages and a clubhouse of about 4,000 sf with a workout facility and meeting rooms. Monthly rents are anticipated to range from $850 to $1,500, McAllister said. The architect is Kephart. It will be the largest apartment community in Greeley, when completed, he said. That is absolutely the case, Minner said. He said Creekview will be constructed in three phases. “We really like this because it addresses the much-needed economic need for rental housing in Greeley,” Minner said. It is so big, in fact, that it is extremely unlikely others of the same size will be constructed, he said. “This is going to present a bit of a barrier of entry to other new apartment projects of this size,” Minner said. He said he is talking to several other developers about financing new apartment communities, but nothing of the magnitude of Creekview. “The market can’t absorb another apartment project of this size,” Minner said. There is a huge need for rental units in Greeley, he said. “The apartment vacancy rate in Greeley is only 2 or 3 percent,” Minner said. “When this is completed, I think it will temporarily raise the vacancy rate a bit, probably to 4 percent.” McAllister said the demand for rental housing is a result of Greeley’s robust economy. “I think a certain amount of it is just because of the rebounding economy,” McAllister said. “And, of course, the oil and gas industry has been very strong here, leading to a need for housing.” McAllister said Journey Homes “has a very good relationship with FirstBank.” He said they interviewed a number of lenders, but FirstBank provided the best terms and rates. “And their process was for the whole project,” McAllister said, while other lenders wanted to finance the phases separately. The development is important to the community, he said, because rental housing is in such a short supply. Minner also said it has a strong location. Over the years, FirstBank has done a number of deals with Journey Homes and its construction arm. “J&J/Journey Homes is a very well-known builder in this area,” Minner said. “We have done a number of deals with them over the past 15 years or so,” Minner said. “Of course, we have never done a deal of this size with them before.” http://www.maps.google.com