Suites of 7,500 square feet are what small industrial users ask for in Evans, and we build shells that divide into them without re-trenching a utility. Contractors, equipment dealers and regional distributors rarely need a 200,000 square foot box. They want a bay with a dock-high door, a drive-in door, a restroom and a yard they can park trucks in. A shell that offers those items in repeating units leases faster and holds its value.
One broker listing describes three new industrial buildings at 4431 and 4611 Brantner Road, built in 2025 near Highways 85 and 34 and I-25, with a 7,500 sq ft first suite available for lease or sale. We treat a listing like that as a signal, not a verified market study, but it matches the demand for small bays we expect near Greeley.
Our job is to make the building cheap to lease and cheap to run: a clean spec shell, a sensible truck court and mechanical systems a tenant can maintain.
Bay sizes, doors and the tenants who use them
For service trades, a 2,500 to 5,000 square foot bay with a 14-foot drive-in door and 20-foot clear works. For wholesale distribution, we build 7,500 to 15,000 square foot bays with one or two dock positions and 24 to 28 foot clear. Each type of flex and light industrial building needs its own power, restroom and office allowance, and we discuss the mix with the developer before drawing the footprint.
Demising walls are fire-rated, and each bay needs its own electric meter and a separate water shut-off. We design the utility corridor to feed all bays from one trench, which cuts first cost and makes it simple to re-demise later. Where a tenant needs a mezzanine for office, the structure can take it with minimal added steel.
Truck movements at a left-exit interchange
US 85 meets US 34 at Evans in a large interchange with left exits and loop ramps, and US 85 Business continues straight toward downtown Greeley. Left exits and loop ramps are the kind of geometry that drivers of long trailers learn to respect. When we lay out a site in Evans, we check the approach from each ramp to the entry and test the driveway width and turn radius for a 53-foot trailer against the actual road.
Inside the property, we build the truck court with reinforced concrete at the dock apron and a heavy-duty pavement section on the drive lanes. Trailer parking is sized to the tenant, and we leave room for a future bay to be added along the same wall. The details we worry about include sloped pavement at the door, bollards at the building corners and a clear sightline at the exit.
Building beside the South Platte
Evans is a home rule city at 4,682 ft elevation along the South Platte River in the Greeley metropolitan area, with its primary commercial areas along US 85 just south of its junction with US 34. River-adjacent ground means we check flood maps, groundwater and soil conditions before we design foundations. Where groundwater is high, we raise the building pad, add perimeter drains and specify moisture barriers beneath the slab.
The city covers 10.5 sq mi, and its population grew 19.57 percent from 18,537 in 2010 to 22,165 in 2020. Growth brings houses next to industrial land, as it has in nearby Johnstown, and that can lead to conditions on hours and truck routing. We read the zoning and the neighboring uses before a site plan is drawn, so conditions do not arrive late.
What to add to the shell
A base shell is a start, but tenants quickly want improvements. We offer mezzanine and office buildouts for bays that need an administrative space above the work floor, plus racking-ready slabs where the tenant will store pallets. For service users, we include floor drains, compressed-air stubs and extra electrical capacity at low cost if they are planned at the shell stage.
Developers should know that tenant improvements are the largest source of schedule slip in multi-tenant buildings. We pre-engineer the common ones, so the tenant's contractor can start work the week the lease is signed.
Code and permit steps
Evans reviews plans through its own building department, and the edition of the code is set by the city. Statewide, building codes are adopted city by city and county by county rather than as one code, and the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver tracker we reviewed, dated January 20, 2026, shows editions from 2018 to 2024 in use across the region. We confirm the edition and any amendments before design starts and carry the answer in writing.
For energy compliance, Colorado HB22-1362 requires any county or municipality updating its building code on or after July 1, 2023 to adopt an energy code at least as stringent as the 2021 IECC. In a small-bay building, that affects roof insulation, lighting controls and the number of rooftop units. Our building products distribution clients ask about this early because their buildings are often partially conditioned.
Send the bay mix
Tell us the parcel, the bay size, the door count and the number of suites. We will return a scope, a schedule and a budget range for an Evans small-bay or flex building.
Common Questions
What is a realistic bay size for a small-bay building in Evans?
Most small-bay users take between 2,500 and 15,000 square feet. We commonly lay out a repeating bay of about 7,500 square feet, with a dock door and a drive-in door, and combine bays when a tenant needs more room. The shell is set up to expand without damaging the existing walls.
How do the US 85 and US 34 ramps affect truck access?
The interchange uses left exits and loop ramps, which means trucks must slow and swing wide. We test turns from each ramp to your driveway and design the apron so a trailer can enter and leave without blocking the road.
Do I need to worry about the river?
Check the flood map and groundwater for any parcel near the South Platte. We obtain a geotechnical report and civil survey, then raise the pad or add drainage where needed. These items are cheaper to build in than to retrofit.
Can I rely on a broker listing for rent and absorption?
A listing is one data point. We advise owners to verify rents and vacancy with a second source before committing to a spec building. We can model a lease-up on several schedules to show how sensitive the project is to a slower absorption.
How are separate tenants metered and served?
Each bay has its own electric meter and water shut-off, with a shared trench for the main service. We coordinate the utility letters and transformer location during design so the first tenant is not delayed by a service upgrade.
Is there a standard tenant improvement package?
We offer a pre-priced list of common tenant improvements, including office buildout, extra power, floor drains and additional dock doors. A tenant can choose from it, which saves weeks of pricing.