Case Study

2105 South College Avenue

The property at 2105 S College was outdated and the verge of being torn down. The site consisted of more than 30,000 square feet of buildings on 2.21 acres in the booming mid-town area of town. After years of owning the site, the owners had decided it was time to sell. The previous owners had gone under contract with a developer to raze the property and build a five-story senior living apartment complex. WhIile the developer spent 18 months working with the City and getting entitlements, the current tenants left one by one and when the project could not come to fruition the property was left vacant and the owners were left wondering what to do.

Seeing a different path for the property, McFetridge/Lund put the property under contract went to work crafting a vision for the property and finding like-minded partners. This included finding tenants that would add to the community with a unique and innovative business plan as well as bringing life back to the existing structures.

BEFORE

The property was mainly comprised of block and tilt up concrete but had some tremendous architectural attributes hiding such as a beautiful pine, tongue and groove barrel ceiling hiding above the old drop ceiling tiles. The property had a great location and great “bones” and it was time to start activating the site and since the property was vacant, it was a blank slate.

One of the first tenants identified, was Compass Community Collaborative (Compass). Compass was a new, public 6-12 grade charter school that focuses on project-based learning and use the community as a classroom. Their vision was innovative. Perhaps so innovative they were struggling to find a space in which the owner would take a chance on them.

The location of 2105 S College was a perfect location. It had enough space to accommodate the school and was accessible. Located on the MAX bus line, McFetridge and Lund knew both students and staff would be able to get to and from work/school with ease. Through hard work navigating the approval process, McFetridge/Lund were able to get a unanimous vote from Planning and Zoning, allowing the school to occupy the space. The school opened in August of 2018 and currently has 150 students with a waiting list of 100 and expects to reach 400 within the first five years.

AFTER

But there was still open space.

In an effort to curate the right tenant mix, McFetridge/Lund sourced a martial arts studio. The studio had been in business for more than eight years in Fort Collins and was a perfect complement to the school. Additionally, the studio operated on an opposite schedule as the school—a benefit to avoid conflict with parking.

Next in, a power lifting gym. Then, a Chiropractor. McFetridge/Lund could see their vision of creating a community of tenants that complimented one another nearing completion. They were creating a synergistic mix of health, wellness, and education. To continue this complementary trend, they signed a lease with Samana Float Center. This was the first float center in Fort Collins operated by one of the top performing float centers in the country.

The final piece of the puzzle was working with a holistic health spa to round out the tenant mix and bring the property to 100% leased. Their vision of bringing complementary tenants together and improving a well-located property with tasteful—yet not excessively expensive improvements—has proven to be successful. It created a win/win environment by bringing life back to dated and underutilized property, brought tenants to a community that needed their services and offerings and created a viable economic structure for all parties. The project went from 0% occupancy upon acquisition to 100% leased in a mere nine months. This transformation was made possible through innovation, vision, and pain-staking execution.