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Northern Colorado News Briefs

Communication, technology make Weld County an even safer place to live
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office recently released some good news—the crime rate for Weld County decreased for the fifth consecutive year. Overall rates decreased by approximately 50% from 2005 to 2009. Enhanced communication amongst law enforcement agencies and the utilization of improved technology were identified as keys to success. In addition, Sheriff John Cooke thanked cooperative community partners and the District Attorney’s Office for their efforts in keeping the county a safe place to live and ultimately fulfill the mission of the Weld County Sheriff’s Office to “provide responsive, efficient, and ethical government service.” For more information, you can visit the Weld County Sheriff’s Office website at http://www.weldsheriff.com.

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Ground breaks for medical fitness center in Water Valley
Ground was broken mid-February on a new PVHS (Poudre Valley Health System) medical fitness center in Windsor’s Water Valley. The 66,000 square foot development will house physical fitness providers, doctor’s offices and other medical-related businesses. Additional space will be available for a potential hotel, restaurants and/or other ancillary businesses. The fitness center itself will focus on prevention and treatment of diseases, illnesses and injury through physical activity and education. While construction is estimated for completion by October 2010, membership pre-sales will start over the summer.

Source: Coloradoan, “PVHS to break ground on center” by Pat Ferrier, 2/11/2010.
http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100216023

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Fort Collins named a 2010 Distinctive Destination
Fort Collins recently 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. 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. You can go to http://tinyurl.com/ftcdestination that you will have to create a PreservationNation account…it is free. The competition is tough so vote now!

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Loveland/Fort Collins area featured as “Best Retirement City” by CNBC’s Tom Brokaw
On Thursday, March 4th the Loveland/Fort Collins area was featured on CNBC by Tom Brokaw as 1 of 15 “Best Retirement Cities.” The feature was part of a two-hour documentary entitled “TOM BROKAW REPORTS: BOOMER$!” If you missed the show, you can visit boomers.cnbc.com for extended video clips and highlights.

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Centralized arts hub on Loveland’s horizon
Loveland city council members, the mayor, local artists and other key Loveland stakeholders gathered in late January to talk about an exciting new vision for Loveland - the creation of a centralized arts hub that would not only showcase local artists, but also serve as a catalyst for economic growth. The group agreed that the realization of this vision begins with the designation of a central community arts building around which arts-based businesses, theatres and perhaps schools may cluster. So what is the next step? Ten delegates were selected at the January meeting to further investigate the vision and create specific economic goals. These delegates will present their conclusions to the Loveland City Council. Keep an eye out for updates to this story in future issues of the Key Word.

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Greeley housing market regaining balance
Year-end figures reveal signs of recovery in the Greeley metro area housing market. More specifically, the months supply of inventory (MSI) is tightening for area homes up to $400,000. MSI measures how long it will take for all the area homes to be sold, or absorbed, based on how many homes are currently on the market and the rate homes have sold in the past. An MSI < 5 months is considered a seller’s market; MSI between 5-7 months is considered a balanced market; MSI > 7 months is considered a buyer’s market. In the chart below, the MSI for 2008 versus 2009 is displayed for 12 Greeley metro area price bands. The gray bars represent 2008 MSI, blue bars represent 2009 MSI, and numbers within arrows denote the % change from 2008 to 2009. In 10 of the 12 price bands, the MSI decreased. The moral of the story: Greeley metro area homes that fall within these 10 price bands are either in or moving toward a more balanced, stable market.

Source: Broker Metrics.

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Watch the Fort Collins ‘State of the City’ Online
On January 26th, Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson and City Manager Darren Atterberry presented the 2010 ‘State of the City.’ If you were unable to watch live, you can access a video recording of the event at: www.fcgov.com/stateofthecity. Hutchinson and Atterberry touched on the city’s recent accomplishments and the challenges that lay ahead.

Watch the video today so you can be an informed citizen!

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Poudre Valley Health System Receives Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award
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. 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. Superior health care is just one more reason it is great to live in northern Colorado.

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Greeley and Evans median home prices holding steady and rising
A regional snapshot of Greeley/Evans’ 2009 residential detached housing market reveals a promising pattern—a slight, but steady increase in median home sales price. The area started off with a median home sales price of $120,000 in January, hit a peak of $154,900 in July, and managed to still come out ahead at $134,000 at the close of October. The median sales price in October was 13.1% higher than that of the previous year. The trend in Greeley is complemented by the recently updated Standard & Poor’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which reveal a nine-month improvement in the annual decline of house values across the country. The Home Price Indices keeps a pulse on the market by tracking the rate of change in home prices based on 10-City and 20-City composites.

Source: IRES, “Regional Snapshot 2009-Greeley and Evans Residential Detached.”

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North College Avenue Facelift
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. To learn more, you can visit the city website at: http://www.fcgov.com/northcollege.

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