HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-113-07/07/1992-GENERAL GOVERNMENT FACILITIES STRATEGIC FACILITY PLAN RESOLUTION 92-113
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
ADOPTING A STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE PLANNING
AND PROVISION OF GENERAL GOVERNMENT
FACILITIES, AS DESCRIBED IN SCENARIO C OF THE
STRATEGIC FACILITY PLAN FOR GENERAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES
WHEREAS, the City Council , pursuant to its Work Program Goals, has
acknowledged the City's need to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan
concerning the City's future facilities requirements; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that as the community grows, the need
for government services will increase and that a long-range facilities plan will
help the City meet this need more effectively and economically; and
WHEREAS, the City has discussed the Strategic Facility Plan with numerous
community organizations, neighborhood groups and other interested parties; and
WHEREAS, it is a City Council goal to ensure the provision of quality
community services through long-range facilities, public lands, utilities and
service infrastructure maintenance and planning and also to have a continuing
commitment to the vitality of the downtown area.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
that the Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services, which is
attached hereto as Exhibit A is hereby adopted, and Scenario C of the Plan is
approved as the City's strategy for the future planning and provision of general
government facilities.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort
Collins held this 7th day of July, A.D. 1992.
ayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Strategic Facility Plan
for
General Government Services
a collaborative effort between
Facility Dynamics, Dallas, Texas
Architectural Horizons, Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado
and the City of Fort Collins Facility Division
City of Fort Collins, Colorado
April 1992
General Government Services
City of Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan
Maple Street
V1 y
LaPorte Avenue
C
N O
d
3 R
o g
2
Mountain Avenue
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.............................................................................. 1
Introduction......................................................................................... 11
Purpose 11
Background 11
Problem Statement 12
Beginnings 13
Focus 13
Strategic Planning versus Master Planning 14
Policy Assumptions for Facility Development 15
Recommendations................................................................................ 17
Findings.............................................................................................. 19
Police Services 19
The Downtown Plan 19
Cost of Construction 21
Parking 21
City Hall East and City Hall West 22
Land Use 22
Fragmentation of Operations 23
Municipal Court and County Growth 23
Available Lease Space 24
City Operations 24
Interaction Between Departments of the City 26
Growth of Municipal Facility Space 26
Demand versus Supply of Space 26
Communication Linkage 26
Planning Environment............................................................................29
Inventory of Municipal Facilities 29
Opportunity Sites 31
Historic & Projected City Population 1980-2011 34
Historic & Projected Municipal Employment 1980-2011 35
Strategic Space Forecast 1991-2011 36
Methodology........................................................................................39
Approach 39
Situation Definition 40
Alternative Identification 41
Alternative Evaluation 41
Scenario Development Guidelines............................................................43
Operations Planning Criteria 43
Facility Planning Criteria 43
Financial Planning Criteria 43
Strategic Alternatives............................................................................45
Facility Development Strategies 45
Partial Consolidation/ Campus Approach 45
Consolidate General Government Services in a Single Building 45
Decentralized/Expanded Leasing 45
Strategy #1: Partial Consolidation/Campus Approach.................................47
Illustrative Scenario A 49
Illustrative Scenario B 52
Illustrative Scenario C-1 55
Illustrative Scenario C-2: 58
Strategy #2 Consolidation of General Government Services........................ 61
Illustrative Scenario D 61
Strategy #3 Decentralization of General Government Services.....................65
Illustrative Scenario E 65
Evaluation........................................................................................... 69
Economic Analysis 69
Qualitative Analysis 72
Credits................................................................................................75
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Executive Summary
Recommendation The planning team recommends the adoption of Scenario C: Partial
Consolidation on a site other than Block 31 with a New Police Building.
This solution is recommended because:
It places the City in the best position for continued development
of consolidated General Government Services.
It can be achieved for moderate cost.
It leaves the City's options concerning the disposition of 281 N.
College Ave. open
Discussion If one knew what the future might be, making decisions today would be
easier. Decision makers could take actions today that would establish
good foundations for the environment of tomorrow. Investments based
upon those decisions would be even more valuable because those assets
would continued to be useful even after the conditions under which those
decisions were made pass away.
Strategic facility planning offers a way to understand the environment of
the future so insight can be applied to investments that an organization
makes in land and buildings. Since land and buildings tend to endure, it
is helpful to make those investments with as much foresight as possible.
It is the purpose of this study to:
provide the City of Fort Collins, Colorado with the vision to
make strategic decisions about facilities for the General Gov-
ernment Services.
establish a process for monitoring the General Government Ser-
vices' changing requirement for facilities, and making and
implementing tactical plans to meet those needs.
serve as a consolidated reference for General Government Ser-
vices facility projects.
provide information that can be incorporated into the city-wide
facility master plan.
Central to this approach is developing a rational answer to the question:
What might the City of Fort Collins be like in the year 2011?
Based upon the last 20 years, one can expect that the population will
continue to grow. If Fort Collins grows at a rate of 2.5%, its population
in the Urban Growth Area would be 146,556 by the year 2011. Since
this level of population will be below the holding capacity of the Urban
Growth Area, the population of Fort Collins could continue to expand
beyond that point. Historically, as the City's population grew, the
demand for municipal services also grew. All branches of the Municipal
Executive Summary - Page 1
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Government added facilities, services, programs and staff to meet the
challenge of the expanding infra-structure, federally mandated require-
ments and demand for additional services. For the most part - these
departments' growth closely correlates to the size of the population in
the City. Particularly vulnerable to this expansion are the General Gov-
ernment Services: Executive Services, Administrative Services, Police
Services, and Community Planning and Environmental Services.
Despite the fact that they have a lower profile than some of the other
departments of the City, these services constitute nearly half of the
employees in the municipal government. Their need to be collocated
with one another in order to do their jobs efficiently generates a concen-
trated demand for space in the downtown area. As the demand for
services grow, their competition for limited space becomes critical. At
this time, no comprehensive plan exists to accommodate the needs of this
segment of Fort Collins Municipal Government.
Using the correlation between expected population and municipal
employment as a guide, in the year 2011, one would find that the Gen-
eral Government Services had expanded to 647 employees from the 1991
level of 403 employees. The demand for space to accommodate the
operations of the General Government Services would have increased by
about 50% to 164,286 assignable square feet from a requirement of
112,427 assignable square feet in 1991.
The central issue addressed by this study is:
What steps can one take today to assure that the facility needs of
the Fort Collins' General Government Services can continue to be
met most effectively and economically?
To gain the necessary insight to make facility related decisions whose
affects will endure long beyond the day that those decisions were made.
Let us place ourselves in the environment of the year 2011. From that
perspective, let us examine the situation that the City might face at that
time in accommodating the facility needs of the General Government
Services. Our perspective will change depending upon the decisions that
have been made in the past. These different perspectives are represented
as scenarios (i.e., facility related actions over a period of time).
This study addresses six alternative scenarios that range from
consolidating all the General Government Services functions in
one new building, to
undertaking no construction and instead satisfying all require-
ments for space by continued leasing.
One can think of the scenarios as representing a managerial postures
which guided the course of events. Each scenario is presented as situa-
tions the City's decision-makers (in the year 2011) might confront after
20 years of facility development guided by the philosophy that the sce-
nario represents.
Executive Summary - Page 2
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Scenario A: In the mid 1990's, the City developed a New City Building but confined
Partial that development to Block 31. City Hall West and City Hall East
Consolidation remained in the inventory. The buildings that once existed on the south
on Block 31 part of Block 31 were eliminated when the County exercised their option
to build there. Most of the occupants of those buildings moved to the
New City Building. Facilities was the exception. They moved into the
space vacated in City Hall West when Executive and Administrative
Services moved to the New City Building. An addition on the north side
of City Hall West satisfied Facilities need for shop space. By 2011, the
City has built 121,500 square feet of space in two phases on Block 31.
The last phase was sized to accommodate the growing demand for space
by the occupants of the New City Building and for the occupants of the
281 N. College. 281 N. College was sold soon after the occupants
moved into the New City Building in 2006.
City and County developments on Block 31 were designed to be 4-stories
maximum so as to maintain a low profile. Also, because of the scope of
the building projects on Block 31, it would have been uneconomical - if
not impossible - to build buildings much taller than 4 stories, even if
desired. This development approach consumed most of the land area on
Block 31 leaving little room for parking on-site. The City satisfied the
need for parking by resorting to constructing structured parking. The
resulting parking deck holds 886 cars. Building structured parking
proved to be expensive. The City has invested over $21 million to pro-
vide parking for the buildings on Block 31. Even though the City
generates revenue from leasing parking space to the public and to the
County, developing the parking stricture cost as much as developing the
city buildings.
At this point (year 2011), Fort Collins has not filled the Urban Growth
Area and the population continues to expand. Based upon the experience
of the last 40 years the demand for municipal services is also expected to
grow. The City knows that this means that more space will be required
for municipal operations, but Block 31 has been fully developed. The
City would consider buying adjacent land to develop more facilities, but
properties adjacent to Block 31 have been purchased. The City has three
alternatives for generating additional space in the next 10 years: 1) lease
space in the downtown area, or 2) build a new facility at a location that
is remote from the other sites, 3) demolish City Hall East and/or City
Hall West to create denser development on Block 42.
Scenario B: In order to leave Block 31 as a site for parking the City purchased a City
Partial block in the 1990's that was adjacent to Blocks 31, 42 and 22. By doing
Consolidation so, they avoided the expense of developing structured parking and pro-
on a block other vided themselves plenty of room for future expansion. As the County
than Block 31 developed their half of Block 31 in the 1990's, the occupants of the
buildings there moved to the New City Building. The Facilities Division
relocated to City Hall West and occupied the building with I.C.S. Two
additions were constructed at City Hall West to make it more useful to
the occupants: an 11,000 square foot shop addition and a 13,000 square
Executive Summary - Page 3
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
foot office addition.
In 2011, the City of Fort Collins is anticipating continued growth and
expects that the Municipal Government will also need to expand its ser-
vices. Land is still available on Block 32 and Block 31 for expansion
into the foreseeable future. However, any expansion onto Block 31
eliminates surface parking and will probably necessitate the construction
of structured parking; the City would like to avoid that expense if at all
possible.
Police Services still occupies City Hall Fast. The building does not meet
their needs; this poses a dilemma for the City. Placing Police Services
in a new facility would open City Hall Fast for expanding City opera-
tions, but (here is no room on Block 32 for a new Police Building.
Moreover, there is no land in the Central Business District for a Police
Building; it has all been developed commercially. A new Police Ser-
vices Building will likely have to be constructed outside of the Central
Business District.
Scenario C-1 : In the 1990's, the City purchased Blocks 32 and 33. Block 32 was to be
Partial used as either parking or as a building site for a new Administration
Consolidation Building and Block 33 was designated as the site for the new Police
on a block other Services Building.
than Block 31,
New Police In the 1990's, the Police occupied a new Police Building located there.
Building Just 5 years ago, they finished the first addition to the building. This
placed the Police in a building that not only suited their needs for space
but also solved their operational and security requirements. Block 33
has ample room for continued expansion of Police Services along with
surface parking space for their numerous vehicles. Cherry Street and
Maple Street provide Police Services with an access to transportation
arteries in the City.
Constructing new facilities for Police Services allowed the City to defer
a decision concerning the new Administration Building until the early
part of the 21st Century. Faced with a choice between developing either
Block 31 or Block 32, the City determined that Block 32 offered the
better choice for a building site. It was adjacent to City facilities on
both Blocks 42 and 22. It was also adjacent to potential County devel-
opment on Block 31 and to the new Police Building on Block 33.
