Community Pillars Bill Bartran by Jim Sprout
In 1959, Bill Bartran partnered with his father, to begin building homes in the Fort Collins area. Over the last forty years, Bartran Homes has become one of the largest local homebuilders in Fort Collins. The current count is 3,000 to 4,000 new homes built plus commercial projects. Bill’s half interest in the business cost $7,500 with $1,000 down.
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n their first year in business together, Bartran Homes built five houses that ranged in price from $10,000 to $12,000 each. Over the years they completed many successful housing projects and developments such as Village East, Warren Shores, Collindale, Scotch Pines, and multi-family complexes like Woodbox and Matador apartments. Bill describes his customer market primarily as first and second time homebuyers who always “appreciated the work you did for them.” He attributes much of his success in the home-building business to the loyalty and commitment of key employees such as Russ Brown, his building superintendent for 35 years and Dorothy Pile, a “grand lady” who managed his office for 30 years. He remembers a period in the 1970’s when times were really tough for Bartran Homes. Russ and Dorothy came to him and asked for a cut in salary. Bill is especially proud of the fact that he was the first homebuilder to offer profit sharing and healthcare to his employees. In those days there was very little subcontracting, so Bartran Homes not only employed 70 carpenters, but also had their own marketing and sales team. Over the years, Bill has also been an active volunteer within the community. He has worked on numerous city committees, especially as the planned unit development, zoning and regulatory processes were developed in the 1960s. He also served on the United Bank Board for twenty-three years with Pat Griffin, Bob Dunn, Bill Morgan and Harold Bush. He was active in the National Association of Home Builders and was a member of the first group of builders to form a local Northern Colorado chapter. Bill was instrumental in personally raising $250,000 for Foothills Gateway during tight economic times. In addition to his church, Bill’s strongest charitable passion has been the Boy Scouts. An Eagle Scout himself, spending summers in Estes Park as a counselor during his high school years, he fervently endorses the values learned from his scouting years. In 1993, Bill retired from home building and became a cowboy. He consolidated some of his real estate holdings, purchased the Table Mountain Ranch, and began operating it himself. Bill remembers this twelve-year period as one of the best in his life. He recalls an incident
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when Bob Swerer Sr. and Jr. wanted to go elk hunting on his property. Bill offered to let them hunt if they would take a video of the ranch. The finished product, The Legacy of Table Mountain Ranch, not only holds historical significance, but also is a wonderful depiction of the beauty of this special property. I asked Bill how he was spending his time now that he had sold Table Mountain Ranch. He responded, “looking for work.” Of course, he spends a great deal of time with his family and eighteen grandchildren, but also hopes to find a small ranch somewhere close. His son, Dan, is carrying on the Bartran homebuilding tradition. Bill admits he has a little extra time right now, but also has a few projects to finish up. He would like to find a new charitable endeavor that he can embrace. When asked what lessons in life he had learned, Bill said, “In the home building trade the most important value is to know your customer, and to keep your word when it comes to fixing problems. In life, it is learning to share not just money, but yourself in helping support those in need.” “Money is not the answer, it is relationships,” Bill says. One recent example of this belief, was in 2004 when the Virginia Dale Community Church was burned down by arsonists. After attending a meeting of a group of local ranchers, Bill decided to take charge of this rebuilding project. Five months later the church was rebuilt from 98% donated supplies and materials from local lumber yards, and the church had $100,000 in surplus funds from private donations. Bill hopes that his legacy will not only be his children and grandchildren, who he is very proud of, but also the homes that he has built and the happy customers and friends he has made. Bill is very thankful to the Fort Collins community, and we all appreciate his diligence, loyalty and willingness to take risks in making Fort Collins a better place to live. Jim Sprout is the Chairman of First Western Trust Bank – Northern Colorado and a regular columnist for Style Magazine.
Lydia’s STYLE Magazine