Evergreen Devco Inc., a†real estate†company with offices in Denver, Phoenix,†Los Angeles†and†Salt Lake City, purchased the 36-acre Falcon Marketplace at Meridian Road and East Woodmen Road in September.Russell Perkins, a principal with the company, said he doesnít think they have ever done this type of venture before, acquiring a project that has already ìbeen around the track a few times.î They usually start from scratch, he said. However, he added that they were brought in as a solution to a problem. ìWe donít plan to make any major changes; there wasnít anything wrong with what was proposed, it was just a set of unfortunate circumstances,î Perkins said. ìThe previous owners needed to relieve some pressure, and thatís where we came in.îTheir relationship is primarily with the leasing brokers, Crosbie Real Estate Group LLC, who represented Leon Capital Group, the previous owners, he said. When they needed to find someone to take over the project, Crosby Real Estate thought of Evergreen, as they have experience with King Soopers and other projects in El Paso County and Colorado Springs.One of the challenges in taking over involved the completion of the necessary stormwater and drainage projects†that were not previously addressed, Perkins said. They contracted with Drexel, Barrell & Co. in Colorado Springs, and they did many studies on the hydrology of the area, not just the water that would naturally accumulate on the property but also the inadequacy of the regional facilities of the area, he said. They suggested creating ponds and concrete work to divert the water away from Woodmen Road.Perkins said the design for the solution is complete and under construction; the big pipe that connects the two ponds is 90% finished and should be done in the next two to four weeks. He said they are just waiting on Mountain View Electric Association to complete their work in the area, and then they can finish. ìWe believe the pipe and the ponds will address the historical inadequacy,î Perkins said. ìShould we have a major water event, we believe it is secure at this point; when itís done there are structures in place to divert the water away from East Woodmen Road, even though the pipe may appear to be pointing at the road. ìItís my understanding that historically development projects in the vicinity óprimarily upstream from our project ó were designed with insufficient stormwater detention capacity. As a result and to correct those deficiencies, we were required to dedicate more than 6 acres of our land for regional storm drain ponds and construct those necessary improvements ó pipes, channels, culverts, forebays, etc. It will be a big improvement to the overall stormwater management system in the area, but the downside is thatís 6 acres of land that could have been devoted to more value-producing commercial property.îPerkins said once the drainage projects are done, it will be surveyed to make sure everything conforms to the plan; and, the necessary paperwork will be sent to Federal Emergency Management Agency and the federal government for approval; then they can pull building permits. ìWe are trying to be conservative in that we wonít get approval until next summer,î he said. ìPre-COVID, that process only took two to three months; now itís taking six months.ìKing Soopers is a highly favored retail and other businesses like to be near them. They secured their property December 2019 and are ready to start building as soon as possible. We have already started to set up potential businesses to open in the Falcon Marketplace and will start announcing them early next year.îPerkins said the rough projection is to have nine other business parcels; they expect four to five businesses to open concurrently with King Soopers; the rest should be open within the next year.ìWe are excited to provide this to the community and look forward to announcing the businesses that will be involved,î he said. Perkins also said they are open to input from the community about businesses they would like to see in the area. Let the company know, he said. Visit https://evgre.com.
