Northern Colorado Real Estate Portfolio Auction

From http://www.mywindsornow.com/
http://www.mywindsornow.com/article/20110210/NEWS/702109997

Windsor developer Martin Lind is auctioning off a variety of his A-1 Northern Colorado properties on March 17.

More than 50 parcels with a one-time value of $120 million, including 1,550 acres, will go up on the auction block at noon St. Patrick's Day at the Embassy Suites hotel in Loveland off Interstate 25 and Crossroads Boulevard.

J.P. King, a premier auction marketing firm out of Alabama, is promoting the auction that will include residential lots and homes, farms, industrial acreage, water and mineral rights and commercial tracts.

“That's why were going to have this auction. We're going to really find out what the value is. A lot of these buildings I would never have dreamed in a million years I would sell, but it's important for me to put them on the auction so that everybody knows I'm sincere about this thing,” said Lind in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. “I really am excited about northern Colorado getting some new owners of this stuff and new energy, and I mean that with all sincerity. I worked hard to make sure the entitlements are in place and that Windsor's front door is protected. I feel really good of passing the baton on this entitled property. It's a strategic auction to bring new energy into these properties.”

Lind, the president and owner of Water Valley Land Company in Windsor, said interested buyers can access the properties at http://www.jpking.com/.

“In this last three years of recession, I've been able to perform and hang on,” Lind said. “Quite frankly, I've ended up being the sole owner of many properties because of banks being shut down or partner defaults. It's now very clear that the recession is starting to leave and it's time to go back and get busy, and I don't want to get busy on all these properties. The reality of it is I want to go back to work with the quality projects that I really am passionate about.”

Lind said some of the 28 listings include finished commercial lots that are ready for building permits in front of the Embassy Suites. He said there are raw commercial lots that are smaller parcels and raw commercial lots that are larger parcels in excess of 100 acres at Windsor Eagle Crossing at the corner of Larimer Road 5 and Crossroads Boulevard right in front of the Budweiser Events Center and The Ranch.

“There are some multi-family parcels in Water Valley South in Windsor. There are finished patio home lots in Stone Water in Water Valley South that are going to be very, very sexy property,” Lind said. “It's a patio home project where they have orchards and vineyards and tennis courts down there.”

Lind said another property up for auction is a light industrial building at Diamond Valley in Windsor.

“We'll have retail buildings in Water Valley Village, and the Perkins' building over at I-25,” Lind said. “We have a farm in Severance, a farm south of Windsor, some property out there at Iron Mountain, some vacant parcels. There is a 25-acre parcel that's at the front door of the Cabela's buildings in Sidney, Nebraska. Don't even ask me how I ended up with that. I don't even want to go there. We've got real pretty commercial and residential property in west Greeley on 83rd Avenue and West 10th called Boomerang Ranch.”

Lind said there is also an 80-acre farm right in between Fort Collins and Laporte on Taft that's a gravel operation.

“It's a future mini-Water Valley. It's almost done,” Lind said.

Lind said he will also be auctioning off property on the north side of the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport.

“I'm keeping my Airpark of the Rockies parcel. Hopefully, I'll be able to focus a lot of energy on that after this auction,” Lind said.

Lind said he's comfortable with J.P. King running the auction.

“It's the oldest firm in the nation. We interviewed a lot of them and were very, very impressed with J.P. King's ability to do what we're looking for,” Lind said. “People know when they go to a J.P. King auction, they're not going to be deceived or cheated. That's really something that was very, very important to me.”

Lind said the auction will be broadcast live over the Internet.

“You can be in Hawaii and if there's a property you want you can live bid it,” Lind said.

Lind and several developers last year were selling off about 5,000 acres of mixed-used property throughout northern Colorado in one portfolio for $177 million, but he said that was canceled in December.

Lind, who turned 50 in January, said he wants to spend more time with his family. The CEO of the Colorado Eagles, Lind said he's enjoying an expanded role with the management of the hockey organization.

“I can't do the next 30 years like the last 30,” Lind said. “We've run really hard the last 30 years, and it's time for me to pass the baton and spend a lot more time watching lacrosse and football and fishing and hunting again and working on deals on a peaceful schedule instead of a push, push, push frantic schedule. If the auction goes good and we recover a big part of our equity we've got invested in these things, I've got a lot of projects I want to do right here in Water Valley.”