Mixed-Use Plan Carrying $6B Impact for Region

WINDSOR, CO-A planned, 1,543-acre development by Great Western Development, a company owned by the Denver-based Broe Cos., is anticipated to have a $6 billion impact during the next 10 years. That is the conclusion of an economic impact analysis conducted by Rhonda R. Corman, an economics professor at the University of Northern Colorado.

The land in Northern Colorado is in Weld County, west of Greeley and east of the town of Windsor. However, Windsor is planning to annex the property. Great Western either acquired or is acquiring the vast majority of the land from the Kodak Co., which has a major facility in Windsor. Kodak, as well as Hewlett Packard, plans to curtail their workforces in Northern Colorado. How many jobs will be lost is yet unknown.

However, the Great Western Development land is expected to bring many new jobs to the area. It is projected that it will create 2,000 new jobs, many of them high paying, over the next decades. Already, Owens-Illinois is building a $120 million bottling plant on the property and a $50 million ethanol plant is under construction. The land is served by the Great Western Railway, which is owned by OmniTrax, another Broe company.

According to Corman’s report, there are three primary targeted planned land uses identified for the acreage including industrial use, retail/commercial use, and residential uses. “Projected build-out square footage for the industrial use acres is estimated at 8.22 million sf, and the projected area of retail/commercial use is estimated to be 1.37 million sf. Residential build-out estimates 2,000 units,” states the report.

The report goes on to say that the total potential economic benefit is $6.09 billion for Colorado throughout the next 10 years, and $2.67 billion during the same time period for Weld County. The project is also expected to generate $121.8 million in public revenues for Weld County and $91.6 million for Colorado, according to the report.

Alex Yeros, of Great Western Development, says in today’s dollars he expects the real estate build out to hit at least $1 billion and possibly as much as $1.5 billion. Great Western will not build the residential units itself. Rather, it will develop the land and sell it to homebuilders.

But it is willing to do build-to-suits for industrial users. Indeed, Yeros says he has several of those in the pipeline. Also, it is possible that the Broe Cos., possibly for its energy company division, would build some manufacturing facilities on the property. All-told, the privately held and low-profile Broe Cos. has more than $1 billion in assets, which includes commercial real estate, transportation and private equity investments.