Moreover, it left the City's options open concerning the eventual dispo-
sition of 281 N. College. Block 32 offered ample space for future
development; Block 31 could remained as municipal parking for both the
City and the County. Future requirements for City facilities and associ-
ated surface parking could be met on Block 32. This avoided the
expense of developing structured parking. As the County developed
their half of Block 31 in the year 2000, the occupants of the buildings
there moved to the New City Building. The Facilities Division relocated
to City Hall West to occupy that building along with I.C.S. Two addi-
tions were constructed at City Hall West to make it more useful to the
occupants: an 11,000 square foot shop addition and a 13,000 square foot
Executive Summary - Page 4
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
office addition.
The City eventually sold 281 N. College Ave. in the year 2002 when
commercial development in the Central Business District increased the
demand for locations along the northern portion of N. College Ave. At
that time, the new City Building was also expanded to accommodate the
occupants that moved from 281 N. College Ave.
Now, in 2011, with the population of the City growing and pressures for
continued services growing as well, the City is reviewing its options for
developing facilities for the General Government Services. The decision
to develop Block 32 provides the City with several options for expanding
those facilities. The City can concern itself with choosing the proper
timing and defining the proper scope of additional projects.
Scenario C-2: In order to leave Block 31 as a site for parking, the City purchased the
Partial west half of Block 22 (next to 281 N. College Ave.), a parcel on the
Consolidation north portion of Block 32 (for use as parking), and also Block 33.
on Block 22, In the 1990's, the Police occupied a new Police Building located on
New Police Block 33. Then, just 5 years ago, the City completed an addition to the
Building building. This placed Police Services in a building that not only suited
their needs for space but also solved their operational and security
requirements. Block 33 has ample room for continued expansion of
Police Services along with surface parking space for their numerous
vehicles. Cherry Street and Maple Street provide Police Services with
an access to transportation arteries in the City.
Constructing new facilities for Police Services allowed the City to defer
development concerning the new Administration Building until the early
part of the 21st Century. They knew that development on Block 22
would avoid the need to construct a structured parking facility. The land
on Block 22 provide room for future expansion and this location assured
the City that operations in the new City Building would be in close
proximity to Community Planning and Environmental Services located in
281 N. College. In developing Block 22, the City purchased the old
train depot and incorporated the building into the design of the building.
This amenity provided a nice focal point for the City development, but
reduced the land available for surface parking and building development.
As the County developed Block 31 early in the 21st Century, the occu-
pants of the buildings there moved to the New City Building. The
Facilities Division relocated to City Hall West and occupied the building
along with I.C.S. Two additions were constructed at City Hall West to
make it more useful to the occupants: an 11,000 square foot shop addi-
tion and a 13,000 square foot office addition.
As the City faces the next decade in 2011, several situations deserve
their attention. The City never purchased the south portion of Block 32
(just north of Block 31) even though the City owns property on all four
sides of that block. While this is not a serious problem, and little inter-
action occurs between the occupants of the three sites (Block 22, 42, and
Executive Summary - Page 5
Fort Collins Strateaic Facility Plan for General Government Services
33), the commercial development on Block 32, acts as a barrier between
the City's sites.
The City's options are somewhat limited concerning the disposition of
281 N. College Ave. This building was renovated over 20 years ago in
the late 1980's and will need additional renovation work soon. Also, by
constructing on Block 22, the City made a commitment to that location.
Even though the Central Business District continues to develop and could
easily include 281 N. College Ave. along with the other commercial
development, the City cannot return the property to the private sector.
Loss of 281 N. College and the land upon which it sits would severely
affect the City's ability to efficiently deliver services to the public. At
this point, in 2011, the City must choose between 1) renovating 281 N.
College and building an addition to the new Administration Building, or
2) demolishing 281 N. College and building a new, denser (4-story)
construction in its place.
Scenario D: The City developed a New City Building on Block 31 in 1996 where
Consolidation almost all Central Municipal Operations could be consolidated. The City
of General kept City Hall West from which I.C.S. and the Facilities Division oper-
Government ate but converted City Hall East to public, non-governmental activities.
Services 281 N. College was sold during the 1990's. An addition on the north
on Block 31 side of City Hall West satisfied Facilities need for shop space. The
buildings that once existed on the south part of Block 31 were eliminated
when the County exercised its option to build there. By 2011, the City
has built 178,600 square feet of space in three phases on Block 31: one
major development of 150,000 square feet and two smaller developments
of 14,300 square feet each.
The City's objective in developing Block 31 was to achieve maximum
density there, so as to limit floor plates and the building footprint to
15,000 square feet. This approach produced a 10 story building, and
left adequate room for developing structured parking on-site. To
accommodate parking for the occupants of the City and County build-
ings, the City constructed a 5-story structured parking deck that now
holds 1241 cars. Structured parking proved to be an expensive solution.
The City has invested over $20 million to provide parking for the build-
ings on Block 31. Even though the City generates revenue from leasing
parking space to the public and to the County, developing the parking
structure cost almost as much as developing the City's buildings.
At this point (year 2011.), the population in the Urban Growth Area con-
tinues to expand. Based upon the experience of the last 40 years, the city
expects the demand for municipal services also to grow. The City
knows that this means that more space will be required for municipal
operations, but Block 31 has been fully developed. The City would
consider buying adjacent land to develop more facilities, but properties
adjacent to Block 31 have been developed commercially. The City has
three alternatives for generating additional space in the next 10 years: 1)
lease space in the downtown area, 2) build a new facility at a location
Executive Summary - Page 6
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
that is remote from the other sites, or 3) demolish City Hall East and/or
City Hall West to create denser development on Block 42.
Scenario E: Fort Collins has developed no General Government Services facilities
Decentralized since 1991. When the County developed their facilities on Block 31,
Central 20,592 assignable square feet of space (23,363 gross square feet) that the
Government/ City had occupied on that block was removed from the inventory. The
Expanded City made up the deficit in space by adding 25,740 rentable square feet
Leasing of lease space. This left 76,139 of assignable square feet of City owned
facility space in the Central Business District. By the year 2011, the
General Government Services meets its need for space by leasing
approximately 108,000 rentable square feet (86,500 assignable square
feet) of space in the Central Business District. In 1991, this demand
would have consumed all the available rental office space in the down-
town. Of course, with the growing demand for office space in the
Central Business District, entrepreneurs developed speculative office
buildings to meet that need.
Even at 1991 lease rates of$10 per square foot, the City would pay
more than $1,000,000 per year for office rental, but the affects of 4%
inflation makes the annual cost of leasing exceed $2,000,000. Demand
for space and the advent of higher quality space pushed rental rates even
higher in 1991 terms. For the cost of providing leased space over the
last 20 years, the City could have purchased land and constructed new
facilities. The cost of continuing leased space that the City currently
maintains for the next 20 years will again equal the cost of the lands and
buildings that would satisfy the City's current need for space.
Moreover, by depending upon leased space, the City's General Gov-
ernment Services could not be consolidated. This created some
inefficiencies since the employees must travel between locations to
interact with one another to do their jobs. This also presents some
inconvenience to the public since there is no central location where City
business can be conducted.
The City's options for meeting the needs of further growth in the Gen-
eral Government Services are: 1) continue leasing space, 2) identify a
site (probably outside of the downtown area) for development of facili-
ties for the General Government Services
Executive Summary - Page 7
Fort Collins Strateaic Facility Plan for (igneral Government Services
NET ACCUMULATED SCENARIO COSTS
Municipal Facility Development Scenarios
Fort Collins, Colorado
Accumulated
Expenses
Scenario AIMI
`
$37.9
Accumulated t—Net Accumulated
Incomes Scenario Cost
K E Y
Scenario B sm Accumulated Expenses
141111$23.5 — Accumulated Incomes
Net Accumulated Scenario Cost
Scenario C-1 SOURCES OF ACCUMULATED EXPENSE
M$26.9 Lease Costs
0 Other Costs (Interaction,
Communication Installation,
Environmental Clean-Up,
Scenario C-2 Tenant Finish-Out)
$22.1 Land Acquisition
Parking Development
Scenario D ® Building Construction
$42.0
SOURCES OF ACCUMULATED INCOME
- Parking Leases
Scenario E ® Sale of Buildings
$30.1
Numbers reflect net scenario costs
based on optimistic assumptions,
0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 i.e., using the lower range of
probable costs and the higher
(In Millions) range of probable revenues.
Executive Summary - Page 8
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Economic Our perspective offers us the opportunity to compare the probable costs
Comparison of the scenarios that have just been presented. This analysis is presented
here graphically and represents the total investment in each of the alter-
natives including the cost of:
building development,
land purchase,
leasing,
parking development, and
other costs (interaction, communication installation,
environmental clean-up, and tenant finish-out)
and revenues generated from:
parking leases,and
sale of buildings
Future incomes and expenses are not discounted, but do provide for 4%
per year inflation.
Executive Summary - Page 9
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Introduction
Purpose This planning study addresses the continually changing facility needs of
the municipal government of Fort Collins, Colorado. Specifically, this
study seeks to:
* provide the City with the vision to be able to make strategic
decisions about facilities for the General Government Services.
* establish a process for monitoring the General Government
Services' changing requirements for facilities, and making and
implementing tactical plans to meet those needs.
* serve as a consolidated reference for General Government Ser-
vices' facility projects
* provide information that can be incorporated into the city-wide
facility master plan.
It is imperative that the chosen strategy satisfy the objectives of the City
and solve the problems identified. It is, however, the primary objective
of this study to place in the hands of the decision makers of the City a
document that can be used to make decisions today that will continue to
be valid.
Background Situated approximately midway between the capitol cities of both Colo-
rado and Wyoming, along a major interstate highway and within easy
driving distance of a major international airport, Fort Collins occupies a
unique geographic position. Features that add to Fort Collins' ability to
attract stable industry and productive inhabitants are the campus of
Colorado State University, major, revenue-generating, clean industries
(Hewlett Packard, NCR, Woodward Governor, Anheiser Bush, Teledyne
WaterPik, etc.) and convenient access to major recreational areas and
National Parks.
Since 1980, Fort Collins has continued to grow at a rate of approxi-
mately 3% despite a slowdown in the economy of the state.
Services provided by the City's government have kept pace with this
growth, requiring governmental expansion at approximately the same
rate. As the needs of the City and technology changed, the City
expanded municipal operations and added new services (e.g., Natural
Resources, Information and Communication Systems). It is rational to
expect that municipal government will continue to grow as the Fort Col-
lins population expands.
Realizing the significance of these changes, the City recently commis-
sioned several forward looking studies related to municipal and
commercial development in the downtown area. Of particular signifi-
cance are the Leggat McCall Report (dated 1989) and the Downtown
Plan. The impact of their insight and perspective upon the thinking of
the City management cannot be ignored. Their direction has been a
frequent reference point throughout this planning process.
Introduction - Page 11
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Another significant event was the acquisition of Block 31 by the City and
County. Foreseeing a need to establish a government center the City
and Larimer County entered into a joint agreement to acquire contiguous
pieces of land near the central business district of downtown Fort Col-
lins. Acquisition of those properties that comprise Block 31 was
completed in 1984. The City and the County jointly agreed that any
continued development of their facilities would first consider building
there.
Block 31 currently accommodates several municipal functions in several
small buildings that existed there at the time the Block was purchased.
Most of Block 31 serves as a municipal parking lot. In addition to
Block 31, the City owns several buildings in the downtown idcluding the
East and West City Halls. The newest acquisition, 281 N. College,
accommodates most - but not all - of the administrative operations of
Community Planning and Environmental Services and the Cultural,
Library and Recreational Services operations. The City meets the
remaining space needs in the downtown through short-tern leases.
The City is at a significant point in its development. As the economy
emerges from a decade of recession and becomes healthier, the City and
Larimer County both stand on the brink of significant changes in the
structure and growth of the community.
Problem In the past, planning processes have often been relatively short-term, for
Statement example, the City addressed the current needs of City operations and
provided some expansion space for two to five years growth or built
only as much as the budget would allow. This perspective, rooted in the
present, usually results in buildings that suit the current scale of opera-
tions. As the City evolves beyond the planners' vision, those buildings
cease to serve the City's needs.
