CREJ - Land and Development - July 2016
If there is one thing I remember about veteran Colorado Springs land broker Dale Wheeler and his market forecasts, it is his penchant to start each by paraphrasing Will Rogers: “Land, there is only so much and they aren’t making more of it.” So when it came time for me to introduce our inaugural issue of the Land & Development Quarterly, naturally, Rogers and Wheeler kept popping into my head. And while I will try to limit my quoting of Rogers, his thoughts on land from nearly a century ago still remain true today – they aren’t making any more. So what is happening with this commodity in Colorado? In our debut issue, Eric Roth, Mitch Trevey, Michael Ehler and Craig Anderson examine what is happening in submarkets and cities along the Front Range – from raw water requirements to booming businesses guiding development. Adam Krueger from the city of Thornton discusses the importance of timing for municipalities and how they have had to adjust their perception of development projects and make changes to development review processes to be competitive. Multiple developers also contributed to this issue, giving insights into their projects, including RidgeGate, 2534 and Forest Trace, and the challenges of developing in today’s market. Additionally, Craig Karn of Consilium Design looks at the role that preserving the inherent virtues of a site plays in its success and Kory Mitchell of Earth Services & Abatement shares the 18-year journey of prepping Stapleton’s redevelopment. S. Robert August also gives readers a peek at the state of custom home sites in the Denver metro area. Overall, this Colorado Real Estate Journal publication endeavors to cover statewide issues, topics and trends including: entitlements (annexation, zoning, permitting); infrastructure (major projects and case studies); construction costs; national and state legislation that impacts the development business; impacts of light rail and other transportation projects on development and growth patterns; civil engineering and architecture; notable development projects planned, underway and recently completed; pricing trends for residential, commercial and industrial land; the homebuilding industry; metropolitan special improvement districts; and legal and accounting practices that are relevant to the industry. Ambitious? Maybe, but I hope you will join us on this journey and the latest special section of the CREJ.