Les Schwab wants to replace homes at Moran Ave and Dell Range

 

LEFT: Birds-eye view of the two residential buildings on Moran Ave near Dell Range Blvd | RIGHT: Public Notice Sign - Optopolis

You may have noticed the public notice sign standing near the dead-end section of Moran Ave, indicating that something new is in the works to replace the existing high density residential structures. Project items in the city planning website indicate what that current plan is.

Some background

According to the property assessor map, all the structures currently making up the one-block section of Moran Avenue between Dell Range Blvd and Sheridan Street were built in 1964. They are multifamily apartments currently zoned within the classification of high density housing.

There's apparently been talk of replacing the structures for many months, with items appearing in the city planning website as early as June 2022 when, according to a document in one of the project items, all tenants were informed of the redevelopment; said-document states that five of the units are already vacant as of September 12th, "[two] notices to vacate have been given to us...by tenants voluntarily," and five other units are still occupied.

The two buildings on Moran Avenue as seen from just south of Dell Range Blvd - Optopolis

A letter from the current landlord states that the desire to redevelop the land is a result of the cost to continue maintaining the residential property; "rents would need to be drastically increased to justify the level of investment needed in maintaining this building as a residential building."

So what would be replacing these buildings?

Les Schwab... At least, that's what all the plans say. Les Schwab is a larger automotive brand that already has many locations in other cities; their focus seems to be primarily on car tires and wheels, although their website lists other services as well. Currently, the nearest two locations to Cheyenne are in Laramie, WY and Timnath, CO.

According to items in the city planning website, this new building would require a zoning change. The property is being rezoned to CB--or community business--which allows for automotive service repair. The residential buildings would need to be fully demolished for the new Les Schwab building.

An open Les Schwab Tires in Timnath, CO - Google Maps Street View

What would it look like?

Based on the elevation views in the site plans listed on the planning website, the building would have a similar appearance to the existing Loveland, CO location with some minor differences. It would have an area of about 9.5 thousand square feet, and the longer edge of the building would be parallel with Dell Range Blvd--the bays facing Dell Range Blvd.

Les Schwab on the northern end of Loveland, Colorado - Google Maps Street View

Les Schwab submitted a request for a reduction from the standard 48 required parking spaces to only 34, and that request was approved, all according to documents in the city planning website. The property would use the Moran Avenue intersection as the entry/exit from the parking lot, and a drainage basin is proposed for the north east corner of the property. Site plans also indicate that a right turn lane would be added for cars turning right from west-bound Dell Range Blvd.

As of November 16th, 2022, no items are appearing in the permits section of the city planning website yet; there are only items in the projects section as referenced in this article. Les Schwab doesn't yet appear to display Cheyenne as a future location on their website.

Update 01-06-2024: Opening date set

Les Schwab Tire Care has announced in a Facebook post that the Cheyenne store will be opening in March, encouraging people to sign up for updates for all job openings. 

Update 05-06

The store opened on Wednesday, March 6th. They said in a sponsored Facebook post that they will have a grand opening event starting Friday, May 9th and running through Sunday, May 11th. They will have a ribbon cutting on Thursday, May 23rd at 4 PM MT.

What are your thoughts of the potential demolition of the existing residential buildings? Do you feel that this is an appropriate location for a Les Schwab? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Originally published: 11-11-2022 at 7:21 PM MT

Updated: 01-06-2024 at 2:14 PM MT to provide update about opening.

Updated: 05-06-2024 at 2:56 PM MT to fix date of last update and add new info about the opening, grand opening, and ribbon cutting.

Location: Cheyenne, WY, USA

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