On February 26, 2010, Mountain States Business Brokers & Advisers joined Keller Williams Realty and Mountain States Business Brokers at Keller Williams was born - creating the largest and longest standing business brokerage in northern Colorado.
The Keller Williams philosophy and leadership is a perfect match for the Mountain States determination to provide only the highest level of ethical intermediary services on a win-win basis for buyers and sellers. Keller Williams knows how to do things right and we can bring that knowledge to bear on a greater array of transactions. The depth of business and industry knowledge available to our buyers and sellers is unmatched in the industry.
Whether engaged by a business owner to create and guide in exit planning and find and finance a suitable buyer, or by a buyer group to identify and assist in negotiating an acquisition, the full talent of the Mountain States Business Brokers at Keller Williams organization is available. Visit the website http://www.msbizbrokers.com to learn more!
Don’t miss Fort Collins’ Annual “Great Plates” event ~ it is right around the corner! From March 1st to the 14th, over 25 downtown restaurants will be offering fantastic $25.00 dinner specials for patrons. Enjoy a meal at one of our many fine downtown restaurants without breaking the bank!
“Great Plates” is produced by the Downtown Business Association. The first “Great Plates” event was held in March 2005 to celebrate the year Fort Collins was established ~ 1868 (that year restaurants offered dinner specials for $18.68). The event was so popular it became an annual affair.
This year’s event is extra-special as it kicks off our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Old Town Square. “Great Plates” is a great way to support our local restaurants and celebrate the unique place we call home.
Mark your calendars: on Thursday, March 4th 9:00pm ET the Fort Collins/Loveland area will be featured on CNBC by Tom Brokaw as 1 of 15 ‘Best Retirement Cities.’ The feature is part of a two-hour documentary entitled “TOM BROKAW REPORTS: BOOMER$!”
Fort Collins/Loveland was selected because of the area’s wealth of outdoor activities, the youthful feel generated from Colorado State University, and affordable cost of living.
This isn’t the first time the area has been tapped as a great place to retire, below are other notable recognitions:
Top 10 College Towns for Grown-Ups: Kiplinger’s magazine - March 2007
City of Fort Collins selected as Top Retirement Spot: Where to Retire magazine - March/April 2005
“Top 5 Places to Retire”: MSN.com - July, 2003
Loveland/Fort Collins is the #1 Best Place to Reinvent Your Life: AARP Magazine - May & June 2003
Fort Collins, Colorado has received a distinctive national honor! The National Trust for Historic Preservation chose Fort Collins as 1 of 12 2010 Distinctive Destinations. Fort Collins was chosen because of the unique experiences the city has to offer visitors - from an evening in vibrant Old Town to exploring the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Vote for your 2010 Fan Favorite!
For the first time ever, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is allowing the public to choose a “2010 Fan Favorite” out of the 12 cities on the Distinctive Destinations list. Click here to vote for Fort Collins as the “2010 Fan Favorite!” Note that you will have to create a PreservationNation account…it is free. The competition is tough so vote now!
Fort Collins’ selection as a 2010 Distinctive Designation, along with past selections as Money Magazine’s best place to live, gives all the more reason to consider northern Colorado for relocation. Lori Juzak mentioned in a recent interview, “We LOVE it here, and are so glad we chose Fort Collins.” She also noted Fort Collins winning “best place to live reports” as part of her reason for checking out the area.
If you or someone you know is looking to relocate to the area, contact us today. We love the area and the people we serve!
On January 26th, Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson and City Manager Darren Atterberry presented the Fort Collins 2010 ‘State of the City’ address. If you were unable to watch live, you can still access the video at: www.fcgov.com/stateofthecity or click on the video link below:
Some of the recent city accomplishments:
The city recently launched Open Book which opens the City’s books up to you. Open Book is on the City website and it posts every dollar the City spends for the public to examine. The City of Fort Collins is one of the first in the United States to offer this level of information to its citizens. You can access the Open Book program at: http://www.fcgov.com/openbook/
Last year the city released Fort Collins’ first-ever community scorecard which reported progress in reaching community goals.
Fort Collins unemployment rate of 7% is lower than the state, and significantly lower than the national rate which hovers at 10%.
The Mason Corridor project has changed from a transportation project to an economic health initiative enabled by transit. The shift allowed the city to leverage approximately $60 million of federal funds and kick-start economic activity along the corridor.
Advanced Energy recently opened a new manufacturing facility in south Fort Collins to serve a growing demand for alternative energy products.
In 2006, the City was a driving force behind the creation of the Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster. Since its creation, clean energy jobs have increased by 19%. The 60-some businesses now within the cluster have set a goal to add an additional 1,650 new primary, clean-energy jobs over the next five years.
The federal government awarded FortZED $6.3 million to create a zero-energy district that extends from CSU’s main campus through downtown.
Through efficient buildings, lighting retrofits, increased recycling, and other efforts, the city reduced the city’s government operating expenses by $250,000 last year alone.
Looking Ahead
A reality the city is tackling head-on in 2010: the city does not currently have the resources to fund our well-defined needs in police, fire, transportation, and parks.
