Who owns Colorado: Berthoud's rebirth; Growth restrictions finally lifted, northern Colorado town eyes expansion.

• Author: Titus, Stephen
• Position: Real estate industry

The little town of Berthoud in Northern Colorado may finally be growing up.

Pressure from a prominent developer, contrasted by a highly restrictive growth cap that reduced new-home construction to just four units in one year, had Berthoud leaders facing a grow-or-die dilemma. But an end to the nearly decade-old growth cap and a four-lane expansion of U.S. Highway 287 west of town that will bypass the town and give north-south commuters an alternative to crowded Interstate 25, is breathing new life into the city.

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During Colorado's building boom days of the mid- and late-'90s, the town of 5,000 battled against growth by setting limits of just 2 percent to 5 percent per year.

Despite the potential in thousands of acres of land surrounding the quaint city and along 1-25, only a few developers tested that shallow water. One, Loveland developer McWhinney Enterprises, the builder of the popular Outlet Mall along 1-25 and the surrounding multi-use Catellus project, sought to develop 1,600 acres of land in Berthoud with frontage on 1-25 and State Highway 56.

When city leaders scoffed, the McWhinney brothers sued Berthoud in Weld County Court to have their land deannexed from the town so that they could align themselves with a more development-friendly Johnstown.

"We won that (suit) and were working on de-annexing," explained Troy McWhinney. "I think Berthoud realized that they wanted to have some control over our project, and the voters decided to remove the growth caps. We spent a lot of time with Berthoud and we liked Berthoud, and once the growth cap was removed, it removed the barriers (to development)."

Town administrator Jim White said that a random survey of Berthoud residents showed most wanted to keep the 1-25 and State Highway 56 interchange as the gateway to town, rather than lose control of the area to nearby Johnstown. "I think what the town realized was that to not have any growth at all--dropping to 104 building permits then to eight then four in three consecutive years--there was a dramatic decline in economic stability," White said. "The lack of revenue and potential revenue from the development--cumulatively, it was economically harmful to the town."

White said he and city officials met with the McWhinneys every week for nearly 19 months ironing out a development plan for the huge parcel. With about four miles of 1-25 frontage, McWhinney Enterprises is now planning 2.4 million square...