LPR Construction opts out of buying Loveland-owned property for new HQ

LOVELAND — LPR Construction will not move forward with plans to purchase a former Larimer County administration building at 205 E. Sixth St., a downtown Loveland location where the company had planned to build a new headquarters.

Loveland city leaders had been working with LPR Construction to facilitate that project since 2015. LPR is engaged in industrial construction and steel erection, including projects such as the Denver Art Museum, Denver Union Station and the Marlins Park in Florida.

The company, which is part of the Longbow Industries LLC corporate umbrella, informed Loveland city manager Steve Adams on Tuesday that it would not be moving forward with the deal, which included a $750,000 economic-development incentive that would have helped cover redevelopment costs.

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“Over the course of the last year, after a long period of due diligence and investigation, we determined the costs to renovate and customize the county building to accommodate our needs is substantially higher than anticipated,” LPR Construction CEO Linc Turner wrote in a letter to Adams. “We do not believe this is a prudent investment at this time.”

Turner could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The need for such a large space was reduced by the recent opening of a satellite office in Louisiana, according to the letter.

LPR Construction’s letter also cited comments from Loveland mayor Jacki Marsh as a factor in the decision.

According to reports from the Loveland Reporter-Herald, Marsh questioned whether LPR Construction agreed on a fair price for the county building. She also raised concerns over the fairness of the city’s bidding process.

Marsh was out of town Wednesday and was unavailable for comment.

The company’s decision is “disappointing from an economic perspective,” Loveland economic-development director Kelly Jones said. “Their hearts were in the right place, and they tried so hard to make it work for their operation.”

LPR Construction, which employs about 500 people at its existing Loveland location on Des Moines Avenue, had planned to add as many as 1,500 new jobs over the next decade.

The headquarters project isn’t moving forward, but Jones said the city isn’t giving up hope for those new jobs.

While she couldn’t speak definitively on behalf of LPR Construction, she said, “All indications are they are continuing to grow.”

The new jobs may be added more slowly than previously planned, but Jones said she still expects them to come.

City economic-development leaders are making it a priority to do whatever they can to “make sure LPR and Longbow are still dedicated to this community,” she said.

If LPR Construction isn’t going to build a corporate headquarters at the 205 E. Sixth St. property, Jones said she hopes another company will.

“To put a primary employer and corporate headquarters in our downtown would be the best outcome,” she said.

Since the city announced LRP Construction’s decision to back out of the deal, several other companies have reached out with interest in buying the property, which sits in a designated opportunity zone.

“That’s been drawing interest,” she said of the opportunity zone location. “It’s an added bonus that will help market the site.”