Exemplary of this situation is City Hail East. Its design and construction
is appropriate for the operations of Fort Collins in 1957, when all func-
tions probably fit comfortably in its three stories and 20,000 square feet
of space. Then, the finance department probably occupied a single
room. Now, it cannot function comfortably on a whole floor of the
building.
City Hall West serves as another example; it was built within stringent
budgetary limitations. The resulting space could not meet the City's
needs even when it was first occupied. 321 Maple (intended as a tem-
porary building) still supplements the space deficiencies of City Hall
West.
It is difficult to envision Fort Collins as it might be in a decade or two
from now. What we know today clouds one's perceptions of tomorrow.
But, Fort Collins municipal government is (and has been for some time)
in a dynamic state of growth fueled by the growth of its population.
Investing in buildings that do not anticipate tomorrow's needs will result
in buildings that are as inappropriate for those times and as difficult to
Introduction - Page 12
i
Fort Collins Strate4ic Facility Plan for General Government Services
expand as City Hall West and City Hall East are today.
If buildings are containers for the activities that occur within, then as
those operations change, the containers must likewise change. Since
buildings are relatively permanent fixtures, the best one can do today is
position them properly as stepping stones into the future.
Beginnings This study began in the summer of 1990 as a comprehensive investiga-
tion of the facility needs of the City of Fort Collins. At that time, other
planning efforts were underway or had been recently completed for
many City operations. The planning team carefully considered the con-
clusions of previously completed plans and incorporated their findings
(where appropriate). This process revealed several things.
First, many City planning efforts limited their scope to isolated opera-
tions: the Senior Center, Lincoln Center, and Parks. Some address the
operations of major consolidated groups and have resulted in the
implementation of facility projects (e.g., Utility Services and Streets
Division). Most plans for City facilities have a planning horizon of 5 to
10 years into the future.
None of the current plans address the development of facilities for the
General Government Services (e.g., Executive Services, Administrative
Services, Community Planning and Environmental Services, Cultural,
Library and Recreational Services Administration, and Police Services).
Collectively, these services constitute nearly half of the entire municipal
employment and interact with all the other Service Area of the City.
General Government Services employees frequently interact with one
another, with other City service providers, and with the general public.
As demand for services grew, General Government Services grew, as
did their demand for space. Without a comprehensive plan, the space
occupied by the General Government Services has become decentralized.
At the time this study began, several of the central functions of the
municipal government were forced to chose between operating with
insufficient space or fragmenting their operating groups. This condition
paradoxically existed despite the general availability of space. The
problem is that the space often is often not suitable for the intended use.
For example, the Car Barn represents 15,000 square feet of space in the
Central Business District. This space, however, cannot be used for any-
thing other than unconditioned storage space. In other cases space is not
available in the right amounts, in the right place. Police Services and
the Financial Department are particularly vulnerable to this situation.
These groups' operations have grown beyond the scale of the buildings
in the Central Business District.
Focus In order to contribute to the City-wide facility plan the planning team
focused its efforts upon the needs of the City's General Government
Services operations.
To gain the proper perspective, the planning team acknowledged the
Introduction - Page 13
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
long-term nature of the needs of General Government Services and their
commitment to remain located in the Central Business District. Since
the downtown of Fort Collins is in a state of growth, the ability of the
General Government Services to remain in the Central Business District
depends upon the City's success in identifying and providing for the
continued growth of this aspect of the City's municipal government. For
these reasons, this study uses a planning horizon of twenty years and
addresses those departments that will be located in Fort Collins' Central
Business District.
Municipal Organization Chart
City of Fort Collins, Colorado
city ,
council'"
Clry city `Clry.'! Municipal.
CkrK MaMpar:: Attomsy,y Court
Common ry.
Polio! Adminls"tlw Plannlrtp Ulilly Cultural Fire
so services & Environmental Service Services Authority
Services
_EMwM ampbYw GmwY IL3 W e� abnn llp�l $rmle EymL M M TnbLe
gewNmI Swvkes W. Weld Rwmr Mrnt P. s.ew
�Wm. *
Inrolm. unit.t � eeR� Eooy eli glw� ".W e.e v.1w uorwY� m
eervkve Recreel.
* *
KEY
* A portion of tee group is b shnl In the downtown
Munlelpal depanmenla boated downtown
Strategic Strategic facility plans, in contrast to master plans, normally have longer
Planning versus planning horizons. In this case, the horizon is the year 2011, 20 years
Master Planning into the future. In contrast to master plans which normally illustrate
alternative site development schemes based upon a chosen development
strategy, strategic planing establishes the concept or direction for facility
development. Strategic facility plans allow decision makers to experi-
ence - in advance - the gradual unfolding of events that determine the
need for development. The approach used here employs a series of
scenarios of site development. Each based on a rational estimate of the
Introduction - Page 14
i
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
growth of operations driven by the service needs for an anticipated level
of population. Each scenario illustrates a different approach (or strat-
egy) that decision makers might take.
Strategic facility plans also differ from master plans in that they do not
necessarily pinpoint specific sites nor prescribe specific steps for devel-
oping a site. While sites and buildings are important components in
strategic facility planning, the most important consideration is the need
to satisfy the operations served by the buildings.
Strategic facility planning acknowledges the dynamic tendency for
operations to change. As they change, their requirements for space also
change even though the buildings that they occupy are static elements. It
is the focus of devising strategy for developing facilities that will con-
tinue to serve as useful and performing assets that is the ultimate
objective of strategic facility planning.
The scenarios serve as illustrative situations not as recommendations. As
such, most strategic planning scenarios are not necessarily implemented;
their value lies in the insight that they provide management. With the
benefit of the insight the scenarios provide, management can then make
knowledgeable decisions about master plans and tactical plans. This
development then establishes the foundation for facilities that will con-
tinue to support the purpose for which they are built.
Policy Development of facilities for Fort Collins' General Government Services
Assumptions operation should meet the following objectives. These objectives seek to
for Facility address the concerns enumerated in the section entitled "Findings".
Development * Optimize the location of operations relative to the customers
they serve (this includes internal customers as well as public).
* Consolidate operations of a department; if possible, consolidate
service areas.
* Develop economical and cost effective solutions.
* Provide for the continued development of the City's General
Government Services facilities beyond the planning horizon of
this study.
* Provide adequate parking for City employees so as not to
compete for parking spaces with downtown businesses.
* Develop planning in a manner consistent with other City plan-
ning efforts and with the land planning objectives of the
community.
* Prove appropriate space for General Government Services
operations.
* Plan and constrict facilities with enough room for expansion of
operations until the next building cycle.
* Use existing buildings as long as it is economically feasible.
Introduction - Page 15
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
* Develop municipal facilities sympathetically with the City's
objectives for controlling vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow
in the downtown area.
* Provide municipal facilities that compliment and avoid compe-
tition with downtown business development.
* Establish a review process with the county and school district to
determine the feasibility of joint occupancy or other sharing of
facilities and sites.
* Departments will consider the use of technologies, contracting
services, off-site locations, etc. in order to provide the most
efficient and economical use of people and space in delivering
services.
* Base space needs upon established City space standards.
* Each department will decide whether to use an open or closed
office plan.
* Consider Block 31 in the development of City facilities and
establish a process for building on Block 31 in conjunction with
the County.
* Consider leasing to meet short-term needs for General Gov-
ernment Serives. Long-term use of space will have a cost
analysis completed prior to leasing, purchasing or building.
* All future City facility development should be consistent with
the City-wide facility plan.
Introduction - Page 16
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Recommendations
Fort Collins is in a dynamic growth mode. Opportunities exist today for
the City to acquire strategic pieces of land for facility development that
could enhance the development of the downtown and assure continued
service of the City to the community.
There is no assurance that those opportunities will continue to be avail-
able. If strategic pieces of land are not acquired and the downtown of
Fort Collins continues to develop, the City could find itself in a land-
locked condition with limited options for continued growth. This would
jeopardize the City's ability to continue to provide effective General
Government Services in the downtown area.
To avoid being placed in this position, we recommend several courses of
action:
1. Acquire land near (if possible, adjacent to) Block 31 for City
development. For example, Block 32 (directly to the north of
Block 31), Block 33 (directly north of Block 32), and the west
portion of Block 22 (the block upon which 281 N. College is
located).
2. Do not construct City facilities on Block 31. Instead, leave that
block available for the development of County facilities and
municipal parking.
3. Construct a new, low-rise (4 stories maximum) municipal
facility for Fort Collins' Central Government Services.
4. Locate the new municipal facility on a city block - by itself- to
provide for possible expansion requirements beyond the 20 year
horizon of this study. This study uses Block 32 as a site for the
new Central Government Center Building. This location should
be considered as illustrative only.
5. Do a thorough tactical and strategic evaluation of Police Ser-
vices operations and facility requirements.
6. Locate the Police department in a facility dedicated to their use
alone and designed to satisfy their unique needs.
7. Do not locate Police Services on a block with other municipal
facilities. Instead, locate the Police Services Building so that its
future development will not compete for building space and
land with other governmental or business operations. This
study uses Block 33 as a site for Police Services new location.
This location should be considered as illustrative only. The
decision regarding the actual site should be made only after a
thorough study of Police Services current and future needs.
8. Acquire strategically located sites for surface parking (for
example, the west portion of Block 22 and the north portion of
Block 32), develop surface parking as the downtown continues
to develop.
Recommendations - Page 17
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
9. Do not construct structured parking until economics, demand
and downtown development justifies it.
10. Incorporate the recommendations of this plan into the City-wide
facility planning effort.
The recommendations of this study are best illustrated by Strategy N1 -
Illustrative Scenario C-1: Partial Consolidation (New Administrative
building on a site other than Block 31, and a New Police Services build-
ing).
Recommendations - Page 18
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Findings
As a result of analyzing information gathered from numerous sources,
several key issues emerged that impact directly upon the development of
municipal facilities for the City of Fort Collins. Following is a listing
and discussion of each of these significant findings.
Police Services The Police Services operations are currently located in City Hall East
and several leased facilities throughout the Central Business District.
In general, police operations have highly specialized requirements that
demand specially designed facilities that meet their needs for security in
handling people and evidence. Police activity generates considerable
automobile traffic due to their patrol units. While this does not currently
congest the traffic in downtown Fort Collins, this could become a prob-
lem as the City and the downtown develops.
Currently, City Hall East does not adequately meet either the space or
functional needs of the Police Services:
The physical layout of City Hall East, forces detainees to mingle
with the public and police.
The configuration of the facilities occupied by Police Services
does not conform to the national standards for police facilities.
Not all police functions can be currently located in City Hall
East. Evidence and the Special Investigation Unit, for example,
are located in leased facilities.
The small floor plates of the building prohibit the collocation of
different departments of Police Services that must interact with
one another. Moreover, the floor plate size frustrates the orderly
expansion of individual Police Services functions and results in
fragmentation of functions.
Police Services' demand for space needs greater definition at this point.
If their need for space has been underestimated or if the demand for
Police Services increases faster than anticipated, the Police's space
requirements may accelerate. This study found that Police Services'
need for appropriately designed and sized facilities is critical.
The Downtown The Downtown Plan presents a long-range vision for the development of
Plan the downtown area. The assumptions and directions that address the
Canyon Avenue area of the downtown and the vision for that area are
relevant to the development of the Strategic Municipal Facility Plan.
