CREJ

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— Multifamily Properties Quarterly — November 2016

orthern Colorado continues

to benefit from a favorable

environment for apartment

development. Rents continue

to increase, although not at

the same pace that the market expe-

rienced from 2013 to 2015, when rents

for Class A, institutional-quality/size

communities increased nearly 30 per-

cent, or 10 percent annually.The rental

rate increase has slowed to closer

to 5 percent annually, from 2015 to

2016, which still is a strong rental rate

growth. Demand appears to remain

strong for Class A communities, with

an occupancy rate of nearly 95 percent

for stabilized properties in Fort Collins

and Loveland.

The occupancy rate remains strong

and rental rates continue to grow,

despite three market-rate, institutional

communities in the lease-up phase or

recently reaching stabilization.Those

communities include:

• Gateway Apartments.

The apart-

ments includes 254 luxury apartments

located within the town of Johnstown.

The community was constructed on a

10.5-acre site withinTwenty-Five Thir-

ty-Four, a 542-acre mixed-use, master-

planned community at the southeast

corner of Interstate 25 and U.S. 34.

As of October, Gateway is approxi-

mately 92.5 percent occupied.The

amenity package includes a pool, club-

house, bocce ball courtyard, hammock

garden and barbeque area. Additional-

ly, the community will benefit from the

close proximity to Johnstown Plaza, a

major retail center where Scheels is

under construction on a 250,000-plus-

square-foot store, which is projected to

open in September. Chrisland brokered

the land transaction for this commu-

nity.

• Crowne at Timberline Apartments.

Construction con-

tinues on this com-

munity, located on

a 16.9-acre site, just

over 1 mile south of

Harmony Road, with

frontage onTim-

berline Road in Fort

Collins.The complex

includes a total of

285 standard apart-

ment units within

six buildings, and

25 townhome-style

apartments in seven

buildings.The com-

munity is unique

in that it is the first market-rate com-

munity in Northern Colorado, outside

of a downtown area, to have elevator-

served apartment buildings. Leasing

started in May, with move-ins starting

in June. As of October, the community

is approximately 16 percent occupied.

Chrisland brokered the land sale for

this community.

• Bristol Pointe Apartments.

Situated

on a 12-acre site at the southwest

corner of SouthTaft Avenue and 16th

Street in Loveland, the community

includes 220 units, within 11 buildings,

with square footages ranging from

515 to 1,300 sf per unit. As of October,

the apartment is approximately 95.5

percent occupied. The amenity pack-

age includes a clubhouse, child wad-

ing and lap lane pool, fitness center,

media room and conference center.

In addition to the communities that

are in or completing the lease-up

phase, there are multiple new com-

munities under construction. A sum-

mary of several of those communities

follows.

• Cycle Apartments.

Loveland-based

McWhinney is developing a 405-unit

apartment community, located adja-

cent to the newly redeveloped Foot-

hills Mall in midtown Fort Collins.

Construction commenced in July. Cycle

will consist of 18 three- and four-story

buildings. The amenities serving the

community will include a clubhouse,

fitness center, game room, demonstra-

tion kitchen, social lounge, golf simula-

tor, bike and ski repair area, swimming

pool and collaborative office.

The unit mix will consist of approxi-

mately 20 percent studio units, 60

percent one-bedroom units and 20

percent two-bedroom units. The first

units are projected to be delivered

mid-2017. Projected rents range from

$1,200 to $1,600 per month. McWhin-

ney is targeting the urban professional

and baby boomer demographics,

according to reports.

• Uncommon.

Located at the south-

east corner of College Avenue and

Olive Street, Uncommon is a mixed-

use community consisting of 120

apartment units with ground-floor

retail in a six-story building with sub-

terranean and surface-level parking.

The project broke ground in April and

is projected to be delivered mid-2017.

The developer is CAVentures of Chica-

go. The subterranean parking structure

is a unique feature in Northern Colo-

rado, as other urban apartment com-

munities have been podium or surface

parked to date.

While there are a significant number

of additional projects in the pipeline

in Northern Colorado, there are only

a few that I expect to break ground

in 2016 or early 2017. Lengthy entitle-

ment processes, continually rising

construction costs and development

impact fees, and slower construction

timelines due to lack of labor avail-

ability likely will contribute to a more

steady pipeline of new construction,

rather than the glut of new units that

many are concerned about.With that

said, I expect a steady supply of new

units to the market, sustained high

occupancy rates and reasonably strong

rental rate growth in the next 12 to 18

months.

Construction activity still booming in Northern CO

Jake Hallauer,

CCIM

Vice president,

Chrisland Real

Estate Cos.,

Fort Collins

Market Update

Chrisland Real Estate Cos.

The new Gateway Apartments in Johnstown is 92.5 percent occupied.