Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

138 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 here. We are a community of firsts, and we always attract businesses that are looking to come into Colorado. They choose Johnstown for a reason”. “I think the reason is we are open to new ideas”, said Mayor Mellon. “We want to be different. We don’t want to be our neighbors. We want these unique, can’t-find-it-anywhere-else kind of retailers, and they gravitate to us”. But Buc-ee’s isn’t the only new business coming to Town. Just recently the Town worked with Fortune 500 company, Kroger to build its first ever spoke facility in Johnstown. The facility will serve as a regional hub that will deliver groceries to resident’s front doors. The facility will create at least 100 net new jobs and provide residents across the region access to on demand grocery delivery services. “We also have several mixed-use projects underway with the majority along the Hwy- 60 corridor” cited LeCerf. “Ledge Rock Center, which is currently in construction, will add over 1,000 new homes and over 700,000 SF of commercial space and has already secured anchor tenants such as Murdoch’s and Woods Supermarket, another first for Colorado”. As Crosthwaite details, “we are experiencing more of what we call horizontal mixed-use projects”. “Rather than the traditional vertical, where you have commercial at the bottom and residential at the top. With horizontal mixed- use projects there can be a synergy between residential, neighborhood services, commercial, retail, and office space all within one master planned development”. “Folks want to live, work, and play in one space. Being able to work with developers who understand how to create that synergy is key to our success”. Mayor Mellon added, “Our success is also due in part to strategic changes and updates we’ve made that allow developers to be creative with their projects”. “We just went through a major update of our development code, and it allows for vertical and horizontal mixed-use development. We are open to partnering with developers to bring innovative projects into the Town. I think we’ve established the bones of a development system that will allow us to approve most reasonable suggestions”. Crosthwaite praised the strategic moves and wise investments of the Johnstown Town Council, and Mayor Mellon cited additional developments under construction. Creating local talent “We have really great partners when it comes to the counties in the region”, said Crosthwaite. “Johnstown is part of both Weld and Larimer County, so we get regional access to the resources and programs both counties provide. Such partnerships benefit our residents and our major industries who utilize the county’s workforce services and programs that provide access to a skilled talent force”. LeCerf added, “we also work closely with our school districts to ensure we’re creating a skilled talent force locally”.