Of particular interest are the following items:
Plan Objective: "Encourage greater intensification of land use in
the Old City Center and Canyon Avenue Districts and step inten-
sity down toward the residential neighborhoods. " (page 67)
Findinas - Pane 19
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Plan Objective: "Allow other uses that are supportive of the
principal office uses in the Canyon Avenue District including
hotels, day care facilities, personal service shops and business
services uses (print shops, ofice supply , etc.) that provide for
the needs of Downtown employees and businesses. " (page 69)
Plan Assumption: "Future space needs of both the City and
County can be accommodated on Block 31. " (page 112)
Plan Objective: "Provide convenient, affordable, economical and
accessible parking to meet diversified Downtown parking
demands. " (page 102)
Plan Objective: "Build the Downtown as the economic heart of
the community and region. " (page 108)
Plan Objective: "Provide a traffic circulation system that facili-
tates movement into, out af, in and around the Downtown... "
(page 97)
LAND USE
Proposed by the Downtown Plan
for the City of Fort Collins
Central Business District
Car
CHERRY Barn
zet ;t+i Co e►clal
MAPLE -
'
s
Com rcI '
City Hell
WestLA PORTE
`1
x
Cityy Hell
Eaat
i l b,
MOUNTAIN
Parkin
OAK ST Deck
b
■ 'II'
OLIVE ST. ■ IJ
t9 G is
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services_
To a large extent, the directions encouraged by the Strategic Municipal
Facility Plan are consistent with those of the Downtown Plan in terms of
the type and density of development. The greatest modification that this
study contributes to the Downtown Plan is its conclusions concerning the
ability of Block 31's land area to satisfy the long-term facility require-
ments of the City and County. This study found that Block 31 cannot
accommodate both City and County development without incurring the
expense of structured parking and high-rise construction. Expanding
government facilities onto the sites surrounding Block 31 and the nature
of the buildings contemplated for that purpose, however, is consistent
with the precepts of the Downtown Plan.
The Downtown Plan recommends specific usage of land in the down-
town area. This is shown on the accompanying graphic.
Cost of The cost of construction depends upon the size and quality of construc-
Construction tion as well as and the conditions under which it is developed (e.g.,
fast-track construction versus conventional construction or congested
sites versus easily accessible sites). Two of the issues confronted in this
study are the relative costs of low-rise construction (1 to 4 stories) versus
mid-rise construction (5 to 10 stories) and the cost of structured parking
versus surface parking.
In 1991 terms, low-rise municipal buildings can be constructed for
approximately $65 per square foot versus $85 per square foot for mid-
rise buildings. This represents a 30% premium to build mid-rise
buildings. Parking structures can be constructed for approximately $35
per square foot or approximately $12,000 per car parked. A rule of
thumb that has remained consistent for a number of years is: parking
stracmres cost the same as the total c f the mid-priced cars that could be
parked there. That cost must be added to the cost of the land upon
which the parking deck sits. Surface parking, on the other hand, costs
approximately $5 per square foot to construct (once the land has been
acquired) or for $1,500 per car parked there. Structured parking repre-
sents a 700% premium over surface parking exclusive of the land costs.
For this reason, structured parking makes economic sense (in 1991
terms) only when land costs rise to approximately $30 per square foot.
Parking Accommodating parking in the downtown is a contested issue. At the
basis of this controversy is the fact that, despite reports of parking defi-
ciency, the parking lots are rarely filled to capacity. This problem pits
perception against planning perspective. Good planning and City policy
require that parking be provided for the potential demand. Because of
vacancies in downtown buildings, the downtown will support a higher
occupancy. Were this occupancy to be realized the parking lots would
reach their capacity.
Because this study focuses on the future, it assumes that the downtown
will likely continue to develop. At some future point, the planning per-
spective concerning occupancy in the downtown will become a reality
Findings - Page 21
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
and available parking vacancies will disappear.
Currently, the City owns six areas for parking in the downtown: Block
31, the Jefferson Street lot, the Parking Garage, the Mason Street lot,
the Oak Street lot and the DMA lot. Additionally, it leases spaces for
City employees on the lot west of the Opera Galleria. Except for Block
31, most of these parking lots are for public parking not municipal
employee parking.
The City's inventory of parking space for its municipal employees is
expected to diminish due to:
Competitive demand for space currently being leased.
Consumption of space on Block 31 due to the development of
buildings by the City or County.
In keeping with the assumptions about City development, alternatives for
municipal development considered here conform to the City's parking
requirements. Each alternative considers the impact of satisfying the
parking requirement on the sites being considered.
Providing adequate parking for the businesses in the downtown is pivotal
to meeting the City Council's objective of enhancing the vitality of the
downtown of Fort Collins.
City Hall East The City's inventory of buildings has included City Hall East since
and 1957. This cast-in-place concrete structure contains floor plates that are
City Hall West too small to be efficient for the City's current requirements. City Hall
East's configuration and construction make it difficult (i.e., expensive)
to expand and its construction make it difficult to demolish. As a pro-
ductive element in the City's inventory of municipal buildings, it has
limited uses. Most of the City's groups do not easily fit into the build-
ing along with the other groups with whom they must interact. The City
faces the dilemma between giving up an existing facility and fragmenting
operations in order to use the space in City Hall East. Both alternatives
represent costs to the City.
The City's inventory has included City Hall West since 1978. It poses
the same dilenuna as City Hall East: its small floor plates are difficult to
use although it does have the capacity to be expanded to the north or
south. Of particular difficulty is finding other uses for the existing
Council Chambers. This specialized space does not easily lend itself to
use by other operations.
Land Use The City's options for developing land in the downtown for their use lie
to the north: city blocks bounded by Meldrum on the west, North Col-
lege Street on the east, Cherry Street on the north and Mountain Avenue
on the south. Specifically, our study focused on Blocks 22, 31, 32, 33
and 42. The Downtown Plan refers to this area of the downtown as the
Canyon Avenue Area and designates this area for retail and office uses
as well as redevelopment areas.
Findings - Page 22
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Two blocks were specifically excluded from consideration within the
boundaries mentioned above: Block 21, east of Block 31 lies in the main
commercial district of the downtown; Block 41, west of Block 31 has
two historically significant buildings (the Avery House and the Saint
Joseph's Church).
To the south of Block 31 lies the County Courts. This block is sur-
rounded by significant commercial development on its east, west and
south sides.
Fragmentation of In the past, the growth of municipal operations often required the Gen-
Operations eral Government Services operations to occupy space wherever it was
available. This frequently resulted in the fragmentation of operating
groups. Since employees from these groups must coordinate with one
another as part of their jobs, considerable time is expended in traveling
between buildings. As part of this study, the planning team analyzed the
time devoted by City employees to traveling between locations to con-
duct City business. Based upon the analysis, the planning team estimates
that the cost of salaries annually expended for municipal employees to
travel between locations in performing their duties is approximately
$140,000. By collocating operations, the time for inter-location travel
would be minimized, if not eliminated.
As the City continues to grow, finding contiguous spaces of the proper
size will become more challenging. Relocating operations in order to
keep them functional is expensive as is the cost of lost productivity due
to fragmenting operations. Costs due to lost opportunity and productiv-
ity unfortunately are difficult to measure. They show up as additional
staffing needs and declining levels of service.
Municipal Court At the time of this study, the County did not have a long-range facility
and development plan. Despite this fact, the County Court system projects
County Growth continued growth. Expansion of the Court facilities is expected to occur
in the space now occupied by the County governmental functions. For
purposes of this study, we assume that the County will need to build a
facility sometime in the next 20 years. We also assume the location of
that facility will be Block 31.
In developing our estimates of space required by the County, the plan-
ning team used space estimates found in the Leggat McCall report of
72,400 net square feet (100,000 gross square feet) today and 86,880 net
square feet (120,000 gross square feet) in 2005.
The expansion of the County Court system also impacts the City's
Municipal Court which leases space from the County. The term of the
Municipal Court's recently renewed lease in the County Court Building
has been reduced from five to three years. Currently, the County Court
System is confronting the issue of providing security within the Court
House. If this issue cannot be resolved by modifying the existing build-
Findings - Page 23
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
ing, the County may be forced to construct a new County Court
Building. The likely site for this development to occur is Block 31.
Due to the uncertainty of the continued available space for the Municipal
Court to remain in the county Court Building, space for the Municipal
Court has been included in this strategic plan.
Available The availability of lease space in the downtown that is of the right size
Lease Space and quality is becoming more difficult to find at reasonable prices.
Current lease rates are in the range of$6.00 to $14.00 per square foot.
Recent leases obtained by the City have been in the range of$10.00 per
square foot. (The 1989 Leggat McCall Report assumed $4.00 per square
foot per year as "likely" lease rates and $8.00 per square foot per year as
"high" lease rates).
Currently, there is an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 rentable square feet of
space in the downtown area. This amount includes all space regardless
of quality, accessibility and size.
Contiguous space of the size the City needs to operate efficiently is
becoming increasingly more difficult to find. We can only expect that as
acceptable rental space in the Central Business District becomes scarce,
lease costs will rise and groups will become more fragmented. At such
time that the economic conditions establish a market for office devel-
opment in the Central Business District, we expect that development to
push lease rates even higher.
City Operations Not all operations within the City interact in the same way with the pub-
lic and with each other. At one end of the spectrum are those operations
such as the Library, Museum, Epic, and Lincoln Center that serve the
public from decentralized locations. Since these types of functions are
decentralized and administration cannot collate with the sites, adminis-
trators must choose between officing at one of the sites of their
department or locating with other, central municipal function.
Equipment intensive operation such as Utility Services represent the
other end of the spectrum. They serve the public through their network
of installed utilities. The administration, planning and maintenance
staffs that serve that system operate most efficiently when located close
to one another. Utility Services departments already have facility and
operational plans in place.
In contrast to the two previously discussed types of operations are the
administrative operations of the City: Executive Services and Adminis-
trative Services (including Finance, Employee Development and
Facilities). Their clients are usually the other operations of the City.
Even though these operations represent a significant component of the
City government (approximately 45%), their lower public profile
resulted in piecemeal and short-ranged facility planning. Fragmented
operations and inadequate space are by-products of allocating these
functions to leftover space. Of all the City's operations, these
Findings - Page 24
Al
AQ
ou
r,r1■;,
t �1■ NO
■O ■
1 t�_■° A
Of�j�y�'��■ 7 "°�IRON`' -11■ti
YR
L � �" 'xe ■■ ,r1�."' ■IRON
'e'a¢aix■ '*./1 ■/INN
//000
//tea■■■N`4N= NX■x5,NN■ I�OOK 14VX
INN Rmz
)INNN. ��;:N/1�■■NN 'O'�■?�'.■�N CNNAS N■.,
)INN■NrR�'■■■■?.�,`�1( $'�. ;�rr'N`tt'■ ■"a■ '�'"&.l'R`.E,�I■wk Ps`%�:�// Si .
YaFan' }/NNNs1 Aw' m■-a//''.a■■N< �XW■ M"�■■N"�■1/■" ■/INN
N ■IIN't a ■ ■ /1 NAIff )ON
Mom NO ��■ `N NNN■■IINN NIIN�
oe "r"' )R a''%N�'11�■�.N;y.'�i„// k� ,`as" 7 a n'1aN':zF.N x '�IRON //
Its ;■. ■■■IINN■■� ,/ ■ X >1■'3
k ° RN7§c`e.`s'a■:A■■■■■IIuN■�1''e X. � R.N' ■a +:"+k �N��■ '3 a�1`�i e'.
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Executive/Administrative employees interact more frequently with one
another and could benefit greatest from a plan that collocates their activ-
ity.
Interaction The departments of Fort Collins' Central Government Services interact
Between with one another considerably in the process of providing services to the
Departments of City. This is graphically illustrated in the interaction diagram on the
the City previous page.
Growth of Over the last 10 years, the demand for municipal facility space has
Municipal Facility matched municipal employment. For purposes of this study, the plan-
Space ning team assumed that the demand for space in the future will continue
to reflect the number of employees. The amount of area required for
each employee is based upon standards established by the City for office
uses. Staff members augmented this estimate with the amount of space
required for support and ancillary activities (storage, work spaces, etc.).
