Part of Platte River Commons is a refinery site that stopped running in 1991, and the ground still remembers it. That is the first thing to know about building housing in the middle of Casper: some of the best sites carry industrial history, and some of the best-located parcels need environmental and geotechnical work before a single wall goes up. We start there.
Multifamily and mixed-use buildings in this market are small by big-city standards. A typical project is a three- or four-story wood-frame apartment building, a townhome row or a mixed-use building with ground-floor commercial space and apartments above. Casper had 59,038 residents in the 2020 census, so absorption is measured in dozens of units, not hundreds. We size projects to what the market can fill.
Below is how we approach site diligence, structure, urban renewal rules, costs and schedule for housing and mixed-use work, with the boom-and-bust cycle in mind. We also say plainly when a project should be smaller, phased or put off.
Platte River Commons is the former Amoco, now BP, refinery property. Amoco closed the refinery in 1991, and a 1998 agreement among the City of Casper, Natrona County and the company created a joint powers board to oversee redevelopment. The Commons now includes a golf course, wildlife viewing areas and the Casper Whitewater Park, a half-mile stretch of the North Platte. The former tank farm is the Salt Creek Heights Business Center. Our Platte River Commons page covers the area.
The Platte River Trail runs about 10 miles of paved pathway from Paradise Valley Park to the North Casper Sports Complex, passing Amoco Park. Housing near a trail and river is a real selling point, and we plan buildings to take advantage of it. Downtown, David Street Station opened in 2017 on the edge of the Old Yellowstone District. A residential building there benefits from a plaza that hosts events nearby. See downtown Casper.
Most apartments here are wood-frame on a slab or podium, with fire-rated floor assemblies, sound control between units and sprinklers throughout. Mixed-use adds a commercial base, which changes the structure: taller floors, grease and exhaust risers for restaurants and a rated separation between uses. Where parking sits under the building, a concrete podium carries the wood above. Our podium and wrap construction work describes the process.
Sound and fire details separate good apartment buildings from bad ones. Party walls, floor-ceiling assemblies and plumbing penetrations are where complaints and inspection failures start. We build a mock-up of the typical unit, inspect framing before drywall and test sound transmission where the design calls for it. For owners planning several buildings, our multifamily apartment construction service sets out the standard approach.
The Old Yellowstone District is governed by a 2002 Casper Urban Renewal Plan, a 2007 Redevelopment Master Plan, an updated 2016 plan and a form-based code. A mixed-use building in that district must meet frontage and design rules that suburban sites do not face. Outside the district, regular zoning applies. Commercial permits in the city often require a life-safety plan, engineered drawings and Planning and Zoning approval.
On former industrial land, diligence is not optional. The refinery site opened in 1895 and ran until 1991, and after a citizen pollution lawsuit BP and the State of Wyoming signed a remedy agreement in 2002; the site is still recovering from contamination. A buyer should review the remedy documents, soil and groundwater data and any land-use restrictions before closing. We coordinate that review with environmental consultants and your lender.
Energy-driven markets swing, and housing demand swings with them. We help owners phase: a first building that can be leased up before a second starts, with utilities and site work sized for the whole project. If rents rise, the second phase proceeds; if they fall, the owner holds a finished first building and open land, not a half-built complex.
We also keep unit mixes flexible. Studios and one-bedrooms serve single workers and crews on rotation; two-bedrooms serve families. We build framing and plumbing on a repeated grid that allows later adjustment. Utilities, grading and drainage are done once through site development and utilities, not phase by phase.
Land, site work and structure drive most of the cost. On a brownfield site, geotechnical and environmental unknowns add contingency; on a downtown infill site, tight access and utilities add cost. Casper's climate zone 6B, three foot frost line and severe weathering push envelope, heating and foundation costs above those in milder areas.
Parking is the swing item. Surface stalls are cheap but consume land, and snow storage takes more. A parking structure or tuck-under parking may fit a tighter infill lot, at a much higher cost per stall. We price options side by side so a developer sees the real trade.
Besides the city, we work in Mills, Bar Nunn and Evansville, where the rules and review differ from the city's. Each of those towns has its own building and zoning offices. Lenders expect us to know that, and so do city and town inspectors.
Our multifamily developer clients want one team that can handle the site, the building and the retail space below. We also build the companion hotel or amenity buildings that sometimes share a lot, such as an extended-stay hotel.
Share the site, the unit mix and the retail space you have in mind. We will return a phased budget, a diligence checklist and a schedule that accounts for Casper winters.
Parts of Platte River Commons are developed or in use, but the site is still recovering from contamination under a 2002 remedy agreement. Any buyer should obtain the remedy documents and have environmental counsel review land-use restrictions. We coordinate soil and groundwater diligence before any design proceeds.
Within the building code's height and area limits, wood frame with fire separations and sprinklers commonly reaches four or five stories, and podium designs go higher. The exact limit depends on construction type and local zoning. We check both before design is set.
It regulates how the building meets the street: frontage, entrances and massing. The Old Yellowstone District has its own code. We bring the design team and the planning staff together early so the drawings match.
We erect and dry in quickly, protect the framing with tarps or temporary roofs and avoid leaving open floors exposed. Wet wood causes problems later, so moisture monitoring is part of our process.
Often yes. A smaller first phase requires less equity and proves the market for lenders. We help owners present a phased budget with utilities sized for the full build-out.