North College Infrastucture Funding Plan

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These projects would build a more complete street system over time, along with a drainage system to handle stormwater runoff from streets and development. This is important for long-term revitalization of the area. Safety, economic development, pedestrian and bicycle activity, and upgrading the North College corridor are all important objectives. Public comment is welcomed. The plan is in the final stages of being drafted and will be presented to City Council for approval on November 3.

What's in the Funding Plan?

This proposed North College Infrastucture Funding Plan will consist mainly of an overall list of infrastructure projects. The plan will include explanations of each project and each potential funding source identified in the list. This plan will guide ongoing discussions and efforts over many years, and it is meant to be updated annually as progress is made and new information becomes available.

The Project List

There are 20 projects in the following 4 categories:

• Street Improvements to Existing Streets
• New Streets
• Storm Drainage Facilities
• Sewer Line

The planning-level estimate for the cost of all projects on the list is $57 million. Four of the projects are shown as Very High priority. Discussion and analysis has focused on these top projects, and preliminary work has already begun on them. The other 16 projects have received less attention, with the amount of discussion and information generally corresponding to the priority shown. The priorities shown are not meant to prevent effort or action on any projects. Opportunities or initiatives may crop up that could spark action at any time on any of the projects, regardless of priority shown. Also, priorities will change as projects are completed and other conditions change in the area.

Funding Scenarios

Three conceptual scenarios have been developed for the Very High priority projects.

Projects 1 and 2

Projects 1 and 2 on the Project List are stretches of North College Avenue from Vine Drive on the south to Hickory Street on the north, and they are combined into this first scenario.

The most recent engineering cost estimate for the whole project is in the range of $12-15 million of which $8 million currently secured through a combination of voter-approved sales tax measures and State and Federal grants. This scenario involves the remaining $4-7 million to fully complete improvements to this portion of North College Avenue.

Project 9

Project 9 on the list is a short segment of a proposed new arterial street which has been known as "Realigned Vine", and would connect North College Avenue to Mountain Vista Drive and Interstate 25. This project would provide a short-but-important segment of the new street, and a major new intersection. This would introduce access to undeveloped rear areas behind North College Avenue frontage and the Old Town North neighborhood. The remainder of "Realigned Vine" can then be built by developers in the normal development process.

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA), rather than the City, would be the best entity to initiate this project, because the URA is more likely to have funds available. Also, the project fits the URA's mission well.

A URA project would act in lieu of a development project to trigger typical participation by the City's Street Oversizing Program for a share of the new street (the program typically participates in construction of new Arterial Streets.)

Facilitating "Realigned Vine" is also very important to prospective development in western portions of the Mountain Vista subarea, in addition to the North College area.

Project 16

Project 16 on the list is a proposed drainage system south of Conifer Street, along a route of approximately one mile. The upstream end is a needed detention pond on the west side of Redwood Street. The system heads eastward from there, within the proposed "Realigned Vine" alignment. Large pipes would cross under Lemay Avenue and then turn south to cross under Vine Drive about 1/3 mile east of Lemay.

This project would help facilitate development of about 370 acres of undeveloped land, much of which was removed from the Dry Creek floodway in 2004. Such development would include the "Realigned Vine" arterial street, which is crucial to development in western portions of the Mountain Vista area, in addition to the North College area. This project would relieve major complications of developers trying to build the needed drainage system on an individual project-by -project basis.

This project is being called the "primary backbone" portion of a larger Northeast College Corridor Outfall (NECCO) project which would cover the entire east side of North College Avenue including areas north of Conifer Street.

The overall NECCO project has been designed by the City as a follow-up to Dry Creek floodplain improvements. As with all storm drainage projects, the NECCO project would follow Best Management Practices for its facilities.

This scenario shows costs as "TBD". Further analysis has already been started to give a better sense of allocations of costs, but no numbers are ready to discuss yet.

In the scenarios above, each funding source appears promising; but none of them are certain at this time. All of them would require significant follow-up effort and actions by the City, URA, and property owners, working together and with other funding entities. Timing, agreements, and community support are major issues associated with each scenario. As projects become further defined, of course, dollar figures will change.

Contact

Clark Mapes, City Planner, City of Fort Collins, 970-221-6225 cmapes@fcgov.com