Building for Logistics and Distribution Owners in the Boulder Valley

Divisibility has to be designed, not hoped for. A broker listing for Westview Business Park, at the northwest corner of Highway 119 and Fairview Street in Longmont, describes a 93,600 square foot warehouse and distribution building that can be divided from 23,400 to 93,600 square feet on a 15.93 acre property. Listings change, so we treat that one as an example rather than a current offer, but it shows the pattern: a building cut into bays so that a tenant can take a quarter or the whole. Making that work means every demising wall, dock, utility service and fire separation has to be thought through before concrete is poured.

We build warehouses, distribution centers, cross-docks and fulfillment buildings for owners who move goods in and out of the Boulder Valley. Some are tenants-to-be with a single program, and some are investors building for the market. Both want a building that works the day trucks arrive, so we start from the truck and work back to the structure.

The distribution buildings we build

Bulk warehouses are the simplest form: clear height, column grid, dock doors and a slab that handles forklifts. Distribution centers add cross-docking, more doors, larger truck courts and often mezzanines and conveyors. Fulfillment buildings need heavier floor loads, more power and fire protection for racked storage, while a truck terminal or cross-dock is a long, narrow building with doors on both sides.

Smaller buildings play their own part here. A local maker or a regional distributor may only need 25,000 square feet with a few doors, a small office and room for a trailer. We price those jobs with the same care as the larger ones, and we are candid about the cost per square foot, which rises when the building is small and the site work is not.

Highways, rail and the geography of distribution here

U.S. 287 runs through the center of Longmont, 16 miles north to Loveland and 34 miles south to downtown Denver, and State Highway 119 passes south of downtown, 15 miles southwest to Boulder and 5 miles east to I-25. Where the Diagonal Highway ends in Longmont, State Highway 119 becomes Ken Pratt Boulevard and meets U.S. 287, and a newer expressway east of that intersection reaches I-25 at exit 240, an alignment that opened in 2003. For a distributor, those distances are the market: how quickly a truck can reach the interstate, and how many customers fall within a short drive.

Rail is more limited. Union Pacific and BNSF provide freight rail service in Boulder, though the city has no intercity passenger service, and rail history runs through towns such as Lafayette, where a three mile coal spur from Louisville was completed in 1889 and later connected to Erie. Most of what we build is truck-served, so the highway grid and the quality of the truck court matter more than a siding.

Site conditions that set the distribution budget

Truck courts take a beating. Heavy axle loads, snow melt and freeze-thaw cycles break down thin pavement, so we design dock aprons in reinforced concrete and give them good drainage. Our truck court and dock apron work covers subgrade preparation, joint layout and the slope that keeps water from freezing at the doors.

Frost depth, snow and wind come from county design criteria, and floodplain and soils reports can change a site. Boulder County lists a 30 inch frost line depth in its residential design criteria table, with commercial values to be confirmed with the building official, and it can require a soils or geologic report where flash flooding or soil creep is a concern. Land near creeks needs particular attention to detention and drainage, because large roofs and paved yards shed a lot of water.

Concrete, steel and the work that sets the schedule

A distribution building is mostly concrete and steel. We manage site and slab concrete closely, because floor flatness, joint spacing and curing decide whether racking and forklifts perform, and because slab work is exposed to weather in this climate. Tilt-wall construction is a common choice for large buildings, and our tilt-wall construction trade partners cast the panels, brace them and set them with a crane in a few days.

For clear-span buildings with fewer interior columns, we coordinate steel and joist deliveries so that the erection sequence matches the panel or wall schedule. The roof comes next and the building is enclosed early, which lets us start interior work, fire protection and dock equipment while the site work continues outside. Keeping those trades from stepping on each other is where our supervision earns its keep.

What drives cost per square foot in a warehouse

Clear height, floor thickness, dock count, fire protection and power drive costs more than finishes do. A 36 foot clear building with racking needs a heavier sprinkler system than a 24 foot one, and a building with cold-chain or automation needs electrical capacity that the utility may take months to deliver. We show these as separate lines so an owner can see what each choice costs.

Site costs follow close behind: grading, utilities, detention and truck courts. An industrial developer who is comparing parcels should compare those costs and not only land price. Our colleagues who work with manufacturers see the same trade-offs when a plant needs shipping space, and the owners we serve in retail weigh them when they choose a regional supply building.

Where we build warehouses and distribution space

Most of our distribution work is on the east side of the valley where interstate access is best: Longmont along Ken Pratt Boulevard and Highway 119, the Ken Pratt corridor, and the Erie and Lafayette areas that connect to I-25 and U.S. 287. In Erie, I-25 runs along the eastern edge with Exit 232 serving the town and E-470 to the south, and in Boulder, the city's industrial areas are more limited.

Not every site works. Boulder's building height normally caps at about 35 feet, so a high-bay warehouse is a poor fit inside the city, and the 1959 charter limit on city water service above 5,750 feet shapes what can be built on the foothills edge. We tell owners early if a parcel's constraints do not suit the building they have in mind, and we point them to a location that does.

Start with the truck

Send us the truck mix, the dock count and the product you are moving. We will return a building concept and a budget range, along with the site conditions that need confirming.

Questions Owners Ask

What clear height should we choose for a speculative warehouse?

It depends on the tenants you expect. Newer tenants often ask for clear heights well above older stock, but taller buildings cost more in structure and fire protection, and some jurisdictions limit height. We price a range of heights with your broker's market input and show the cost difference per square foot.

How do you design a building that can be split among tenants?

We plan demising walls with the right fire rating, give each bay its own utility service, dock doors and restrooms, and design the truck court so each tenant can maneuver without crossing another's space. We also allow for future changes in the demising lines where possible.

Is tilt-wall or a metal building better for a Boulder Valley warehouse?

Tilt-wall suits larger buildings, higher walls and heavier fire ratings. A pre-engineered metal building is often faster and cheaper for smaller, lighter buildings. Snow and wind loads from the county maps affect both. We price each against your program and explain the difference in schedule.

What should we plan for in a truck court?

Turning radius, trailer storage, dock height, drainage and pavement thickness. Snow storage is another point: if there is no place to push snow, it blocks stalls. We lay out the court early with your operator's truck data and adjust the building footprint if necessary.

How long does a distribution building take to build?

That depends on size, structure and permit review. Site work and foundations come first, then walls or steel, then roof and enclosure, then interior and dock equipment. We build a schedule from the actual drawings and show the permit and long-lead items, such as dock levelers and switchgear, as dependencies.

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More Industries We Serve

Browse the rest of our industries we serve pages for Boulder and nearby Colorado communities, or contact us to talk through your project.