In the Region

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METRO BUILDING PERMITS UP IN FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 2004
Residential building permits are up more than 20 percent in the metro area for the first ten months of 2004, compared to the same period in 2003. The report was released on Decemberr 15, 2004 by the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver. Home builders in the western U.S are among the most optimistic of their colleagues, according to researchers, primarily due to low mortgage rates and aggressive lending practices. According to the report, Denver area builders are a bit more cautious than builders in competing markets in New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Denver’s slow job growth and in-migration dampen builder optimism.

WESTMINSTER APPROVES LARGE MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT AT I-25 & W. 144TH
More mixed use, retail, commercial and residential development is coming to the area. Westminster city officials approved development of The Orchard at Westminster on a parcel at the northwest corner of I-25 and West 144th Avenue. The center will host a 12-screen AMC theater, a Foley’s and J.C. Penny, along with restaurants, office space and 500 residential units. The development will begin construction this spring and will open in 2006 and is projected to bring in $86.4 million in new tax revenue to Westminster over its first ten years of operation.

MEAD AND WELD COUNTY LANDOWNERS VIE FOR CONTROL EAST OF I-25
You know the saying, “You snooze, you lose.” Town leaders refused to work with nearby property owners with 3000 acres east of I-25 and north of Colo. 66. The owners went to the Weld County Planning Commission and got approval for a $8.1 million sanitation district to serve the swath of unincorporated land. Med officials have been firm in their desire to preserve the land, but lacking the resources to purchase it and not being willing to compromise with property owners, Mead now has less leverage than it had a few months ago. Mead would likely have allowed some development on the property, not the 5,000 homes that property owners want to build, but the Town’s $8,000 impact fee per residential unit was too much to overcome. The sanitation district expects to charge $1,750 per sewer hook-up. If the sanitation district is given final approval by the Weld County Commissioners, the first likely development is the 801-acre, 3,125 home proposed Meadow Ridge subdivision on the north side of Colo. 66, ¼ mile east of I-25.

DACONO POISED FOR BRISK GROWTH IN 2005
According to Town Administrator, Karen Cumbo, Dacono will approve at least 200 residential building permits in 2005. Cumbo also believes that is a “conservative estimate.” Several projects are in final approval stages of the Town’s development review process and another seven are moving forward. In all, some 14 projects expected at buildout will add 20,000 residents to the Town over the next 15-20, according to Mayor Wade Carlson. The pace of development in Dacono will pick up briskly due to a $3.9 million investment in water and sewer infrastructure investment a few years ago. Neighboring Towns, Frederick and Firestone experienced slower growth in 2004 but expect that to pick up in 2005.