Fort Collins Downtown has the vibrant mix
Friday, November 4th, 2011The new Executive Director of the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association has been working hard and now that he has gotten his sea legs under him, I think he is starting to understand what makes Fort Collins so special. Here is a recent article he wrote on Vibrancy on Downtown:
Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the International Downtown Association, or IDA, annual conference in Charlotte, N.C.
While there, I immersed myself in learning about the successes and challenges faced by organizations similar to our DBA representing cities from throughout North America.
I am happy to report that our fair city is very highly regarded by these downtown professionals from across the country.
Certainly, the many “Best of …” accolades we regularly receive have helped fuel our fine reputation among downtown organizations. However, there is another aspect to our downtown that while there may not be an award handed out for it, is a quality we possess that makes us the envy of so many of these other cities large and small.
Urban design experts and others who analyze these types of things refer to Fort Collins as having three distinct economies in our downtown.
During the day, there are the shoppers and lunch crowd consisting of local residents, day visitors, business people and tourists.
About 5 p.m., the second economy takes over as locals and visitors alike enjoy more shopping, discuss the day’s events over happy hour and dine on our many patios and in our 50-plus restaurants.
Others choose to meet up in Old Town before heading out to see live theater or other entertainment (Welcome back, Lincoln Center).
Our third downtown economy kicks in around 10 p.m. with our late-night crowd that comes out to patronize the bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues in our downtown. This group is largely made up of 20-somethings, a broad cross section of young people including urban professionals, college upperclassmen and guests from many of the neighboring towns who consider Fort Collins to be the unofficial entertainment hub of the northern Front Range.
All in all, the thriving 18-hour-a-day economic engine has resulted in a unique and robust downtown that is visited regularly by urban planners from around the country who come here to figure out our “secret sauce,” or in other words, how our downtown has been able to deliver such extraordinary performance as an economic driver.
Using sales tax dollars as a quantifiable measurement, our downtown outperforms our physical size by six to seven times while remaining safe and, except for a couple recent exceptions, free of major problems.
These same positive sentiments also have been offered to me recently by various organizations throughout our city. The DBA is enjoying working with CSU on a variety of initiatives, including Old Town Comes to Ram Town at Hughes Stadium prior to the next home game on Nov. 12. CSU as well as some of the national tech companies on the Harmony corridor and some local businesses use a tour of Old Town as an integral part of their recruitment strategy.
Taken as a whole, I am coming to understand why our town is so often referred to as being “magical” and why so many of us refer to our downtown as “the jewel of Fort Collins.”
This month’s Heads Up: Join us as hundreds of little goblins take over Old Town Square for a Tiny Tot’s Halloween at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
Michael Short is director of the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association. Reach him at mike@downtownfortcollins.com.
