Colorado Real Estate Journal -
The area surrounding Interstate 25 and Highway 52 between Denver and Northern Colorado has been called a “medical desert.” No major medical facilities exist to serve populations in Frederick, Dacono and other, outlying areas. But that is about to change. Major health systems have laid claim to land on either side of the interchange in Frederick. Exempla Healthcare just purchased 50 acres at the northwest quadrant for a future hospital campus. Longmont United Hospital and University of Colorado Health own just under 70 acres at the northeast quadrant, where Longmont United plans an urgent care and physician offices opening in late fall 2013. “They call it the doughnut hole because there’s services around us, but none in our area, so they’re trying to get into the area and get established,” said Jennifer Simmons, Frederick’s planning director. The town is welcoming the services, jobs and tax revenue the medical facilities will bring, and developers of Dacono Gateway Center at the southeast quadrant of I-25 and Highway 52 also see it as very good news. “It will be a game-changer,” said Dan Robison of Westhaven Group, which manages development of 127 acres for Dacono 25 Partners LLC, as well as 310 acres of commercial and residential land to the east. “Obviously as hospitals come in, that’s going to attract retail, hotels, more offices, drugstores, pharmacies.” Exempla, which has an acute care facility 14 miles southwest of the site, in Lafayette, says it plans to hold the Frederick property in the near term. “We are always looking toward the future to determine how to best meet the needs of Colorado’s citizens. We know Weld County is growing and, in general, patients like to receive health care near where they live,” Bob Ladenburger, president and CEO of Exempla Healthcare and executive vice president of hospital operations for SCL Health System, said in a statement. Weld County grew nearly 40 percent between 2000 and 2010 and was the seventh fastest growing metropolitan statistical area in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, The Colorado Department of Local Affairs State Demography Office forecasts continued strong growth of more than 35 percent during the next decade – more than double the growth rate of the seven-county Denver metropolitan area. Exempla’s site is located near the planned Wyndham Hill Town Center, the future regional shopping center of Frederick. “Exempla Healthcare’s purchase confirms the emergence of Frederick as an important regional commercial, retail, residential and health care hub for the larger Northwest Denver metro submarket serving communities along Interstate 25,” stated Chuck Bellock, president of Community Development Group, the developer of Wyndham Hill. Peter Kelly of Realtec Commercial Real Estate Services agreed that medical activity surrounding I-25 and Highway 52 is evidence of “an interesting regionalism” of the area, with the ability to pull from areas in all four directions. That is backed up by the fact that there are three auto dealerships in the vicinity and another on the way, with an Infinity dealership recently closing on a site at Dacono Gateway Center. Dacono Gateway Center’s development plan includes sites for retail, office, hotel and multifamily uses, as well as a 40-acre parcel for medical and/or medical office development. Although medical always has been part of the plan, with the major hospital systems coming in, “We really see it as an anchor to our development,” said Kelly, the listing broker for the property. “If there’s a demand for regional medical, we can be successful at that.” Longmont United Hospital is in the process of finalizing its initial development plans and hopes to start construction of an approximately 30,000-sf first phase early next year. Exempla has final plan and final development plan approval from the town of Frederick for a campus that could reach 771,000 to 1.14 million sf. It expects to build the campus in three to five phases. Through involvement with Dacono Gateway Center, Robison has witnessed “a huge gap” for medical care in the area. “There is a demand for it and a great need for it,” he said. Westhaven Group has been involved with the development, which is financed by European investors, since 2004. “We’ve been patient with it. We think now is the time for that intersection to take off. Obviously, we’re not the only ones,” he said.