Partnerships Bring Community Project to Life
City officials, staff, project team and community members gathered in Loveland, Colo. in August to celebrate the official grand opening of The Foundry.
The Foundry is a $76 million public/private partnership with the City of Loveland, Brinkman and investment partners Brue Baukol Capital Partners and Colmena Group. Formerly known as “South Catalyst”, the project was conceptualized by the City of Loveland more than a decade ago as part of their Downtown Strategic Plan. The development includes Patina Flats, two mixed-use apartment buildings, first-run MetroLux Dine-In Theatre, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a 460-stall parking garage and a community plaza. Brinkman is an owner in all parts of the project, Brue Baukol Capital Partners co-owns the mixed-use buildings and theatre, and Colmena Group co-owns the hotel. The City owns the public parking garage.
“This has been a true community partnership,” said Jay Hardy, President of Brinkman. “The City has driven the vision for this dynamic development that we hope will add to the vibrancy of downtown Loveland.”
The grand opening program also included remarks from Brinkman and City officials, as well as a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Larimer County. Haslund-Nielson remarked on the partnership between The Foundry and the Boys & Girls Club for the groundbreaking two years ago.
“We painted the hard hats and shovels that they used for the groundbreaking,” Haslund-Nielson recalled. “We were supposed to paint our vision for the future of Loveland, and The Foundry is making it come true.”
Mike Scholl reveled in the fact that downtown Loveland now has a first-run movie theatre right in the heart of the downtown district. “It’s going to draw even more people downtown to spend time with their families.”
Although the event celebrated the opening of the entire project, the public parking garage and Patina Flats have been open since August of 2018. The apartments have remained 96% leased since shortly after opening. TownePlace Suites by Marriott opened on July 31st with occupancy rates hovering around 80% in the first two weeks. Catering to business travelers and tourists, the hotel offers 102 rooms with free wireless internet, pet-friendly accommodations, indoor pool, fitness center and 1,000 square feet of divisible meeting space.
On the same day as the grand opening, seven-screen, 625-seat MetroLux Dine-In Theatre celebrated their first day of business. This flagship of the 43,000-square-foot central community plaza is a main draw for entertainment and arts to Downtown Loveland. The theatre features first-run movies and includes Scripted, a full bar and restaurant, and reclining seats.
Hardy announced at the event that the first commercial lease for the mixed-use buildings has officially been signed by Mo’ Betta Gumbo who will move from their current 4th Street location. Two additional tenants are likely to be announced soon.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was followed by a public concert that was part of the event series managed by the Loveland Downtown Partnership. The group is responsible for ongoing community programming in the public plaza.
