Commercial-to-Industrial Conversions Along Dell Range Boulevard and the Frontier Mall Corridor

Detours decide delivery dates on Dell Range. The state transportation department's Cheyenne Streets Project, announced June 5, 2026 with the City and Laramie County, rebuilds Dell Range Boulevard on a new alignment east of Whitney Road starting June 15, 2026. It adds a Dell Range and US 30 intersection and signals at US 30 and Whitney Road, builds a new South Frontage Road, and resumes Whitney Road work in March 2027 into fall 2027. Any owner building or retrofitting along this corridor is building inside that sequence, and truck access is the first thing that moves.

We build for it. Our work along a corridor like this is parking and truck-court paving, tenant conversions of big-box and mall-edge space into light industrial and fulfillment use, and the slab, dock and power upgrades those conversions need. The common thread is that traffic patterns are changing under you, so haul routes, concrete deliveries and mobilization dates are planned against the road schedule, not around it. Our industrial tenant improvements work is the usual entry point.

Concrete trucks have about ninety minutes from batching to placement before a pour is at risk, and a closed intersection can eat that margin. We map delivery routes against the state project's phases, hold alternate routes for each phase and confirm batch plant times a day before every pour. On big placements we split the pour so a delayed truck cannot leave a cold joint in a floor.

The same sequencing applies to tenant deliveries. A new fulfillment occupant sends tractor-trailers to a building built for mall shoppers. We check turning radii, entrance widths and apron strength before the lease is signed, and design the truck path around the street changes rather than the old layout. See our truck courts and trailer yards work for how we build for repeated heavy axle loads.

Frontier Mall at 1400 Dell Range Boulevard opened March 18, 1981 as a single-level, 519,471 square foot mall with 67 shops. A building that size has a floor plate, roof and parking field that can be repurposed in sections. Conversion of retail space into storage, showroom, light assembly or last-mile functions is a pattern we know well, and the structure usually supports it with limited steel work.

The Storey Boulevard extension from North College Drive to Whitney Road was built to relieve Dell Range. The contract went to a contractor in a bid not to exceed $3,493,630.85, with Laramie County contributing $1,161,510.60. Traffic on Storey is expected to rise from about 84 to about 3,500 vehicles per day (the page does not confirm the council approval year). That tells an industrial user where the new frontage and entrances will be, and lets us site docks to the quieter side. Freight-heavy occupants that outgrow the corridor usually look next at the Cheyenne logistics hub.

The state schedule gives us a calendar to build against. Dell Range work starts June 15, 2026, and Whitney Road work resumes in March 2027 and continues into fall 2027. For an owner, that means the best time for heavy site work may be in the gaps. We set milestone dates against those windows, and a conversion that needs a lot of hauling should be front-loaded before the Whitney Road work resumes.

Interior work can run through almost any road phase, because it needs no street closures and its deliveries are small. We take advantage of that by pulling interior demolition, slab repair and dock installation forward, then finishing paving and striping when the roads settle. Our estimates show interior and exterior as separate phases so the owner can open a section early. For a larger conversion, phasing by tenant bay keeps the remaining occupants open and their loading routes clear.

Along a commercial corridor the building mix is retail, small office, light industrial and service. We build and convert retail and shopping center space into functional operating spaces, and we put new flex and light industrial buildings on pad sites with enough depth for a dock. Both are common ways for an owner to turn a corridor parcel into higher-use space. Before any of it, we walk the roof, the slab and the existing utilities with the owner and write down what each can carry, so the budget starts from measured conditions.

Fulfillment and last-mile occupants want the same things everywhere: clear height, dock doors, a trailer apron, power and a wide entrance. The corridor can supply some of that and not others. We run a short feasibility check on clear height, floor flatness and column spacing before a tenant commits, then scope the changes. Operators in e-commerce fulfillment tend to ask for that check first, and if the corridor cannot supply the depth, we point them to the purpose-built parcels in North Range Business Park.

The big costs are paving, dock work and power. A parking field built for cars needs a stronger section where trucks turn, and replacing that pavement costs more than most owners expect. Dock additions require slab cuts, pits or levelers and wall framing. Electrical service for conveyors, charging or cooling often needs a utility upgrade, which depends on the local utility's schedule more than ours.

We keep cost down by testing what exists before replacing it. Cores and borings reveal whether existing pavement can take truck loads, and a simple load test of a roof deck can save a structural upgrade. For lots that do need work, stabilized parking lots and accessible-route upgrades under site concrete and ADA compliance are priced together, so one mobilization covers both.

Send the address, the intended use and the road phase you are building into. We will return a feasibility check and a schedule tied to the state project calendar.

Will the Dell Range reconstruction block my construction schedule?

It can affect delivery routes, but it rarely blocks interior work. We map the state project phases against your schedule, line up alternate truck routes and plan big pours for windows when intersections are open. The best protection is a schedule that treats road phases as inputs, not surprises.

Can a mall-edge or big-box space work for fulfillment?

Sometimes. The deciding factors are clear height, column spacing, floor flatness and whether trucks can reach a dock position. We check those before a lease is signed. If the answer is no, a new flex building on a pad site is often the cleaner path.

How should we plan for Storey Boulevard traffic growth?

The extension is expected to carry about 3,500 vehicles per day, up from about 84. If you own frontage on it, entrances and signal spacing matter. We coordinate with city traffic staff on driveway locations and locate trucks on the quieter side where possible.

What does pavement for truck traffic cost compared with a car lot?

It costs noticeably more because of thicker sections, better subgrade and heavier concrete at turning areas and dock aprons. We give a base cost for a car lot and a separate alternate for the truck areas, so you can see what the heavy loads add.

How do you protect fresh concrete when a delivery is delayed by traffic?

We keep the placing crew on a short standby and split large placements into sections with planned joints. If a truck is late, we stop at a joint instead of leaving a cold seam across a bay. The mix design also carries a retarder allowance for summer heat, so a short delay does not cost strength.