If the population continues to grow at 2.5% per year over the next 20
years, the demand for General Government Services space is expected to
increase by 50%. This demand for space is the planning envelope
against which the supply of space defined in the scenarios is provided.
Demand versus The City's administrative operations now occupies several buildings
Supply of Space scattered in and around the downtown that - in aggregate - represent
approximately 112,000 assignable square feet. The central governmental
operations now occupies approximately 91,000 square feet of this
assignable space. This still falls approximately 10,000 square feet short
of meeting their current need for space. This shortfall is due to the
increasing difficulty of assigning space efficiently when space is not
contiguous or adequately sized. Additionally, some of the space is
inappropriate for use as municipal office (e.g., the Car Bam). The
present decentralized configuration of space means that roughly 20,000
square feet of building space cannot be assigned.
Communication As the City utilizes computers to improve its communications, the need
Linkage for an infrastructure to link the computers grows. The use of modern
technology serves to improve efficiency and communication. Currently,
the departments of the City have an electronic mail system and access
various central, databases.
In the absence of available communication lines, the City installs its own
fiber-optic cabling between departments. Recent relocations of depart-
ments to new, leased facilities required installation of interconnecting
lines between buildings, intra-building wiring and network distribution
equipment.
The cost of these installations gives an indication of the expenses that
can be expected due to maintaining inter-department communications.
Findings - Page 26
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
The cost of the cable itself is nominal. However, the cost for placing
the cable in underground trenches, the amplification equipment, and
network distribution equipment make the establishment of inter-building
communication lines significant.
$135,000 Install fiber optic communication line between City Hall
West and 330 S. College Ave., and distribute the lines in
330 S. College Ave.
$46,000 Install cable from 330 S. College Ave. to the Library.
These locations are four and one-half blocks apart. The
cable's distance is approximately 2000 feet.
i
i
Findings - Page 27
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Findings - Page 28
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Planning Environment
Every planning effort must work within constraints. These form the
boundaries within which the plan can occur and the elements with which
the planners must work in perfecting the plan. In the case of the Fort
Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services this
includes:
Buildings in the City's inventory of space.
Lease space currently occupied by the City.
Historic and projected population of the City
Historic and projected municipal employment.
Projected demand for space by municipal employees.
Potential or "opportunity" sites for expansion of Municipal
facilities in the Central Business District.
Inventory of Since the 1920 the City has established its presence in the downtown
Municipal area. This buildup of facility space in the downtown area can be repre-
Facilities sented graphically to show the supply of space available for the use of
the municipal employees. Area is represented here in terms of assign-
able square feet.
Following is a detailed list of the primary buildings in the City's inven-
tory of facilities. Gross square footage (GSF) refers to the area of the
building measured to the exterior and include interior walls, building
structure, corridors, and support spaces. Assignable square footage
(ASP) refers to only that space that can be assigned to an occupant. This
usually excludes the corridors, restrooms, walls, building structure,
mechanical rooms, and public spaces leaving only the area of the build-
ing that can be used by an occupying group.
Acceptable assignable-to-gross ratios range from 70% to 85% depending
upon the type of function occupying the building. Several situations can
impact the assignable area. For buildings with the same gross square
footage, the assignable area is usually different unless the buildings have
identical floor plans. The activity housed in the facility impacts the
amount of assignable space. Those activities with large open areas such
as warehouses usually have high assignable-to-gross ratios while activi-
ties having numerous small rooms (e.g., some office buildings) have low
assignable-to-gross ratios. Buildings with a small footprint typically
have lower ratios than buildings with a large footprint. Other situations
impacting the assignable-to-gross ratio are the configuration of the
building, amenities, and public space.
Planning Environment - Page 29
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Development of Municipal
Facility Space in Downtown
Fort Collins, Colorado
1975-1991
Analgnable Area
In Thousands
of Sq. Ft. _110,927 ASF
100
75
50
25_
0
1975 1980 1985 1990
YEAR
Inventory of Municipal Facilities
Fort Collins, Colorado
ASF to
Date GSF
BUILDING Added GSF Ratio ASF
228 La Porte - Police Annex 1930 4,300 95% 4,081
City Hall - East 1957 26,590 72% 19,I20
City Hall - West 1979 33,310 65% 21,580
County Court House 1980 2,770 91% 2,533
321 Maple 1980 2,150 90% 1,930
Training Center 1980 969 85% 824
Parking Garage Offices 1985 4,488 100% 4,488
112 N. Howes
(w/o dentist office) 1985 1,491 92% 1,370
200 W. Mountain
(City facilities only) 1985 4,372 80% 3,502
256 W.Mountain 1985 1,850 83% 1,530
235 Mathews 1988 4,123 84% 3,475
less Storm Water (1,808) 100% (1,808)
117 N.Mason - Facilities 1989 15,650 91% 14,190
less County occupied space (4,280) 100% (4,280)
117 & 119 W. Oak (5.1.U.) 1989 2,254 72% 1,612
281 N. College 1990 37,130 70% 25,810
330S. Colle2e 1991 5.970 100% 5,970
Subtotal 146,329 110,927
Note: buildings in italic are lensed facilities
Planning Environment - Page 30
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Opportunity Sites The following blocks (shown shaded on the following diagram) represent
opportunities considered here for the development of municipal facilities.
OPPORTUNITY SITES
Central Business District
City of Fort Collins, Colorado
Car
CHERRY earn
33 23
MAPLE '
�'�'!rf �! �'% F'�■kfiNon�h r
cl Nau 2
at
1�'y
LAPORTE q
Clry wu " w.uJnaro�
ar MWunnl
i
, 21
MOUNTAIN ,.
OAK ST
� 1 N
The opportunities for developing municipal facilities in the downtown
may not necessarily be limited to these sites. The sites referenced in this
study are considered to illustrate solutions that address the City's stated
objectives. Development of one or more these sites is considered by
each strategic development scenario.
Block 22 Bounding Streets: Maple (north), La Porte (south), College (east),
Mason (west)
Land Area Available for Development: 171,350 SF
Significant Features: 281 N. College, Washington's Restaurant, old
train depot
Pros:
1. Close proximity to Block 31
2. Close proximity to 281 N. College
3. Much of the west side of the site is vacant.
Planning Environment - Page 31
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
4. The site is available for sale.
5. There are no known environmental issues associated with this
site.
Cons:
1. 'File east side of the site borders the main street of the down-
town. Development of City facilities could impede downtown
development.
2. The old train depot is located in the middle of the site. If that
building is declared an historical landmark, development of the
site would need to integrate the train depot into the design.
3. Not contiguous to either Block 42 or the County facilities.
Block 31 : Bounding Streets: La Porte (north), Mountain (south), Mason (east),
Howes (west)
Land Area Available for Development: 201,650 SF
Significant Features: Owned jointly by the City and the County, several
small existing buildings, municipal parking lot.
Pros:
1. The City and the County currently own the site.
2. There are no known environmental issues associated with the
site.
3. Close proximity to the County facilities.
Cons:
1. Analysis indicates that insufficient space exists to economically
accommodate the City and the County development on the same
site.
2. Development on Block 31 in conjunction with purchase of
additional land for parking would destroy surface parking .
Block 32: Bounding Streets: Maple (north), La Porte (south), Mason (east),
Howes (west)
Land Area Available for Development: 201,650 SF
Significant Features: Several private businesses and an oil company on
the north portion of the site.
Pros:
1. Good proximity to Blocks 22, 31 and 42.
2. Development of this block for municipal facilities would be
consistent with the Downtown Plan and replace industrial usage
with office use.
Planning Environment - Page 32
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
3. Portions of the land are available for purchase.
Cons:
1. Portions of the site have been used for oil storage. Hazardous
materials must be removed before the site can be occupied.
Block 33: Bounding Streets: Cherry (north), Maple (south), Mason (east),
Howes (west)
Land Area Available for Development: 139,900 SF
Significant Features: City's Car Barn
Pros:
L Good proximity to both Blocks 42 and 22.
2. This site is especially well positioned for a function that needs
to be close to but not in direct proximity to the other functions
(e.g., Police Services)
3. Portions of the site are currently available for sale.
4. The City already owns a portion of this site.
i Cons:
1. Usage of the site in the past for treating telephone poles with
creosote means that the site must be cleared of any environ-
mental hazards before development can begin.
2. The site is not contiguous to the County's potential develop-
ment site (Block 31).
3. Block 33 is smaller than most of the other blocks considered in
this analysis.
Block 42: Bounding Streets: Maple (north), La Porte (south), Howes (east),
Meldrum (west)
Land Area Available for Development: 201,650 SF
Significant Features: City Hall West, City Hall East, Washington Park
Pros:
1. The City already owns Block 42 and has considerable invest-
ment there.
2. Block 42 is in good proximity to Block 31 (the likely site of
continued County development).
3. There are no known environmental issues associated with the
site.
Cons:
1. There is insufficient land for development of new buildings
without demolishing existing City facilities (City Hall East and
Planning Environment - Page 33
Fort Collins Strategic Fa ility Plan for General Government Services
City Hall West).
2. Significant development on Block 42 would likely eliminate
Washington Park.
3. Block 42 is not in good proximity to Block 22 (location of 281
N. College Ave.), Block 32 stands between the two sites.
Historic & The City of Fort Collins, Colorado has experienced steady growth in its
Projected City population over the last 20 years. Population figures for the recent cen-
Population suses are:
1980-2011 Year Population Rate of Growth
1970 43,337
4. 15% per year
1980 65,092
3.00% per year
1990 97,758
The following chart depicts the historical and projected city population
from the years 1980 through 2011:
Past and Future Population
in the Urban Growth Area
Fort Collins, Colorado
Population
In Ten Thousands
NOW
150 HISTORIC I PR OJ ECTEO 0� 146,556
at V0 0 (In 2011)
15l.�0�•
125 I t0'e s •
Oto:t'���
100 89,439
(l0 1991) ����•
75
65,092 I
5o (In 1960)
25 I
I
0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEAR
Planning Environment - Page 34
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Based upon the historic change in population and the expected population
growth rate used by the City's Planning Department, the planning team
used a 2.5% growth rate as the basis for establishing the population of
the City over the planning horizon (through the year 2011). At this rate
of growth, by the year 2011, the population of Fort Collins is expected
to be 146,556. This population figure represents a conservative estimate
of the population in Fort Collins' 66 square mile Urban Growth Area.
In Visions 2010 published by the City's Planning Department, they use
a population of 160,000 to 180,000 people for the expected figure in the
year 2010. Moreover, the Planning Department does not expect this
level of population to fill the Urban Growth Area. Based upon this, this
study concludes that the population of Fort Collins will continue to
expand beyond the horizon of this study.
Historic & Pro- Municipal employment in the City of Fort Collins closely matches the
jected Municipal growth of population and the demand for services from the City. The
Employment planning team conducted a statistical analysis to establish the correlation
1980-2011 between these two elements. The findings of that analysis established
the basis for the forecast of municipal employees. The results of that
analysis can be found in the appendix to this report.
Municipal employment at significant time periods for the various service
groups follows:
1980 1985 122 2001 2011
Executive Services 20 27 28 34 38
Administrative Services 112 105 155 201 251
Cultural, Library and
Recreation Services 75 92 118 141 180
Community Planning and
Environmental Services 56 68 77 103 138
Police Services 122 123 165 194 237
Utility Services 220 276 305 367 41
Total Municipal Employment 605 691 848 1040 1260
Planning Environment - Page 35
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Employment in General Government Services that will need space in the
Central Business District are represented in the following table:
IM 2001 2011
Executive Services 28 34 39
Administrative Services 116 155 195
Cultural, Library, and Recreation Services 17 23 31
Community Planning and Environmental Services 77 100 130
Police Services M 1 7 252
Total Municipal Employees in the CUB 403 509 647
The following chart graphically depicts the historical and projected
municipal employment.
