LOVELAND — A large employer is planning to move into downtown Loveland’s South Catalyst Project, according to city officials.
The company, which the city hasn’t named, would bring 300 to 400 employees to an office building to be built on East Third Street, opening at the beginning of 2017, City Manager Bill Cahill said in a letter last week to the City Council.
The company’s board has approved a letter of intent with the Michaels Development Co., the private developer that is working with the city on a major redevelopment of the area between Third and First streets and Cleveland and Lincoln avenues, Cahill’s letter said.
The project will include the office building, apartments, retail space, a new county building and a parking garage, according to plans.
The company’s intent to move downtown is critical to the project, said City Council member John Fogle, a member of the board of the new Loveland Downtown Development Authority.
“It’s the major step that we’ve been waiting on and that Michaels has been waiting on,” he said.
“Now the ball’s in our court,” Fogle said, referring to the city’s efforts to buy all the properties in the project area.
The city hasn’t been able to come to terms with two final property owners. Fogle said those missing pieces of real estate could jeopardize the county’s and commercial office portions of the project.
“There is motion, I understand, on both pieces of property,” he added.
The company’s letter of intent isn’t binding, said city economic development manager Mike Scholl, “but it’s a huge step in the right direction.”
The building that Michaels would construct would be three to four stories tall and contain 50,000 to 60,000 square feet, Scholl said. It would have some ground-floor space for retail or restaurants, he said.
“Part of the challenge of this development is making sure that it’s appropriately parked. We’re not just going to plop them down there without parking,” Scholl said.
Each piece of the project probably would have some of its own parking, Scholl said, but the overall development also would need a parking structure. He said it could be three or more stories tall with 300 to 400 spaces.
He said people probably would have to pay to park in the structure, although specifics haven’t been worked out yet.
A large company’s decision to move to downtown Loveland shows that the area’s attractiveness is growing, Scholl said.
“Clearly, companies are looking at downtowns,” he said. “When you have an attractive downtown, you’re going to get that investment.”
Council member Fogle said the arrival of the employer would be a major boon for downtown.
“That’s going to put traffic on our streets and people in our stores,” he said. “It will be fabulous for everything and everybody.”
Michael Thrash, who opened The Coffee Tree on Fourth Street in 2006, agreed that an addition of that many workers downtown would help all retailers.
His business has been growing since it opened, he said, and he has been making plans to expand in his space at 210 E. Fourth St.
“I really like the charm of downtown Loveland,” Thrash said. “I like the direction the city is taking it into.”
Craig Young: 970-635-3634, cyoung@reporter-herald.com, www.twitter.com/CraigYoungRH.
