Ground breaks on Larimer County offices in Loveland – Loveland Reporter-Herald

By Pamela Johnson

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Robbie Hoff, 3, plays in the dirt with a shovel Thursday after a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Larimer County Building in Loveland. Robbie is the son of Kevin Hoff, project manager for Haselden, the contractor constructing the new building. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

In the empty field where a two-story Larimer County office building will be constructed over the next year, county commissioner Steve Johnson described "a facility that works for today and for tomorrow."

Larimer County and Loveland officials gathered at First Street and Denver Avenue for an official groundbreaking for the $19.5 million county office building in Loveland, a project on which construction will begin Wednesday.

"This represents an opportunity for folks in the south part of the county to receive the same level of service as folks in the north part of the county, the county seat," said Tom Donnelly, commissioner who lives in Loveland and who pushed for the new building.

He and other county and city officials lauded the staff that provides human services, health department and clerk and recorder services out of an "inadequate" facility at Sixth Street and Cleveland Avenue. They said that with the new office, the building will match the "superb service" already provided.

"Our community is growing," said Johnson. "The facility on Sixth Street was probably pretty great when it opened, but we have mothers sitting on the staircase with children as they wait for service.

"This new building is going to be pretty great."

The two-story, 46,000-square-foot building will house all of those existing services as well as the Workforce Center, the elections department and a southern hub of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. The parking lot will hold 229 vehicles, and the 8.9 acres offers room to grow.

Though there were some issues to work through in the planning and the decision of where to build, Johnson, Donnelly and Loveland Mayor Cecil Gutierrez said construction would not be happening without cooperation between the city and county. Together, they celebrated the new building that they described as a great addition for all residents of South Larimer County.

The $19.5 million project is being paid out of money the county saved from a previous voter-approved sales tax along with a $1 million grant from the Department of Local Affairs and about $700,000 in fee waivers from the city of Loveland. Donnelly touted the fact that the county planned ahead and saved for the project and is not taking on debt to build the new facility.

"It's going to be paid for entirely with cash," said Donnelly.

Recently, Donnelly looked back over citizen surveys from the 1980s and one of the top priorities, even 30 years ago, was upgrading the facilities in Loveland. He joked about the wheels of government turning slowly, then stressed the excitement that this project has become a reality through tenacity and several years worth of planning and work.

The tax money was initially earmarked to upgrade the existing building, but in 2013, voters agreed to let the county use the money for a new building instead, leading to the search for a site. The county bought the land at First and Denver in 2016.

The design by the Architect Studio looked to current and future needs, and the site is large enough for future expansion, Donnelly noted. Plus, the county and city will continue to work on phase two, a future expansion of probation facilities at the Loveland Police and Courts Building.

Haselden Construction will begin work on the building at First and Denver on Wednesday, and the offices are expected to be complete late summer or early fall of next year.

Gutierrez said he, as a Loveland resident, looks forward to having the new facility open for those who live in the south end of the county.

"Having this building down here in southern Larimer County will be very, very crucial to meeting the needs of our citizens," said Gutierrez.

Pamela Johnson: 970-699-5405, johnsonp@reporter-herald.com, http://www.twitter.com/RHPamelaJ.

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Ground breaks on Larimer County offices in Loveland - Loveland Reporter-Herald