Past and Future Distribution of Municipal Employees
No. of Fort Colllns, Colorado
Employees
NOW
1250 H I S T O R I C I P R O J E C T E D _ Administrative Services W_
cLaRs
1000 I
Utility Services :
750 . :
Exec a Legislative Svcs
500 Administrative Services
CLBRS
250 Community Planning a
Environmental Service
Police Services
0.
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Strategic Space The long-range demand for facility space reflects the continuing need to
Forecast provide facilities from which services can be delivered. The delivery of
1991-2011 services is in turn related to the number of municipal employees. The
amount of space required by those employees to deliver City services
establishes the aggregate amount of space in the forecast. In the follow-
ing forecast of space, the demand for space is linked to a time period
only in that the demand for services (represented by population growth
and municipal employment) is represented in a given time period.
Essential to the development of the space forecast is the assumption that
the City will continue to deliver services in the future in a manner simi-
lar to the way it has in the past. To assume otherwise, one would need
Planning Environment - Page 36
i
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
to know specifically how the delivery of services is to change, and what
impact that change would have upon the need for employees and space.
In addition to providing a responsible direction, this assumption of con-
tinuity provides a benchmark from which one can evaluate the impact of
a new direction in the delivery of services upon the demand for people
and space.
The following chart provides the forecast requirements of space
required by municipal employees that provide central government ser-
vices. Please note that the following chart represents only a portion of
the total space needed by some of the groups. This is particularly true
for groups such as Cultural, Library and Recreation Services for whom
most of their facilities are distributed throughout the community. The
amount of space represented here reflects minimal office space that those
groups need in the downtown area.:
M 1996 2001 2006 2011
Executive Services 12,690 14,026 14,736 15,540 16,450
Admin. Services 39,237 45,833 52,739 57,359 62,400
Cultural, Library
& Recreation Svcs 6,099 7,064 8,131 9,338 10,704
Community Ping &
Envir. Svcs 20,827 23,162 25,348 27,822 30,621
Police Services 25,471 26,261 28,422 31,982 36,009
Poudre Fire 4,488 4,488 4,488 4,488 4,488
Authority
Misc. Storage 3 14 '1 14 3 14 3 F14 3,614
Total 112,427 124,448 137,479 150,144 164,286
Forecast of Demand for Municipal Facility Space
in Downtown Fort Collins, Colorado
1991-2011
Assignable
Sq. Ft. 1 ASF (dem.na)
(In Thousands)
Forecast of Demanndd for
175 Municipal Facility Space
in the Downtown Area
150
125 NOW 112.427 ASF ("nd� SpaceDefici
of
110,922 ASF (supply)-11
100
75
50
25
0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEAR
Plannina Environment - Pane 37
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Planning Environment - Page 38
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Methodology
Approach Defining a long-term direction for the development of municipal facili-
ties is a complex puzzle. The challenge of satisfying the need for space
with the available facilities is complicated by the fact that many opera-
tions need to be collocated or remain in close proximity in order to
operate efficiently. This is further complicated by the fact that opera-
dons change in size and structure over time while the buildings that
contain those operations do not. To overcome this challenge, the plan-
ning team approached the study in three phases: define the situation,
identify viable alternatives, and then evaluate those alternatives.
The process used can be represented diagrammatically as follows:
Strategic Facility Planning Process
Fort Collins, Colorado Municipal Facilities
4— History Now Future
Building Inventory — — — — — — — — — — Building Inventory
Architectural
Planning
11,
Master
%City Ob*tivss Plan
(Supply)
$
Service Levels (Demand) $
Organization Strategic StrategiesIm
$
Program
City Population Scenario D $
Scenario E $
Planning Problem Strategic Evaluation
Criteria Definition Alternatives Process
Long-Range Planning . �
Facility Dynamics 1991
Methodology - Page 39
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Situation Data gathering
Definition The heart of a strategic plan is information. Numerous sources served as
resources:
Previous studies: Several studies were reviewed and their findings,
conclusions and recommendations addressed or incorporated into the
Strategic Municipal Facility Plan. These include:
Block 31 Joint Development Report prepared by Leggat McCall
Advisors, Inc. (November 1989),
The Downtown Plan (January 1989),
Facility Needs Assessment (Streets Department, Equipment Ser-
vices Department) (November 1989)
Downtown Fort Collins Employee Parking Supply and Demand
Analysis (1990)
Poudre Fire Authority Strategic Plan 1987
ICS Long Range Plan (September 1989)
City of Fort Collins Transit Development Program 1991-1995
Inventory of existing municipal buildings: Concurrently with the strate-
gic planning process, Architectural Horizons, Inc. conducted an
exhaustive audit and measurement of the municipal buildings. This
information was placed in a CADD system for continued use by the
City. A great benefit of this system is the availability of precise infor-
mation regarding the exact size of buildings, the location of operating
groups and the allocation of space to each of the occupant. The docu-
mentation of this information is contained in a separate volume of this
study.
Establishment of a facility management database: Fort Collins' Facili-
ties Group developed a complete record of the space required by each
individual of each operating group within the municipal government.
This information served to establish the current demand versus allotted
space. The Facilities Division loaded a facility planning database
(FM:Forecast) with each Department's estimates of space requirements
for the next 5 years.
Historical records: Information concerning municipal employment and
population growth since 1980 served as the basis for relating the devel-
opment of municipal services to the population of Fort Collins.
City policy: The objectives of the City Council and the policies that
derive themselves from the Council's direction provide a strong influ-
ence to the development of alternative strategies. To a large extent, City
policy shapes the direction of this study.
Interviews with key individuals within the Services Areas and the
Departments of the City provided input concerning operations and
Methodology - Page 40
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
unique needs for locating and sizing work spaces.
Questionnaires circulated to the Departments captured their needs for
proximity to other operations in the City and their estimates of the fre-
quency of those interactions.
Data Analysis
A regression analysis of the employment 1980 through 1990 serves as
the basis for forecasting the municipal employment through 2010. This
employment forecast is tied to the population of Fort Collins and
assumes a continued growth in population of 2.5% per year.
A forecast of space required by the central administration operations
used the employment forecast as its basis and derived a profile of area
per person requirements (by Division) from the FM:Forecast data. The
forecasts are not predictions, they are instead a rational basis for tying
the City's demand for staff and space to City population.
Alternative The forecast of space provides an aggregate demand for space and a
Identification planning profile from 1991 to the year 2011 against which to formulate
alternative strategies.
Strategies represent different managerial postures that the decision mak-
ers might take. For example, one extreme might be represented by
"lease only, do not build". Another extreme might be "consolidate
everyone in one large building."
Scenarios illustrate the approach of each strategy and are used to help
understand the consequences. Each scenario follows the orderly buildup
of facility space through each year to the planning horizon. (In our case
the planning horizon is 2011.) Decisions are made throughout each
scenario as they might be made by planners guided by the philosophy of
that strategy. The consequences of those planning decisions are repre-
sented on the selected sites. This process is repeated for each strategy.
Alternative Quantitative Analysis
Evaluation
Attendant to each alternative are a series of unique costs and revenues
the City would experience by following that approach. These scenario
costs obviously include the cost for investing in land and buildings.
They also include the cost of moving people from one location to
another, the cost of leasing space, operational inefficiency and parking
leases, and the revenue derived from selling property.
Qualitative Analysis
Aside from the quantifiable issues are those issues of quality and
judgement. Usually these can be expressed as: "how well did the alter-
native solve the problems that were identified in the findings?"
The cumulative process used to develop the strategic facility plan is dia-
gramed on page 39 in the section entitled Methodology.
Methodology - Page 41
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Methodologv - Page 42
i
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Scenario Development Guidelines
The following assumptions, criteria and limitations were used to guide
the generation of the scenarios for developing facilities for the General
Government Services. In developing scenarios that can be fairly com-
pared to one another, the planning criteria must be applied evenly and
fairly to each alternative. Note that these parameters may not necessar-
ily be the same as the objectives that were discussed earlier. The
guidelines do not necessarily represent recommendations, objectives or
policies.
Operations 1. City operations and organizational structure will remain consis-
Planning Criteria tent throughout the study period (1991 through 2011).
2. City operations will be located so as to best serve the public.
3. Population in the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area will expand
at the rate of 2.5%.
4. For purposes of planning, relocations are assumed to occur at
the first of the year and immediately following the completion
of new construction.
Facility Planning 5. The building cycle will be 5 years.
Criteria 6. Space needs for the operations are based upon the established
administrative space standards.
7. Building envelopes will be developed that anticipate growth for
the next 5 years.
8. Facility development will fully meet the space needs of the
groups that will occupy them.
9. To the extent possible, Service Areas will be located in close
proximity to one another.
10. For purposes of planning, construction of new facilities is
assumed to begin and be completed within one year.
11. The demand for parking generated by occupancy of City owned
buildings will be satisfied in accordance with the City zoning
and building codes.
Financial Plan- 12. Lease terms have annual options for renewal.
ning Criteria 13. Rental rates are assumed to be $10.00 per square foot per year.
14. Tenant finish-out costs are assumed to be $15.00 per square
foot.
15. Net scenario costs are based upon the accumulated costs and
incomes incurred over the planning period (20 years). Future
values are not discounted.
Scenario Development Guidelines - Page 43
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
16. The cost of relocating office operations is calculated on the
basis of$100 per person. The cost of special relocations such
as computer equipment will be added to the cost of moving
personnel.
17. Inflation is assumed to increase at the rate of 4% per year.
18. Establishing electronic communication links between remotely
located City facilities is considered to be $40,000 to install
connections between buildings and $400 per person to establish
computer connections within a building.
Scenario Development Guidelines - Page 44
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Strategic Alternatives
Facility Organizations develop facilities to achieve some objective: to collocate
Development people, meet changing requirements for space, to accommodate different
Strategies equipment, etc. These requirements (i.e., the demand) for facility space
are expressed as a planning environment or program. Strategies repre-
sent managerial postures or policies that guide us in addressing that
demand.
To this end, the City could adopt one of three strategies:
Partial This strategy consolidates most of the municipal governmental agencies
Consolidation/ yet attempts to retain as many of the City buildings as practicable. In
Campus developing facilities the selection of occupants of those buildings is
Approach guided by the need for interaction between employees of those various
agencies. In general, it attempts to locate all central government func-
tions within reasonable proximity to one another, although not
necessarily in the same building. Any new facilities would be easily
accessible to the public served by that agency.
Consolidate Following this strategy the city seeks to collocate central city operations
General in a single facility easily accessible to the public. Most of the existing
Government City facilities in the Central Business District would be sold or turned
Services in a over to other, public, non-governmental uses.
Single Building
Decentralized/ This approach avoids developing additional city facilities by leasing
Expanded space in the downtown area while retaining the City buildings that are
Leasing currently occupied.
For clarity and simplicity, this study treats these strategies as being
illustrative and as mutually exclusive. This does not mean that the City
could not pursue multiple or hybrid strategies. For instance, the City
could pursue one strategy (such as leasing) for a period of time then
adopt a different strategy such as consolidation. Such a hybrid strategy
would combine aspects of two or more of the strategies represented here
in their pure form. Additionally, there are many ways that the details of
each illustrative strategy can be implemented.
To illustrate the consequence of pursuing the various strategies, this
study uses Scenario Analysis. In effect, a scenario depicts the manner in
which facilities are supplied to meet the demand that the program
defines.
The Strategies are represented by Scenarios as follows:
Strategy 1: Partial Consolidation Campus Approach
Scenario A: New City Building on Block 31.
Scenario B: New City Building on a site other than Block 31.
Strategic Alternatives- Page 45
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Scenario C-1:New City Building on Block 32, New Police
Building on Block 33.
Scenario C-2:New City Building on Block 22, New Police
Building on Block 33.
