Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority funds $100,000 for possible Drake-College expansion study and related work

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority board approved $100,000 on Sept. 24 to study conditions around Drake Road and College Avenue and prepare a possible amendment to its urban renewal plan.

The agenda summary says the proposed study area covers approximately 150 acres, including public property primarily owned by Colorado State University, private property and right-of-way. The agenda summary says the existing plan covers approximately 30 acres and 13 parcels, including right-of-way. The agenda summary says it extends generally from McClelland Drive to South College Avenue, with West Thunderbird Drive to the south and the vacant K-Mart property’s north exterior wall to the north. Staff said studying properties within the broad proposed boundary does not mean they will be recommended for inclusion in an amended plan.

The agenda summary says tax increment revenue from the existing College and Drake plan area will cover the $100,000 expense. It anticipates that plan area’s revenue will come from sales tax increment collections. Authority staff estimated that the study, preparation of an amendment and other required work before a City Council hearing would cost $100,000 in total. Within 30 days of commissioning the study, staff must mail notice to every fee-title property owner in the study area at the owner’s last-known address. The resolution requires the notice to state that the authority is beginning a study to determine whether the area is blighted.

The agenda summary says development plans have changed significantly since the urban renewal plan was adopted in 2020, and its original intent is no longer viable. The agenda summary says that at the Spradley Barr property, a proposed mix of market-rate and affordable housing, a hotel and retail has changed to a planned gas station and utility substation. The agenda summary says both uses are allowed by zoning and were anticipated to begin construction soon. The agenda summary says the change has shifted the expected outcome of using tax increment financing to address and prevent blight.

The agenda summary says an expanded area could support market-rate and deed-restricted multifamily housing to address growing demand. The agenda summary says it could also support safer east-west connections for pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and transit. The agenda summary says the area could support planned investment in a Front Range Passenger Rail stop. After discussing the planned gas station and substation and a possible train station with staff, the board chair said she had initially been skeptical: “So I think it makes sense to go back and reevaluate what we're looking at.”

Staff said it cast a wide net to find properties that could complement the plan and support public benefits aligned with taxing entities’ goals. The northern study boundary reaches Prospect South’s southern edge and includes commercial properties between it and the existing plan area, but staff said it was too early to know whether it would recommend expanding that far. Staff said the authority board would review an amendment and could recommend it or take other action before forwarding it to City Council, which would ultimately decide. Before the area can be added to the plan, City Council must hold an evidentiary hearing, find from the study and other evidence that the area is blighted and appropriate for an urban renewal project, and approve an amendment describing the project.