In the last decade. Fort Collins, CO has been named as one of the top 10 best cities to live in 3 times, finishing 1st, 3rd, and 8th, and has won awards for excellence in categories too numerous to list here.
So what is it about this medium-sized city that those of us lucky enough to live here find so appealing and that continues to attract new residents? For Ron and Alexandra Seigel's Romanticize Your Market contest, we're limited to three that have great emotional appeal, and selecting those few from among the many is still a daunting challenge. So I'm going to go with three that are especially important to me.
Old Town
Old Town is the heart of Fort Collins. It consists of our original downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods of nice older homes on tree-lined streets. The downtown is primarily restaurants - many with outdoor eating, small boutiques and art galleries, bars and pubs, a large and growing office population, and a lot of public space. There aren't many national chains and no large retail stores. Most of the buildings have been renovated, and many have chosen to maintain the style of the original architecture, or to use it as an inspiration for new construction.
The Old Town neighborhood, with homes dating back to the early 1900's, is highly desirable real estate and has become a showplace for residential restoration - homes here sell for some of the highest $/sq.ft. cost in the area.
Old Town is a place to relax and enjoy ourselves, shop leisurely, meet friends, eat and drink well, and listen to live music. The ambience is European - on any night, the streets are filled with people - and the mood is friendly and laid back. This is where Fort Collins goes to have fun.
The Business Climate
 |
| New Belgium Brewery |
Yeah, this is probably a weird one to get emotional about, but I'm an economist and a small business guy, so here we are. And I'm really excited to watch what's happening here, as the true spirit of the west builds a new future.
Fort Collins has its share of big companies - HP, Intel, AMD are all here in force, along with Colorado State University, our hospitals, the US Department of the Interior and others. But the real story of our local economy lies with the small start-ups that emerged from those big guys, and no one embodies that better than New Belgium Brewery.
It all started in 1988, when an HP engineer decided to take some time off to bicycle around Belgium and learn how to make beer. What started in his basement is today the 4th largest - and unarguably the best - craft brewery in the US. And it's not just successful - it's innovative, with 100% energy self-sufficiency and employee ownership. And, not coincidentally, they make some pretty good beer.
New Belgium was just the first. Today, Fort Collins is known as the home of the craft beer industry (yeah, come at us, San Diego & Portland!), with over a dozen thriving craft breweries. And it doesn't stop with beer - the real power of the business community is driven by small start-ups in high tech, medical, wind and solar energy, agriculture and other fields. It's exciting to be part of a local economy that's constantly renewing itself and providing good jobs.
Nature & The Mountains
Fort Collins sits right on the edge of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. They dominate our skyline to the west and are a constant source of scenic beauty. Within minutes, from anywhere in the city, you can be away from it all, enjoying nature and the outdoors. To most of us, the mountains represent the area's wonderful accessibility to all forms of recreation.
Larimer County, which includes Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park, is 56% permanent open space, and includes Rocky Mountain National Park. There are lakes and rivers for fishing, boating, and swimming, and miles and miles of bike and hiking trails. The city itself offers 820 acres of developed park land, with six community parks and 44 neighborhood pocket parks.
Even in the city, nature surrounds us. We coexist with a wonderful mix of birds and animals, and the weather - four real seasons, not necessarily sequential - always gives us something to talk about. Fort Collins is a perfect home for active people with a love of the outdoors.
Comments(20)