Strategy 2: Consolidate Central Government Services
in a Single Building
Scenario D: New City Building on Block 31
Strategy 3: Decentralized Central Government Services
Scenario E: Expanded Leasing
Scenarios are not forecasts or predictions. Nor are the scenarios rec-
ommendations. They represent a possible and logical progression of
development over the planning period (in this case, 1991 through 2011).
As used here, they are defined as:
A facility scenario is a series gffiacility actions over a period of
time that satisfies the demmnd f rr space expressed by the planning
environment. Facility actions pray include - but are not neces-
sarily limited to - construction, interaction costs, leasing,
relocation, purchase and/or sale of property
The scenarios are intended to provide the decision makers with insight
into the consequences of the illustrated alternatives. The scenarios depict
- to scale - a possible sequence of events that might occur when guided
by a strategy. This permits the planning team to evaluate the conse-
quences that might be expected.
Detailed descriptions of these strategies follow and are expressed by
scenarios that illustrate those approaches.
Please note that there may be numerous sites that could be developed for
City facilities in the downtown Fort Collins area. The sites represented
here are intended as illustrative examples. They were chosen for two
reasons. First, they are consistent with the City's commitment to
developing Block 31 and remaining in the downtown area. Secondly,
their selection demonstrates the potential for variable consequences even
when the illustrative sites are relatively closely located to one another.
Strategic Alternatives- Page 46
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Strategy #1 : Partial Consolidation/Campus Approach
Partially consolidating the City departments represents a compromise
between maximizing consolidation and expanding the City's leasing
program. Its primary objective is to collocate those functions that inter-
act most frequently with one another while retaining ownership of some
of the City's present inventory of buildings.
This strategy lends itself to considerably more complexity. It can be
represented by several sub-strategies and those sub-strategies, in turn,
can be expressed by several scenarios of growth. This complexity arises
from the possible combinations of City buildings that can be retained or
turned over to other uses, the variety of groups that can be collocated
there, and the number of opportunity sites where facility development
can occur.
The different sub-strategies to partially consolidating municipal facilities
considered are:
Scenario A New City Building on Block 31 (with
Police Service remaining in City Hall East).
Scenario B New City Building on a site other than Block 31
(using Block 32 as an illustrative site).
Scenario C-1 New City Building on Block 32, New Police
Building on Block 33.
Scenario C-2 New City Building on Block 22, New Police
Building on Block 33.
Pros
1. City departments that frequently interact are located in close
proximity to one another.
2. The cost of installing communication lines to link departments
together electronically is minimized.
3. Existing City facilities continue to be used by the City.
4. The cost of providing facilities is fixed at the time of construc-
tion rather than subjecting the City to the uncertainty of
constantly escalating rental rates.
5. By collocating departments, they are more easily able to share
support space, support personnel and equipment. Excess and
deficit space are more easily balanced and thus optimized.
6. The City facilities present an identifiable image to the public.
7. Most scenarios that depict the partial consolidation strategy
place the City in the most flexible position for continued growth
and continued utilization of the City's investment in facilities.
Cons:
1. The City must eventually expend funds for facility construction.
Strategy #1 - Page 47
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
2. Final consolidation will - under most alternatives - not occur
until after the year 2000.
3. In order to take advantage of this approach, the City must
commit to the purchase of land in the very near future.
Detailed descriptions of each of the illustrative scenarios follow.
Strategy #1 - Page 48
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Illustrative Objective To consolidate City Administrative operations on Block 31
Scenario A consistent with the planning directions of the 1980's.
(Partial Synopsis Retain City Hall East and City Hall West.
Consolidation Add shop space to City Hall West.
on Block 31) Develop a New City Building on Block 31.
Sell 281 N. College Ave.
Strategic Actions
Year Activity
1996 11,100 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
11,500 S.F. Addition to City Hall East
71,500 S.F. New City Administration Building
Parking Structure
Relocate 188 people
2001 13,000 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
14,300 S.F. Addition to City Hall East
Relocate 2 people
2006 50,000 S.F. Addition to New City Administration Building
Addition to Parking Structure
Relocate 119 people
Sell 281 N. College Ave.
Ultimate Occupancy
New City Bldg. Executive and Legislative Services, Administrative
Services (except Facilities, Training and Informa-
tion and Communication Systems), Community
Planning and Environmental Services, Cultural,
Library and Recreational Services (central admin-
istrative operations only), possibly the Poudre Fire
Authority (Central Administration, Fire Prevention
Only)
City Hall West Facilities, Training ,Information and Communica-
tion Systems
City Hall East Police Services
Strategy #1 - Page 49
V�• Op _ _
19 , :
one on --
G
ii;;
LA
loll �u. ' / ■
i�v:•0 v v i � ",
F �I �l�p�p�p�A��♦��ammIt IN
� ►AAAAAA<AK I'�
■ � 'i ♦AAAAAN l A/
it
+•�tli- _ _ Oi 4fl1
A.! �_ �: a���A�pppppppppppppp� ,
• 0 � COI, ������ '������ijii��. 1�1 �.
--
i
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Facility Development Diagram
The following diagram illustrates graphically how facility space would
change under this scenario.
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
Scenario A:
Assignable Partial Consolidation on Block 31
Sq. Ft.
In Thousands N.. Ch
Gry H.11 E..t AW-n BuIICMg =..
175 cMy H.11 W.J A0 'n
' for
Facility Space
150 NOW
125
100
f N&W caT sgtta�a
.M� s r Car H.I WMt 20d ra
75 »/ r)s % City Ma Eul Atle n
50
EXI,§ TIN0 �,ypOTENJTIA .-
25
2
0 ✓ ti-
-25
tat N. Co14g. An.
sg
50 t....e .<.
IT
1990 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Inventory of municipal facility space
Facilities removed from the Inventory of space
Facilities added to the Inventory of space
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros:
Scenario A has several advantages in addition to those listed under the
general advantages associated with the Partial Consolidation Strategy:
I. The shop addition to City Hall West is relatively
inexpensive.
2. Siting the new Administrative Building on Block 31 does not
preclude retaining 281 N. College Avenue. This alternative
leaves the City's options open regarding the disposition of that
facility.
3. The City leaves properties fronting onto College Avenue open
for commercial development and the rest of the block open for
the development of parking area to support downtown com-
mercial space.
4. Development on Block 31 is in good proximity to other City
Strategy #1 - Page 50
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
properties in the Central Business District and to the potential
development of the County's facilities.
5. Requires no new land purchase.
6. The development is consistent with City and County objectives
for the development of Block 31.
7. The development is consistent with the recommendations of the
Downtown Plan.
8. The development of 3 to 4-story buildings maintains a low pro-
file.
Cons:
1. Limiting development of new, low-rise City and County facili-
ties to Block 31 consumes site area and thus creates competition
for space and parking between the City and the County. If
low-rise buildings (4-story maximum) were constructed on
Block 31 by the City and the County, available land area there
would be consumed by the end of the first building cycle in
1996. The alternatives for continued development beyond this
point would be limited to choices of: l) expanding the buildings
developed there vertically along with construction of structured
parking (an extremely expensive option) or 2) fragmenting
operations by moving some departments off that site (function-
ally reverting to the same situation that currently exists)
2. The consumption of ground area for building construction
leaves insufficient space for surface parking to serve the build-
ings there. In order keep Central Government Services
consolidated, by the year 2006, it would be necessary to build
structured parking for 886 cars with the first stage of structured
parking development occurring in 1996.
3. It makes little sense to tear up existing parking spaces on Block
31 to build a building then turn around and purchase additional
land for parking.
4. Police Services must continue to operate out of a building that
is inappropriate to their requirements.
5. In the long-term the development requires additions to existing
buildings.
Strategy #1 - Page 51
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Illustrative Objectives Consolidate City administration functions and permit the
Scenario B continued development of City facilities beyond
(Partial the planning horizon.
Consolidation Synopsis Purchase part or all of Block 32.
not on Block 31) Retain City Hall East and City Hall West.
Add shop space to City Hall West.
Develop a New City Building on Block 32.
Sell 281 N. College
Strategic Actions
Year Activity
1994 Acquire Block 32
1995 Environmental cleanup of Block 32
1996 11,100 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
11 ,500 S.F. Addition to City Hall East
71,500 S.F. New City Administration Building
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 188 people
2001 13,000 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
14,300 S.F. Addition to City Hall East
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 2 people
2006 50,000 S.F. Addition to New City Administration Building
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 119 people
Ultimate Occupancy
New City Bldg. Executive and Legislative Services, Administrative
Services (except Facilities, Training and Informa-
tion and Communication Systems), Community
Planning and Environmental Services, Cultural,
Library and Recreational Services (central admin-
istrative operations only), possibly the Poudre Fire
Authority (Central Administration, Fire Preven-
tion Only)
City Hall West Facilities, Training, Information and Communica-
tion Systems
City Hall Fast Police Services
Strategy #1 - Page 52
• :
. .
�0 � � oo `'
� �
u� .�,
• '"I
�0 fi , M n
V'.- , � '; ', ` :;III j
Il�ii � (� .. � IIIII :-. �—�
:i:ali; I
ill�ii� ��� 4��1
�j iifiie!, d 1 °' i Ip� ,�' ull n
�I I.�=a�b� ��1 i ', 111
I A��i Q�� �'i� 'sii ! li� � �
�ni s �' ail� Illi �� ��t � a.����r> � �
-. �- � eau ,,,►. . , �, ��, ,����.R�1� ll� ;,
•- � 1 n "
;� �8� w I j�L��� �
- � _
. -.- - -
® ® O� ® ri�v�1 +'CSv '1 i
1 ��� ��` DII�_, Ma �1 - �I
:.�..
r� � O
;: .� '; I �
.:� ,� �i e
ICI,, � i i
I� � � III �', � �� � ��II li
- r,
_ � 0 � I Z���� �Z4ii ����ii'i��1 �1 '�
� �p���'�L ����.�� �. ��,
` �' , r�
uu I ,� ,� '
a•
Iq �`� � �
'o°' I �
�� �a
N��: , -, �
� •
.� �
i
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Facility Development Diagram
The following diagram illustrates graphically how facility space would
change under this scenario.
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
Scenario B:
Partial Consolidation at a site
other than Block 31
Assignable
In Thousands ael�ding City
Cav Hall East AMn
175 Clry N.0 w..1 Aaan s Demand for
-r: Facility Space
150 NOW r r r
125 t
700 1 Newel e'eeaGle
,..CAAY H NN whit AAaan
75
1
50 fP O T E N�T I A t.,
E'XISTIN0
25 1
0 �.
100 lt.mingloa
-2$
I Iel N. Col" Ava.
-50 4.aml spat.
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Inventory of municipal facility space
— Facilities removed from the Inventory of space
Facilities added to the Inventory of space
Advantages and Disadvantages
Scenario B is similar to Scenario A but avoids some of the problems of
site congestion incurred by developing Block 31. Just as Scenario A,
Scenario B has several advantages in addition to those listed under the
general advantages associated with the Partial Consolidation Strategy:
Pros:
1. The shop addition to City Hall West is relatively inexpensive
space.
2. Siting the new Administrative Building on Block 32 does not
preclude retaining 281 N. College Avenue. This alternative
leaves the City's options open regarding the disposition of that
facility.
3. The City leaves properties fronting onto College Avenue open
for commercial development and the rest of the block open for
the development of parking area to support downtown com-
mercial space.
Strategy #1 - Page 53
Fort Collins Stra I teclic Facility Plan for General Government Services
4. Development on Block 32 is in good proximity to other City
properties in the Central Business District and to the potential
development of the County's facilities.
5. Redevelopment of Blocks 32 and 22 with City facilities devel-
ops the northern portion of the downtown consistently with the
goals of the Downtown Plan.
