WHO OWNS COLORADO: LOVELAND.

Development in Loveland is really a tale of two cities.

In the east is the sprawling Centerra project, the vision of Chad and Troy McWhinney of McWhinney Enterprises. In the west and other parts of town are individual developers, each with 100 or so acres, trying to etch out a plan for their land.

The city of Loveland Planning Commission is in the middle, with the daunting task of coordinating the desires of builders with the city government's own ideas for growth.

The McWhinneys' stake in Loveland goes back to the mid-1800s, when U.S. presidents Johnson, Grant and Cleveland granted their family about 650 acres of flat farmland along what is now Interstate 25.

Taking the long view of land ownership, the family held the property, which is now controlled largely by brothers Chad, 29, and Troy, 27.

In 1993, Prime Retail chose the McWhinney's farm for its 350,000 square-foot Prime Outlets shopping center, which has become the anchor of northern Colorado's biggest development project. Centerra has grown to nearly 4,000 acres, and generates more tax dollars for the city of 50,000 than any other part of town.

In the past three years, the McWhinneys have added a 123,000 square-foot Target store, six restaurants, four office buildings, two hotels (a third is in the works), and hundreds of apartments and other residential offerings -- all in an area that was open farmland in 1997. The project is so large compared with others in the city that planners adopted a set of zoning rules specifically for Centerra. The four-inch-thick binder holding the 25-year master plan for the project sits like a monolith atop the desk of Loveland's chief planner, Greg George, and includes plans for $17.5 million in infrastructure to support $10 billion in industrial, retail, office and residential construction.

"It's really like a separate city out there," George said.

Loveland is a roll-up-the-sleeves kind of town, built on farming and ranching, a legacy still reflected in the surrounding green fields. Reactions were not always warm to buildings rising from this land, and that has put pressure on an old planning system that George admits was out of date.

For years, he said, rapidly expanding Loveland labored under an old plan that bogged down builders and planners in a laborious series of public hearings, sometimes for years, and left both sides without a long-term vision of where the city was heading. "It basically forced us to treat each project as it's own PUD (Planned Unit Development) ... and create all new zoning," George said. The effect was like building a puzzle without the final picture as a reference.

To make matters worse, turnover in Loveland's planning department forced planners to re-examine ongoing projects while they struggled to understand the city's arcane zoning regulations. A new master plan, written mostly by George, streamlines much of the PUD process and paints a final picture with an outline of a specific mix of residential and commercial construction.

Now though, builders complain that the city's mix doesn't always make financial sense. And nearly a dozen projects along two north-south corridors in the northwest part of town are scrambling for city approval.

"We got lucky," said John Giuliano of Giuliano and Father Construction. "What we wanted to do on our site matches what the city wants. They kind of pick places arbitrarily; sometimes (a shopping center) doesn't fit where the city wants to put them."

And vise-versa. Tom Hann, an independent planner who's working on the 160-acre Green Valley Ranch along the city's northern border, said his project started with a 180,000-square-foot grocery center and more than 700 homes.

It has since been whittled down to a modest 60,000 square feet of commercial and 537 residences.

"They try to do more than they need to do when it comes to review, so they end up creating all these problems trying to do all this stuff," Hann said.

Yet Loveland, like the state and other governments, has had to respond to concern about urban sprawl. Letters and calls to Loveland's local paper often were negative toward the young McWhinney brothers, calling Centerra "McWhinneyville," and accusing them of a develop-and-run approach.

"I think we've proven otherwise," said Nick Christensen, a vice president at McWhinney Enterprises. "It would have been easier for them to sell the land for car dealerships and mobile home parks," said Christensen. But "this kind of development is hard work," he said.

While there is still a vocal minority against the McWhinneys, some business leaders admit development was inevitable, and they say the brothers' project is better done than they might have imagined.

Roland Mower, CEO of the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp., said the master-plan approach to the project prevented it from spreading in dozens of disjointed directions and leaving a lower-quality patchwork.

"These guys aren't in it for the quick buck," Mower said. "They've turned down projects that don't live up to their vision. That's the beauty of an overall development plan, you can coordinate everything. When they're done, they will have something the whole community can be proud of."

Despite the frustrations of other developers, town cheerleaders like Mower say they will ultimately see the big picture, then coordinate their projects with each other and the city.

"I believe the development community ... wants to see the town's long-term interests served," he said. "It will do well for them to coordinate among themselves. It's not impossible, it just takes more work. They all want to build quality developments."

