BUSINESS

'A tragedy': Blue Ocean's plans for Windsor Mill uncertain after fire

Pat Ferrier
The Coloradoan
Firefighters work the scene as smoke rises from the Windsor Mill on the corner of Main Street and 3rd Street in Windsor on Sunday, August 6, 2017. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is investigating a cause for the fire that started before 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

UPDATE 8/13:Windsor mill fire was arson, investigators say

The sale of Windsor's historic mill to Blue Ocean Enterprises last year brought new hope that redevelopment would resurrect the building that holds a special place in the town's history and the hearts of its residents.

On Sunday, its future remains uncertain as Blue Ocean considers its options for the 118-year-old mill that is now in rubble.

"We are sad; sad for Windsor, sad for the people of Windsor, sad that Windsor is losing a landmark," said Steve Schroyer, Blue Ocean's director of real estate.

The latest: Historic Windsor Mill destroyed by fire

More:'It's gone, completely': Community mourns loss of Windsor mill

The company was negotiating leases on every space in the building including a brewpub and tavern, he said. 

"I don't know a single thing yet," Schroyer said. "We're just assessing what we have left. We still own the property, so we would probably do something there, I just don't know what it would look like."  

Like Schroyer, Windsor's Downtown Development Authority is "still trying to get our bearings, assess the entire situation and determine what the future steps might be," said Executive Director Matt Ashby. 

"It is definitely a tragedy." 

The Windsor Mill as it was envisioned before fire destroyed the 118-year-old historic building.

Ashby said the DDA will be working closely with the town and following their lead on next steps. 

"There was considerable amount of optimism with the redevelopment prospects of the mill after the initial tragedy of the (2008) tornado. It truly represented how positive change and recovery could come from that tragedy," Ashby said. 

Restaurateur Ryan Houdek, who owns all or part of the Melting Pot, Rodizio Grill, Social and the soon-to-be Union at Jefferson Park, had planned to open a tavern with Tim Downey, general manager at Rodizio and the Melting Pot.

"Lives have been changed," Houdek said Sunday. "The mill was shaping up to be really cool and a great place for Windsor residents."

The tavern was going to open in the basement and offer a space where "adults could go and have a nice beverage and cocktail in a really nice setting," he said. 

 Houdek is still committed to the site if Blue Ocean goes ahead with the project. 

"Hopefully, something can come from this that's good," he said. "This affects more than the development and the building, which meant a lot. The amount of energy and excitement that was brewing was huge." 

Blue Ocean's $10 million project was seen not only as an economic driver but a catalyst for further development on the east side of Windsor.

To speed up the process, the town contributed $3.7 million in tax incentives to help resuscitate the mill and bring in new sales and property tax revenue

Once complete, the project was expected to generate about $1.6 million in sales tax revenue and $1.508 million in property tax revenue per year, according to town documents. 

Under the agreement, Blue Ocean had to finish renovations and have at least half the building leased for five years by the end of next year. If Blue Ocean couldn't deliver, the agreement would have been nullified. 

This is not the first time a fire has affected the site. The 14,400-square-foot Windsor Milling and Elevator Co. was rebuilt in 1899 after an Independence Day blaze destroyed the structure. At the time, headlines referred to the blaze as the "Great fire in Windsor."

Around the turn of the century, the building was used to grind locally grown wheat into flour until 1919, when it became a grain storage facility after local agriculture shifted away from wheat and toward sugar beet farming, according to the application to list the building on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The blaze is the largest commercial in Northern Colorado since 2011 when an early morning fire sent flames shooting through Penny Flats and Mason Street Flats scattering charred debris across town.

Penny Flats was fully occupied and the 30-unit Mason Street Flats was almost complete — the roof was on and the windows installed. 

Developer Brinkman Partners went on to complete the project, which is now fully occupied. Fort Collins resident Benjamin Gilmore was convicted of setting the blaze and is serving an 8-year prison sentence. 

The Windsor Mill fire is a tragedy because of the history of the building, Schroyer said.  "It would be like the Kitchen building (the historic Avery building at College and Mountain) burning down.

"What a bummer," he said.