Oct. 6--For $18.5 million, you can have it all -- 2,200 acres of pristine Colorado Springs foothills property that is prime habitat for dozens of wildlife species.
More to the point, Nike Inc. could have it all -and possibly preserve much of a mountainside where hot-and-heavy development laps at the edges. The price tag would be mere pocket change for the $9 billion athletic-wear giant.
The Beaverton, Ore.-based company wants up to 700 acres in the foothills isolated from neighbors, where it plans to build a complex employing up to 5,000 people.
Nike would have to buy the entire parcel -- it is for sale as a single tract.
Known as the JL Ranch, the spread stretches for two miles along Colorado Highway 115 at the southern edge of Colorado Springs, and sits between Fort Carson and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base.
Nike scouts twice toured the ranch by helicopter in mid-August. They also drove several times between the ranch and the airport to measure travel time. They told real-estate agents they had 'more than a passing interest' in the ranch.
'They are looking for property near the mountains that they alone would control, and their site criteria heavily emphasizes aesthetics,' said John Dill, director of Colorado's Business Development Office. 'That is why JL Ranch could work for them, but so could six or seven other sites in the Denver area.'
Nike executives first contacted Colorado officials in early March about their site search. Within two weeks, they had met twice with Gov. Roy Romer, who flew with Dill and his chief of staff to Oregon to meet with Nike Chairman Phil Knight.
Colorado cleared the first hurdle in the selection process in early July, when Nike said it had narrowed its search to five U.S. states or Canadian provinces. That selection was based largely on comparing corporate tax structures among Western states.
Nike also is considering sites in Broomfield, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and British Columbia for the facility. The company wants to open the facility by 2005 to house administrative offices, some manufacturing and distribution operations.
The company hopes to narrow its search to two states (or provinces) by Dec. 15, said Lee Weinstein, a Nike spokesman in Beaverton. At that point, company officials also will start narrowing the search within the chosen areas, he said.
Nike will complete a major expansion at its headquarters by 1999, and with no room to grow there, the company wants to expand elsewhere to accommodate its rapid growth, Weinstein said. A zoning dispute also may have soured the company on Oregon.
Beaverton officials wanted Nike to build housing on land the company bought last year for the headquarters expansion. Nike officials told a Portland newspaper they believe state officials are biased toward attracting new industry in favor of business already located in Oregon.
But Dill said he doesn't believe the company is using the threat of expanding elsewhere merely to extract concessions from Oregon officials.
'I don't think they would have entertained a visit from the governor if they were seeking concessions at home,' Dill said. 'Their image of a strong, growing company fits well with this state. And there is no better place to test sporting equipment.'
Nike sales have nearly doubled during the past three years to $9 billion as the company has expanded beyond its well-known shoes to apparel and sporting goods. The company's 'swoosh' trademark is among the most recognized in the world.
Dill said Nike's search for a site for an administrative center is similar to the search Sun Microsystems Inc. completed earlier this year. The company is building a software development facility in Broomfield that will employ 4,000 within four years.
'The Sun deal was the biggest economic development project in the history of the state, and this would be an even larger deal,' Dill said.
Statewide tax structures aside, 'neither company is emphasizing tax incentives as a key criteria, and both involved high-paying jobs.'
Colorado Springs was not a candidate for the Sun complex, which is now under construction. But then, Sun didn't make a dramatic natural setting a must when picking a site. Nike has.
Colorado Springs, however, must offer more than sheer beauty; Nike also wants a well-educated and plentiful work force, among other criteria.
The JL Ranch offers a unique setting that immediately appealed to the Nike executives who toured it.
The property runs from the base of Cheyenne Mountain, where heavy forests of ponderosa pine and gambel oak provide habitat for seven rare birds and three rare plant species, down to a sweeping valley covered with sage that has captured Nike's interest.
The property offers spectacular views of Cheyenne Mountain and the Eastern Plains. Parts of the ranch are so isolated you can hear the drone bees flying in meadows filled with wildflowers. Trophy game -deer, elk and even black bear -- are not uncommon visitors.
If Nike buys it, its complex would occupy only a tiny corner of the ranch, while much of the rest presumably could remain undeveloped, unless Nike were to sell off portions. But the company isn't the only one interested in the land.
The ranch is one of 18 parcels identified for acquisition as open space in the city's open-space plan completed earlier this year. Colorado Wildlife Division officials say the parcel is among the best foothills wildlife habitat in the city.
'A lot of species depend on this property and land near it as habitat, including mule deer, wild turkey, black bear, mountain lions and the red-tail hawk,' said Bruce Watkins, wildlife manager for the department's western El Paso County district office.
City officials will begin studying JL Ranch this week to evaluate whether to acquire parts of it for open space. The evaluation will be used to determine whether the city should spend money on it from a new city sales-tax increase approved by voters in April to purchase open space.
But the JL Ranch must compete with other properties identified in the city's open-space plan, as well as those championed by others. One group already is pushing the city to acquire 280 acres in southwest Colorado Springs as open space.
Anyone who wants to buy the JL Ranch, either for development or preservation, must meet the $18.5 million, non-negotiable sales price set by its Filipino owners, Denman Investment. It bought the ranch nearly 20 years ago for $2.75 million.
But Nike and other potential buyers will have to move fast. A.
A. 'Swede' Hanson, a real-estate agent representing Denman, said he has given tours of the ranch to at least a dozen developers during the past six months, including three in the past two weeks.
'The owners want to sell this entire parcel in one transaction,' Hanson said. 'Part of this property should be preserved, but we have to act now before it's gone.'
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