The city is working to diversify revenue, but sales tax is still their primary source. So, the city may need citizens to consider a sales tax increase this year.
The good news: our current city sales tax rate currently is the second lowest among comparable Front Range cities and our base sales tax rate has not been changed for almost thirty years. A penny sales tax increase would generate $20 million annually. It would add a dime to every $10 a consumer spends.
The Fort Collins North College Avenue landscape is rapidly changing. Ground has already broken on major construction projects concentrated at the intersection of College/Willox Lane. The overall plan for improvements, however, stretches from the southern intersection of College/Vine to the northern intersection of College/Willox.
The two main projects that have broken ground are the North College Marketplace and Union Place. The North College Marketplace is a 26-acre shopping center anchored by King Soopers. Businesses in the marketplace are anticipated to open doors for business in 2011. Union Place is a primarily residential project that covers 10 acres. The first homes are projected to be move-in ready by the end of 2010.
The underlying objective behind the North College Avenue changes are to improve the safety, operations and aesthetics of the area. To learn more about North College Avenue, you can visit the city website at: http://www.fcgov.com/northcollege.
On December 2nd, Poudre Valley Health Systems (PVHS) was presented with the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The President of the United States gives this award to organizations that exemplify extraordinary performance in seven categories: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results.
The Malcolm Baldrige awards program was started by Congress in 1987 to recognize businesses that excel in quality and performance. PVHS was the only health care organization to receive the 2008 Baldrige award. The organization provides services for northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and western Nebraska. Fort Collins is home to two PVHS hospitals and PVHS’s Medical Center of the Rockies just recently opened their doors in Loveland.
Superior health care is just one more reason it is great to live in northern Colorado!
The Miliken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners recently released their 2009 Best-Performing Cities Index and the Fort Collins-Loveland area came in at #22. The ranking is based on the institutes evaluation of 200 large metro areas around the country. Each area was evaluated in the following categories: job, wage, salary and technology growth.
One of the major forces driving Fort Collins-Loveland area’s success is the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC), which took shape in 2001. The NCEDC is a 501(C)(6) non-for-profit corporation driven by their mission to create primary jobs and promote economic growth in Larimer County. The corporation has been involved in creating over 3,163 primary jobs in the area since 2004, injecting the economy with $215.17 million in wages. To learn more, you can visit the NCEDC website at: http://www.ncedc.com.
According to Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), 2010 will show a national increase in home sales of 15%. Dr. Yun released his data at the recently held 2009 NAR Conference & Expo in San Diego.
For Northern Colorado, the “IRES Economic & Market Watch Report, 3rd Quarter 2009″ projects that home prices and home sales will remain stable moving from the 3rd quarter to the 4th quarter of 2009. Larimer County, home to Fort Collins and Loveland, had an average home sale price of $260,500 in the third quarter, with a total of 1,158 homes sold. In Weld County, home to the Greeley metro area, the average price of homes sold was $189,100, with a total of 866 homes sold.
The projected increase in 2010 home sales is in large part credited to the extension of the home buyer tax credit that was recently extended for home sales through August 30, 2010. Keller Williams released a special edition video that details the plan for first-time home buyers as well as existing home owners moving up in the market. You can watch the detailed video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMzTpn3FvA8
Source: Realtor Magazine, “Yun: 2010 Sales to Rise 15 Percent,” by Robert Freedman, 11/13/2009 http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009111301;
Source: IRES “Economic and Market Watch Report, 3rd Quarter 2009”
American Institute of Economic Research - College Destinations Index 2009-2010
The American Institute of Economic Research (AIER) recently released their “College Destinations Index 2009-2010.” To create the index, AIER ranks small and mid-sized college cities in the following categories: academic environment, quality of life and professional opportunities. This year, Fort Collins came in as the #5 small college city!
Fort Collins is proud to be home to Colorado State University (CSU). Originally called the Agricultural College of Colorado, the school first opened its doors in 1879 with two faculty members. The school now boasts over 22,000 students and is a Carnegie Class I research school.
While students at CSU receive a first-class education, they are also welcomed members of the Fort Collins community. Vibrant downtown Fort Collins offers a myriad of social outlets - with over forty restaurants to choose from, pool halls, dance clubs, martini bars, a movie theater, and concert venues to name a few. Student also enjoy easy access to the Rocky Mountains. Tubing on the Poudre River, swimming in Horsetooth Reservoir and hiking in Lory State Park are just a few of the things students can do to take a break and get some fresh air.
Fort Collins was not the only Colorado city to take a top 10 spot on AIER’s index. Boulder came in as the #1 small college city and Denver came in as the #5 mid-sized metro area college city.
Source: “Study: Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins rank among best places to attend college,” Denver Business Journal, 9/8/2009; http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/09/07/daily13.html
When: March 1-14, 2010
Mark your calendars: on 
Fort Collins, Colorado has received a distinctive national honor! The National Trust for Historic Preservation chose Fort Collins as 
The Fort Collins North College Avenue landscape is rapidly changing. Ground has already broken on major construction projects concentrated at the intersection of College/Willox Lane. The overall plan for improvements, however, stretches from the southern intersection of College/Vine to the northern intersection of College/Willox.