1 GREEN VALLEY RANCH
       LOCATION  EAST OF WILSON STREET,
                 SOUTH OF 57TH STREET, NORTH
                 OF 50TH STREET
      DEVELOPER  WARD EAST LTD.
     LAND OWNER  RICHARD COLSON
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  MIXED USE
  ACRES (TOTAL)  APPROXIMATELY 160
NUMBER OF UNITS  APPROXIMATELY 527 (SINGLE-
  (RESIDENTIAL)  FAMILY AND MULTI-FAMILY MIX)
    PRICE RANGE  PROBABLY $175,000 TO
                 $300,000
    SQUARE FEET  APPROXIMATELY 60,000
   (COMMERCIAL)
GROUND BREAKING  SUMMER 2002
      BUILD OUT  N/A
About 25 acres is set aside for a potential large employment center.
The commercial square footage listed above is for retail/convenience.
The whole plan is subject to Loveland annexing the land.
2 HIDDEN VALLEY ESTATES
       LOCATION  ALONG U.S. 34 EAST OF DEVIL'S
                 BACKBONE
     DEVELOPER/  ROCK DEVELOPMENT LLP
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  MIXED USE
  ACRES (TOTAL)  440
NUMBER OF UNITS  637
  (RESIDENTIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  LOTS $30,0000 AND UP; HOMES
                 $150,000 AND UP
    SQUARE FEET  18,000 (RETAIL AND
   (COMMERCIAL)  MAYBE SOME OFFICE)
GROUND BREAKING  SPRING 2002
      BUILD OUT  7 TO 8 YEARS
The zoning calls for as many as four units per acre, but the developers
are keeping about 60 percent of the land for open space, at 1.5 units/
acre. As of early May, this project was in the midst of
general-development-plan approval with the planning commission.
3. CENTERRA
       LOCATION  INTERSTATE 25 AND U.S. 34,
                 NORTHWEST AND NORTHEAST
                 CORNERS
     DEVELOPER/  MCWHINNEY ENTERPRISES
     LAND DWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  MIXED USE
  ACRES (TOTAL)  4,000 PLUS, WITH 3,000 AT I-25
                 AND U.S. 34, AND APPROXIMATELY
                 1,600 ON THE EAST SIDE OF I-25
                 FIVE MINUTES SOUTH
NUMBER OF UNITS  700 UNDER WAY WITH MORE
  (RESIDENTIAL)  THAN 5,000 PLANNED
    SQUARE FEET  ABOUT 1 MILLION TO DATE, WITH
   (COMMERCIAL)  ROOM FOR 10 MILLION-PLUS
    PRICE RANGE  $120,000 TO $500,000-PLUS
GROUND BREAKING  1992
      BUILD OUT  2025
The McWhinney project is the biggest development in Northern colorado.
Centerra started as Rocky Mountain Village, anchored by Prime Outlet
Mall, and has since grown to include everything from single-family and
multi-family residential to light industrial. Brothers Chad and Troy
McWhinney still display original U.S. Presidential land grants in
their offices.
4. KENDALL BROOK
       LOCATION  43RD STREET AND TAFT AVENUE
     DEVELOPER/  CHATEAU DEVELOPMENT CO.
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  MIXED USE
  ACRES (TOTAL)  168, INCLUDING, 3.6 OF
                 COMMERCIAL
NUMBER OF UNITS  404 SINGLE-FAMILY, 184
  (RESIDENTIAL)  MULTI-FAMILY
    SQUARE FEET  N/A
   (COMMERCIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  N/A
GROUND BREAKING  SUMMER 2001
      BUILD OUT  N/A
The developer is negotiating to sell most of the building sites to a
major national home builder.
5. GIULIANO ADDITION
       LOCATION  WEST OF WILSON AVENUE AND
                 NORTH OF 43RD STREET
     DEVELOPER/  GIULIAND & FATHER CONSTRUCTION
     LAND OWNER  CO. INC.
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  MIXED USE
  ACRES (TOTAL)  160
NUMBER OF UNITS  APPROXIMATELY 450
  (RESIDENTIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  $110,000 TO $750,000-PLUS
    SQUARE FEET  150,000 ON 14 TO 16 ACRES
   (COMMERCIAL)
GROUND BREAKING  SPRING 2002
      BUILD OUT  N/A
The site includes an elementary school and walking trails that will
connect with other developments, including Buck First (another
