February 9, 2011 --
WINDSOR - Martin Lind, developer of the 1,500-acre Water Valley mixed-use development project in Windsor, will auction several of his prime properties on March 17.
Lind told the Business Report he is putting about 40 parcels on the auction block with an estimated value of nearly $95 million, based on real estate appraisals over the last two years. Several of the parcels are in or near Water Valley, but others to be auctioned include land in Eagle Crossing near The Ranch and at the site of the former Iron Mountain Autoplex on U.S. Highway 34 west of Greeley.
Other properties include three parcels in Water Valley West that comprise a total of 800 acres, zoned for 1,200 residential units and a half million square feet of commercial space already annexed and master-planned into the town of Windsor. The properties set for auction total about 1,500 acres, Lind said. Some include both water and mineral rights.
The auction will be held at noon at the Embassy Suites Loveland hotel near I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard, just south of The Ranch and north of Eagle Crossing. The auction - which will be broadcast globally over the Internet - will be managed by J.P. King Auction Co. Inc. of Gadsden, Ala.
"This is the auction of the year for this region," said Craig King, president and CEO of J.P. King. "We anticipate great interest from local, regional and national buyers."
J.P. King will conduct a national marketing campaign to help promote the properties and their locations. Property tours will be available during the 10 days before the auction for potential buyers. The property tour headquarters will be at Embassy Suites.
Lind said the properties to be sold are not distressed or facing foreclosure. "We're having an auction but it's not a bad deal, not a distress deal," he said. "It's primarily all mine -there's no banks, no loans. I'm putting these lands on here because they're going to draw a crowd and increase the vibrancy of the auction."
Lind said he's also going to make the auction properties more attractive by offering 50 percent financing for three years at 4.5 percent interest.
Lind said the recent downturn in the economy and slowdown in the residential and commercial sector played a small part in his auction decision. But with signs of a recovery ahead, he said his desire to shed some properties is mostly to get back to managing a smaller portfolio.
"My life has been incredibly blessed," he said. "I want to refocus my energy on the priorities that are nearest to my heart and let a whole new breed of developer come into Northern Colorado."
Those priority properties, he said, include Water Valley and land adjacent to the Fort Collins-Loveland Airport.
Lind had been listing many of the properties to be auctioned with fellow developers Jon Turner and Craig Harrison in a combined 5,000-acre online offering totaling $173 million. However, after about a year on the market, there were few offers.
Harrison, whose company, Harrison Resource Corp., is handling the online marketing for the combined package, said he thinks taking some of Lind's properties to auction is a good idea.
"I think the timing will be very good going into the auction," he said. "I think that day will determine the (state of the Northern Colorado real estate) market. You can't argue with the results of an auction."
J.P. King was the auction house that handled the sale of the former Holcim cement plant property in LaPorte in 2005, when 75 parcels totaling 2,886 acres were auctioned for a total of $16.8 million.
Lind said he doesn't mind seeing some of his properties go for less than what they had been listed for. "People are going to be looking for bargains, and I don't blame them," he said. "Selling a little bit too cheap is just fine with me. I can't think of anything better than having a whole new group of people come in with new energy and enthusiasm."
For more information on the auction, visit www.jpking.com. For more details on this story, see Friday's edition of NCBR.
Lind told the Business Report he is putting about 40 parcels on the auction block with an estimated value of nearly $95 million, based on real estate appraisals over the last two years. Several of the parcels are in or near Water Valley, but others to be auctioned include land in Eagle Crossing near The Ranch and at the site of the former Iron Mountain Autoplex on U.S. Highway 34 west of Greeley.
Other properties include three parcels in Water Valley West that comprise a total of 800 acres, zoned for 1,200 residential units and a half million square feet of commercial space already annexed and master-planned into the town of Windsor. The properties set for auction total about 1,500 acres, Lind said. Some include both water and mineral rights.
The auction will be held at noon at the Embassy Suites Loveland hotel near I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard, just south of The Ranch and north of Eagle Crossing. The auction - which will be broadcast globally over the Internet - will be managed by J.P. King Auction Co. Inc. of Gadsden, Ala.
"This is the auction of the year for this region," said Craig King, president and CEO of J.P. King. "We anticipate great interest from local, regional and national buyers."
J.P. King will conduct a national marketing campaign to help promote the properties and their locations. Property tours will be available during the 10 days before the auction for potential buyers. The property tour headquarters will be at Embassy Suites.
Lind said the properties to be sold are not distressed or facing foreclosure. "We're having an auction but it's not a bad deal, not a distress deal," he said. "It's primarily all mine -there's no banks, no loans. I'm putting these lands on here because they're going to draw a crowd and increase the vibrancy of the auction."
Lind said he's also going to make the auction properties more attractive by offering 50 percent financing for three years at 4.5 percent interest.
Lind said the recent downturn in the economy and slowdown in the residential and commercial sector played a small part in his auction decision. But with signs of a recovery ahead, he said his desire to shed some properties is mostly to get back to managing a smaller portfolio.
"My life has been incredibly blessed," he said. "I want to refocus my energy on the priorities that are nearest to my heart and let a whole new breed of developer come into Northern Colorado."
Those priority properties, he said, include Water Valley and land adjacent to the Fort Collins-Loveland Airport.
Lind had been listing many of the properties to be auctioned with fellow developers Jon Turner and Craig Harrison in a combined 5,000-acre online offering totaling $173 million. However, after about a year on the market, there were few offers.
Harrison, whose company, Harrison Resource Corp., is handling the online marketing for the combined package, said he thinks taking some of Lind's properties to auction is a good idea.
"I think the timing will be very good going into the auction," he said. "I think that day will determine the (state of the Northern Colorado real estate) market. You can't argue with the results of an auction."
J.P. King was the auction house that handled the sale of the former Holcim cement plant property in LaPorte in 2005, when 75 parcels totaling 2,886 acres were auctioned for a total of $16.8 million.
Lind said he doesn't mind seeing some of his properties go for less than what they had been listed for. "People are going to be looking for bargains, and I don't blame them," he said. "Selling a little bit too cheap is just fine with me. I can't think of anything better than having a whole new group of people come in with new energy and enthusiasm."
For more information on the auction, visit www.jpking.com. For more details on this story, see Friday's edition of NCBR.
