Oil and Gas Firms Dig Deep for New Water
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THE LISTS CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE | SUBMIT BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR FUTURE BIZWEST LISTS AT [email protected] MALL PROJECTS Dogged by reluctant retailers, 3 CANNABIS RESEARCH UNC studying cancer-fi ghting potential of marijuana, 4 DISCOVERIES International climate change research center at CU/CSU, 9 THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF THE BOULDER VALLEY AND NORTHERN COLORADO VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 14 | JULY 25-AUG. 7, 2014 Oil and gas fi rms dig deep for new water in Lake Loveland. Applications to tap An acre-foot equals 326,000 gal- groundwater soar lons, or enough to supply the needs of 2.5 households in one year. By con- BY STEVE LYNN trast, the state agency saw no appli- [email protected] cations for non-tributary water use specifi cally for oil and gas before 2011, Applications to the state of Colora- do to use deep underground aquifers See related story for oil and gas development in North- Are the recent Greeley quakes ern Colorado have surged, refl ect- tied to to disposal of fracking wastewater? ing the new lengths that oil and gas Page 3 companies have gone to obtain the scarce resource in the South Platte said Kevin Rein, deputy state engi- River Basin. neer in the state Division of Water More than a dozen distinct parcels Resources. The present oil boom of land have applied to withdraw began in 2009 after EOG Resources a total of 35,600 acre feet of non- Inc. (NYSE: EOG) drilled the Jake tributary groundwater for potential well. Last year, oil production set a use in oil and gas development since record at more than 64 million bar- 2011, according to the state Division rels, 80 percent of which came from of Water Resources. The total nearly Weld County. triples the 12,700-acre-foot capacity ➤ See Water, 11 Loveland kickstarts downtown plan with 15-parcel purchase BY DOUG STORUM a major new offi ce space on the site. WHAT’S [email protected] The Loveland City Council earlier this month approved use of $6.25 LOVELAND – The city of Love- million to buy the land, now occupied NEXT land is buying 15 parcels of land in by old houses, duplexes and small downtown Loveland, a key step in businesses. Some of the contracts FOR revitalizing a two-block area that has include allowances for businesses to been on the city’s development wish relocate. The city is using $2.25 mil- list for the past four years. lion from its general fund and $4 mil- I-25? But questions remain about how lion from its council capital reserves Truck traffi c may be the project will be fi nanced, whether to purchase the properties. blessing in disguise. the city will need to condemn proper- The South Catalyst Project bound- ➤ See story, 7 ties if owners don’t agree to sell, and ary runs from First to just north of what role Larimer County will play Third streets south to north, and JONATHAN CASTNER/FOR BIZWEST in the deal. The county is building ➤ See Loveland, 2 CONTENTS Briefcase .............................19 Job creation Business News Digest ..........8 Colorado ranks near the top .............................................15 Editorial ...............................30 Sales smarts For the Record ....................23 By Bob Bolak ......................................................................15 Nonprofi t Network...............19 Real estate On the Job ..........................17 By Dave Pettigrew ..............................................................16 The Eye .................................3 Time Out .............................18 BizWest is an independent, locally owned business journal. 2 | July 25-Aug. 7, 2014 BizWest | www.bcbr.com | www.ncbr.com LOVELAND from 1 Cleveland to Lincoln avenues west South Catalyst Project to east. If all the land is purchased, the city will own the two-block area This is a list of addresses for land that the city of Loveland is in the process of buying for its South Catalyst Project and will raze the existing structures and the amounts it expects to spend on each one. to make way for redevelopment. The E 4th St. 210 N. Cleveland Ave. $199,900 city already owns parking lots and Cleveland Ave. Lincoln Ave. a plaza area it created in 2011 using 206 N. Cleveland Ave. $275,000 grant money to acquire and remedi- 130 N. Cleveland Ave. $540,000, includes business relocation ate land at 310 N. Lincoln Ave. that E 3rd St. 215 E. Second St. $200,000 previously housed a cleaners. 