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REI-Co-op’s Colorado expansions

Outdoor recreation retailer REI Co-op now has two new stores in the works for Colorado.

The first REI store will open in Loveland this summer, the Seattle chain announced earlier this month. It will be in The Marketplace at Centerra, the company said, serving an area that already has approximately 61,000 REI members.

It’ll be the 10th store in Colorado, which has grown to 1.3 million REI members since the chain first opened in Denver in 1983.

The 23,000-square-foot Loveland store will have a full-service ski and bike shop, the retailer said. REI sells outdoor gear for camping, cycling, running, fitness, hiking, paddle-boarding, climbing and more recreational activities.

“We look forward to serving the community and visitors who come to enjoy Rocky Mountain National Park, Long View Trail and the Colorado Front Range Trail, and endless other outdoor opportunities,” said Janet Hopkins, REI regional director of the Rockies and Great Plains.

REI’s second new store won’t open until 2025 in Durango on Highway 550, according to the retailer.

It’ll be a 22,000-square-foot newly constructed building with a full-service ski, snowboarding and bike shop. Currently, the closest REI stores to Durango are in Grand Junction nearly 130 miles away and in Santa Fe, N.M. at 150 miles away.

REI also has stores in Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver, Lakewood, Greenwood Village, Colorado Springs, Dillon and Glenwood Springs.

New CEO to run Colorado retirement system for public employees

After an eight month search, the board of trustees for the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association announced Friday it found a new CEO.

Andrew Roth — the deputy director of Texas’s teacher retirement system and the nation’s sixth largest public pension system — will take over the Colorado agency starting May 13.

The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association manages $56 billion in assets for 670,000 current and former public employees such as teachers, State Troopers, corrections officers and snowplow drivers. The Colorado General Assembly established the retirement system in 1931 and Roth would be the eighth executive director.

The board had 250 applicants from across the country vying for the job.

“Mr. Roth stood out among these leaders because of his experience managing complex pension organizations, a commitment to PERA’s fiduciary obligations and as someone who has demonstrated a dedication to public service,” said PERA Board Chair Marcus Pennell in a news release.

The organization distributed more than $5.2 billion to 135,000 Colorado retirees in 2022, PERA said.

“I look forward to working closely with the Board, our employees, and every member to ensure PERA remains steadfastly focused on meeting the retirement needs of hundreds and thousands of Coloradoans,” Roth said in a statement.

Life Time opening metro Denver athletic country club 

Wheat Ridge will soon be home to a new Life Time athletic country club set to open April 1, the company announced.

It’ll be the seventh location in Colorado and the first in the state to be newly constructed.

The 110,000-square-foot club will open at 3501 Clear Creek Dr. with seven pickleball courts, a workout floor, kids academy, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a spa, coworking spaces, conference rooms and a fast-casual restaurant.

It’ll also be home to indoor cycle and Pilates classes, according to Life Time.

After Wheat Ridge, Life Time said it will open another Colorado location in Boulder later this year.