Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

Berthoud’s I-25 activity

August 17, 2017 | Local News

Guest Columnist Walter Elish, Business Development Manager for the Town of Berthoud

It’s not hard to see the activity at the Berthoud Interstate 25 interchange. A lot of work has taken place to accommodate the new Love’s Travel Center, scheduled to open this November at the southwest corner of the Berthoud I-25 interchange. But the hard work started much before crews began moving dirt. It’s important to know how we got to this point and what it took to attract development to this area of town.

On paper this area can be enticing to a developer because of its central location along the very fast-growing Northern Colorado I-25 corridor. On the east side of I-25 is Wilson Ranch, a 1,600-acre site that was approved for a significant multi-use development back in 2004. At the south west corner of I-25 and Highway 56, there is a 110-acre site and just down the road on County Road 7 is the 160-acre Berthoud Technology Center. It’s easy to see how this area should be attractive for development. After all, it has the one basic attribute needed for success, an excellent and strategic location.

However, there are plenty of other sites along the I-25 corridor that can be just as attractive.

In today’s development markets a good location is simply not enough. Berthoud needed a distinguishing feature. It came with the construction of the wastewater treatment plant in the northeast corner of the I-25 interchange.

It wasn’t until the town secured monies from both the public and private sectors to construct the wastewater treatment plant that this location became attractive and set it apart from other I-25 commercial sites. Along with the wastewater treatment plant, the town also invested in infrastructure by running water and sewer lines on both sides of I-25.

Love’s decision to locate a new travel center on the 17-acre site in the southwest corner of the Berthoud interchange at Highway 56 and I-25 opened that site for new development. Love’s decision to locate at that intersection has also spurred the interest of other developer’s in locating facilities in that vicinity. For example, the Berthoud Technology Center, located on CR 7, is also now seeing new interest and activity.

We anticipate attracting more commercial and retail activity to the I-25 sub-area, while manufacturers will be drawn to the Berthoud Technology Center. The 1,600-acre Wilson Ranch project, on the southeast corner of the intersection, has the potential to be a featured development in Northern Colorado. With good planning and town support this and the other I-25 sites will bring long-lasting benefits to the town and region.

Walt Elish

Business development manager

Town of Berthoud

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