219 E. Second St. $175,000 As of July 22, the city had nine of 227 E. Second St. $165,000 the 15 parcels under contract with the rest still in negotiations. Mike Scholl, 220-232 E. Second St. $230,000 Loveland’s economic development E 2nd St. 240-242 E. Second St. $250,000 manager, said the city has not had for- 201 N. Lincoln Ave. Under negotiation mal discussions on what it would do 123 N. Lincoln Ave. $380,000, includes business relocation if a property owner doesn’t agree to E 1st St. 320 N. Cleveland Ave. $549,000 its terms. Whether eminent domain The redevelopment area is 310 N. Cleveland Ave. Under negotiation will be used to condemn proper- about four acres, from roughly ties isn’t clear. “We’re not there yet,” First to Third streets south 304 N. Cleveland Ave. Under negotiation Scholl said. to north, and Cleveland to 217 E. Third St. Under negotiation Lincoln avenues west to east. Scholl said he hopes to have all the 216 E. Third St. $575,000 deals done by December. He also said the financing pack- Source: City of Loveland BizWest graphic age has not been worked out for the mixed-use project that is expected to “We hope to have a shovel in the expect it will be in excess of $30 mil- said the city has not decided if it will consist of apartments, a parking struc- ground within the next six months,” lion,” Puffer said. “We are approach- lease, sell or hand over title of the ture, the county building and possibly Scholl said. ing this as a private development to land to Michaels Development. “We office and retail space. Scott Puffer, a vice president for raise private equity and debt. Any gap haven’t gotten that far, yet,” he said. development at Michaels Develop- would need to be discussed with the Development rights ment and the company’s lead on this city. … I presume the project is going New county building Scholl said the city decided to project, said that timetable is aggres- to need support from the city to make Larimer County is expected to accelerate the project, putting the sive and is dependent upon finalizing it happen.” anchor the south end of the project purchase of land in motion, after what the project will consist of and Scholl said the city’s part in the area with an approximately three-sto- it signed an agreement giving New the city gaining control of the site. partnership is acquiring the land. The ry, 45,000-square-foot building, and Jersey-based Michaels Development “We are working on a program to city’s staff worked with local Realtors Scholl said a national high-tech com- the rights to the project. determine the actual budget, but I to assemble the land package. Scholl ➤ See Loveland, 20 Clinton Baker, Partner, Adam Sweetman, Kennedy and Coe Sweetman Investments GET THE BUSINESS OUT OF THE OFFICE. At Kennedy and Coe, we have the courage to do something GLHUHQWWRJHWWRQHZSODFHV Even if it means rolling up our sleeves, and our trousers. www.kcoe.com | 800.303.3241 Consultants BizWest | www.bcbr.com | www.ncbr.com July 25-Aug. 7, 2014 | 3 CU study links frack-waste wells, quakes BY STEVE LYNN [email protected] GREELEY – A 10,800-foot-deep well into which NGL Water Solutions DJ LLC injected oil and natural-gas wastewater is linked to more than 200 earthquakes, a University of Col- orado Boulder scientist said. CU scientists detected the earth- quakes with equipment in June after a quake in Greeley in May, said Anne Sheehan, geophysics professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and fellow in the Cooperative Insti- tute for Research in Environmental Science. The team found “quite a few little JONATHAN CASTNER/FOR BIZWEST earthquakes” with epicenters within Developers of Foothills Mall in Fort Collins recently missed another financing deadline due in part to their inability to lure new about two miles of the well, she said. retailers to the long-awaited shopping center. Other malls in the region face similar leasing challenges. The wastewater-injection well is the subject of a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission investiga- Mall makeovers face varied challenges tion into whether NGL Water Solu- tions violated the terms of its permit BY JOSHUA LINDENSTEIN for $6.1 million two years ago by on attracting Generation Y with a related to the volume of wastewater [email protected] Moonbeam Capital Investments, sits combination of dining, entertainment injected by the company. more than a quarter vacant – and and lifestyle options in addition to “We are reviewing documents Operations manager Dan Marti- that’s factoring in one of the two for- shopping. to determine whether the well was nez likens leasing efforts at Greeley mer Dillard’s anchor stores that now “Retail sales are still plodding operated within permit guidelines,” Mall to a big freight train slowing is occupied by a seasonal Halloween along with strong spots and weak Colorado Department of Natural down. That train takes a long time to store. Both Dillard’s stores closed in spots,” said Allen Ginsborg, princi- Resources spokesman Todd Hartman slow down or stop. Likewise, speed- 2008. pal of Village at the Peaks developer said in an email.