Giuliano project) and Wilson Commons. The plan is under consideration
by the planning commission.
6. SEVEN LAKES
       LOCATION  NORTH OF 29TH STREET,
                 SOUTH OF HORSESHOE LAKE
     DEVELOPER/  GLEN PROPERTIES INC.
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  RESIDENTIAL
  ACRES (TOTAL)  130.91
NUMBER OF UNITS  175 SINGLE-FAMILY, 110
  (RESIDENTIAL)  PATIO HOMES, AND 82-132
                 MULTI-FAMILY
    SQUARE FEET  NONE
   (COMMERCIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  $180,000 TO $500,000
GROUND BREAKING  JULY 2001
      BUILD OUT  N/A
This project, which the developer says is approved by the planning
commission, is nearly surrounded by lakes. Seven builders will
construct homes in the development.
7. DAKOTA GLEN
       LOCATION  NORTH OF 14TH STREET, WEST
                 OF WILSON AVENUE
     DEVELOPER/  GLEN PROPERTIES INC.
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  RESIDENTIAL
  ACRES (TOTAL)  127.66
NUMBER OF UNITS  261 SINGLE-FAMILY, 68 TO
  (RESIDENTIAL)  102 MULTI-FAMILY
    SQUARE FEET  NONE
   (COMMERCIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  N/A
GROUND BREAKING  2003
      BUILD OUT  N/A
Seven builders plan to construct homes in the development.
Forty acres of open space are planned. The property is just
starting the planning commission review process.
8. EAGLE BROOK MEADOWS
       LOCATION  NORTH OF 50TH STREET,
                 SOUTH OF 57TH STREET AND
                 WEST OF TAFT AVENUE
     DEVELOPER/  CHATEAU DEVELOPMENT CO.
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  RESIDENTIAL
  ACRES (TOTAL)  117
NUMBER OF UNITS  450 TOTAL, 130 MULTI-
  (RESIDENTIAL)  FAMILY
    SQUARE FEET  N/A
   (COMMERCIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  $120,000 TO $300,000
GROUND BREAKING  2003
      BUILD OUT  N/A
The project is still in the process of zoning and annexation by
the city of Loveland.
9. MEADOWBROOK RIDGE
       LOCATION  22ND STREET, WEST OF
                 WILSON AT THE DEAD END
     DEVELOPER/  KEIRNS DEVELOPMENT LLC
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  RESIDENTIAL
  ACRES (TOTAL)  125
NUMBER OF UNITS  350 TO 450
  (RESIDENTIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  $175,000 AND UP FOR
                 SINGLE-FAMILY, ABOUT
                 $150,000 FOR TOWNHOMES
                 AND DUPLEXES
    SQUARE FEET  NONE
   (COMMERCIAL)
GROUND BREAKING  SUMMER 2002
      BUILD OUT  N/A
The land has never been zoned, so the planning commission must
approve the PUD.
10. THE WATERFRONT AT BOYD LAKE
       LOCATION  ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF
                 BOYD LAKE
     DEVELOPER/  THE GENNESEE CO. LLC/
     LAND OWNER  WATER. FRONT LLC
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  RESIDENTIAL
  ACRES (TOTAL)  170
NUMBER OF UNITS  200 SINGLE-FAMILY
  (RESIDENTIAL)
    SQUARE FEET  NONE
   (COMMERCIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  N/A
GROUND BREAKING  SPRING 2002
      BUILD OUT  N/A
This is the second phase of development along Boyd Lake.
Lakeside lots in the first phase sold for $220,000 to
$230,000 and were bought up in a matter of weeks. Some
have already resold for $300,000 or more.
11. ALFORD LAKE
       LOCATION  EAST OF N. TAFT AVENUE,
                 QUARTER-MILE SOUTH OF
                 57TH STREET
     DEVELOPER/  MSP COMPANIES
     LAND OWNER
          PHONE  [phone]
   PROJECT TYPE  RESIDENTIAL
  ACRES (TOTAL)  140
NUMBER OF UNITS  475; 345 SINGLE-FAMILY, 130
                 MULTI-FAMILY
    SQUARE FEET  NONE
   (COMMERCIAL)
    PRICE RANGE  $155,000 TO $450,000
GROUND BREAKING  FALL 2001
      BUILD OUT  2006
Housing will range from patio homes up to custom and semi-custom
homes on lots of 12,000 square feet.