6. Development on Block 32 does not destroy parking that must
be replaced as Scenario A does.
7. The City does not compete with the County for limited space
on Block 31.
8. This scenario leaves the City's options for continued develop-
ment open beyond the planning horizon.
9. The development of 3 to 4-story buildings maintains a low pro-
file.
Cons:
1. Police Services must continue to operate out of a building that
is inappropriate to their requirements.
2. Block 32 has several industrial buildings that would need to be
raised before City development could begin.
3. The North end of Block 32 is potentially contaminated with
petroleum by-products. These would need to be removed
before developing City facilities there.
4. Requires purchase of new land for municipal development.
5. Development of a site other than Block 31 by the City would
require a shift in the stated policy of the City.
6. In the long term, this option requires additions to existing
buildings.
Strntenv #1 - Paae 54
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Illustrative Objective Provide facilities for the Police where the traffic associated
Scenario C-1 with that operation will not interfere with the rest of the
(Partial administrative operations. Consolidate the City's adminis-
Consolidation trative activities in a location that will not conflict with the
New central business district.
Administration Synopsis Acquire additional land downtown Block 32 and Block 33.
Building on Develop a New Police Building on Block 33 in 1996 to
Block 32, New provide for their special space requirements. Retain City
Police Building on Hall East and City Hall West. Add high bay shop space to
Block 33) City Hall West. Develop a New City Building on Block
32. Sell 281 N. College
Strategic Actions
Year Activity
1994 Acquire Block 33
1996 42,900 S.F. New Police Building
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 287 people
Increase rental by 5500 S.F.
1999 Acquire Block 32
2000 Remove environmentally hazardous material from Block 32
2001 14,000 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
92,900 S.F. New City Administration Building
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 210 people
2002 Sell 281 N. College
2006 8,600 S.F. Addition to New Police Building
5,800 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
Develop Surface Parking
Ultimate Occupancy
New City Bldg. Executive and Legislative Services, Administrative
Services (except Facilities, Training, Finance and
Information and Communication Systems), Com-
munity Planning and Environmental Services,
Cultural, Library and Recreational Services (cen-
tral administrative operations only), possibly the
Poudre Fire Authority (Central Administration,
Fire Prevention only)
City Hall West Facilities, Training ,Information and Communica-
tion Systems
City Hall East Finance Department
New Police Bldg. Police Services
Strategy #1 - Page 55
tl. - =,��� � '.; ,� ,�i ' I ems••_•,,,
V11 I
III,; a 111 1 AI
n
-
pti
wYATAI
O O O v 6I � a�� ����•a - - - - -
O
I Mo
■
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Facility Development Diagram
The following diagram illustrates how this scenario develops facilities to
meet the forecast demand for space.
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
Scenario C-1:
Partial Consolidation
at a Site other than Block 31
New Police Building
Thousands
of Sq. Ft. Lay Hall Wsst Add'n
Naw CMy 9ullClnp Naw Pollu 6olMinp Add'n
175 CIFy HaY Watt Add'.
.,.. Demand for
150 NOW - Facility Space
125 1
100
75
1
' New Peue. &iadlne
75 ,T.mpotry tr.. epees
1 ,
50
E X I T I N 0 D O T E N.T I A L ;
25 1
0
-25 I Mlae. luaad
spat. Lt N. LOIMq Ma.
117 W.•50 A ou", a I Wilding, Leased spat.
r�
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Inventory of municipal facility space
Facilities removed from the Inventory of space
Facilities added to the Inventory of space
Advantages and Disadvantages
This variation of Scenario C has several advantages in addition to those
listed under the general advantages associated with the Partial Consoli-
dation Strategy:
Pros:
1. Police Services' unique space, security, circulation and facility
requirements would be met in a facility designed for their spe-
cific needs.
2. The shop addition to City Hall West is relatively inexpensive.
3. Siting the new Administrative Building on Block 32 does not
preclude retaining 281 N. College Avenue. This alternative
leaves the City's options open regarding the disposition of that
facility.
Strategy #1 - Page 56
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
4. The development of Blocks 32 and 33 develops the northern
entrance to the City of Fort Collins consistently with the
Downtown Plan.
5. The City leaves properties fronting onto College Avenue avail-
able for commercial development and the rest of the block
available for the development of parking area to support down-
town commercial space.
6. Block 32 nicely ties together the other parcels that the City
occupies (in this Scenario: Blocks 31, 33 and 42). Construction
there is in good proximity to potential County development and
other City buildings
7. Once the industrial buildings are removed from Block 32, there
are no physical constraints to development.
8. The development of 3 to 4- story buildings maintains a low
profile.
9. The sequencing of activity allows the city to defer the devel-
opment of a new Administration Building for approximately 10
years.
Cons:
I. Block 32 has several industrial buildings that would need to be
raised before City development could begin.
2. The North end of Block 32 and block 33 are potentially con-
taminated with petroleum by-products. These would need to be
removed before developing City facilities there.
3. Development of a site other than Bock 31 by the City would
require a shift in the stated policy of the City.
4. This option requires the purchase of additional land.
Strategy #1 - Page 57
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Illustrative Objective Provide appropriate facilities for the Police where the traffic
Scenario C-2: associated with that operation will not interfere with the rest
(Partial of the administrative operations. Consolidate the City's
Consolidation next to the 281 N. College Ave. facility.
New Synopsis Acquire additional land downtown Block 22 (west of 281
Administration N. College) and Block 33. Develop a New Police Building
Building on Block 33 in 1996 to provide for their special space
on Block 22, requirements. Retain City Hall East and City Hall West.
New Police Add high bay shop space to City Hall West. Develop a
Building New City Building on Block 22.
on Block 33)
Strategic Actions
Year Activity
1994 Acquire Block 33
1996 42,900 S.F. New Police Building
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 287 people
Increase rental by 5500 S.F.
1999 Acquire west portion of Block 22 (Parcel 3) &
north half of Block 32
2001 14,000 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
41,800 S.F. New City Administration Building
Develop Surface Parking
Relocate 104 people
2006 8,600 S.F. Addition to New Police Building
5,800 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
Develop Surface Parking
Ultimate Occupancy
New City Bldg. Executive and Legislative Services, Administrative
Services (except Facilities, Training, Finance and
Information and Communication Systems), Cul-
tural, Library and Recreational Services (central
administrative operations only), possibly the Pou-
dre Fire Authority (Central Administration, Fire
Prevention only)
281 N. College Community Planning and Environmental Services
City Hall West Facilities, Training, Information and Communica-
tion Systems
City Hall East Finance Department
New Police Bldg. Police Services
Strategy #1 - Page 58
_ ei
fJ, .....
�• .•9 �:......•r,
r.
i
,I
IQ� • 0 e�';= ._�� ,.� _ _ -'I� Ili
■ .
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Facility Development Diagram
The following diagram illustrates how this scenario develops facilities to
meet the forecast demand for space.
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
Scenario C-2:
New Administration Building on Block 22
New Police Building
Assignable
Sq. Ft.
In Thousands City M•II Weill Add'n
New Police Building Add'n
New City Building
175 city Nell Wool AM n
Demand for
150 NOW { Facility Space
125 1 L
100 '
75 I New Police Bulling
T•nlpwery L•nil space
50
E X I S T I N G � POTENTIAL
25 I
0
-25 I Miec. L:
Space Lee•ed spec•
111l N. Mnon
-50 I A odu, amelw Wlldinge
TT
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Inventory of municipal facility space
® Facilities removed from the Inventory of space
Facilities added to the Inventory of space
Advantages and Disadvantages
This variation of Scenario C has several advantages in addition to those
listed under the general advantages associated with the Partial Consoli-
dation Strategy:
Pros:
I. Police Services' unique space, security, circulation and facility
requirements would be met in a facility designed for their spe-
cific needs.
2. The shop addition to City Hall West is relatively inexpensive.
3. Siting the new Administrative Building next to 281 N. College
provides good proximity between those groups that occupy
those facilities.
Strategy #1 - Page 59
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
4. The development of Blocks 22 and 33 redevelops the northern
entrance to the City of Fort Collins consistently with the
Downtown Plan.
Cons:
1. Rather than tying the City and County holdings together, Block
32 (undeveloped by the City) stands as a barrier isolating the
occupied blocks from one another.
2. Development of Block 22, along College Avenue, means that -
as the downtown develops - the City could be occupying prime
commercial real estate and actually impeding the development
of the downtown. This would not be consistent with goals of
the Downtown Plan and efforts to revitalize the commercial
potential of North College Avenue.
3. Block 22 has several features that present restrictions to facility
development there. The block contains buildings that have his-
toric significance: Washington's Restaurant (on the south side
of the site) is on the historic register; the old train depot is cur-
rently being considered for historic status. The presence of
these two buildings (especially the Train Depot located in the
center of the site) severely constrain the development of the
remaining portions of the site.
4. By developing additional City property on Block 22, it is
unlikely that the City will abandon 281 N. College. In the
future, that building may be better suited for commercial use.
Development on Block 22 limits the City's alternatives.
5. Development of a site other than Block 31 by the City would
require a shift in the stated policy of the City.
6. Developing blocks 32 and 33 requires the purchase of addi-
tional land.
7. The North end of Block 32 and block 33 are potentially con-
taminated with petroleum by-products. These would need to be
removed before developing City facilities there.
Rtrntnnv 81 - Pano rm
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Strategy #2 Consolidation of General Government Services
This scenario explores a strategy that permits development of Block 31
while minimizing the consumption of land area thus avoiding the long-
term deficiencies of Scenario A: Partial Consolidation on Block 31. The
principal objective of pursuing a maximum consolidation strategy is to
minimize consumption of land area in the downtown. By removing
other City buildings from the inventory and consolidating their occupants
in one facility, the amount of space to be accommodated in the City
Municipal Building increases. This permits the development of a high-
rise building (8 to 10 stories) and makes efficient development of Block
31 feasible.
Illustrative Synopsis Retain City Hall West.
Scenario D Add shop space to City Hall West.
(New City Build- Develop a New City Administration Building on Block 31.
ing on Block 31) Move the Police and the occupants of 281 N. College to the
New Administration Building as soon as possible.
Dispose of 281 N. College.
Turn City Hall East over to public, nonprofit (yet non-
municipal) functions.
Strategic Actions
Year Activity
1996 150,000 S.F. New City Administration Building
15,600 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
Structured Parking Development
Relocate 435 people
1997 Sale of 281 N. College
2001 14,300 S.F. Addition to New City Administration Building
2006 7,200 S.F. Addition to City Hall West
14,300 S.F. Addition to City Administration Building
120,000 S.F. addition to Structured Parking
Ultimate Occupancy
New City Bldg. Executive and Legislative Services, Administrative
Services (except Facilities, Training, and Informa-
tion and Communication Systems), Cultural,
Library and Recreational Services (central admin-
istrative operations), possibly the POUdre Fire
Authority (Central Administration, Fire Prevention
only), Community Planning and Environmental
Services, Police Services
City Hall West Facilities, Training, Information and Communica-
tion Systems
City Hall East Potential Public use: social and family programs,
continuing education, business incubator, etc.
Strategy #2 - Page 61
SCENARIO D
CHERRY STREET
O � 33 23 \ �l
3
re�emnro
F�j J ��
C �
MAPLE STREET
42
32 22 1
JuAl
La
nM!!
d .
w
.�
IL l i
LAPORTE AVENUE
21 I
4
Li "
_ �-
MOUNTAIN AVENUE .ems..
140 P, ob 3 20
OAK STREET
ITI BITE PL6
100' 200' 300' 400' NORfI!
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Facility Development Diagram
The following diagram illustrates how this scenario develops facilities to
meet the forecast demand for space.
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
Scenario D:
Consolidation of
Central Government Services on Block 31
Assignable
Sq. Ft.
In Thousands Aaa'n to No city 0 Ilelns
175 NOW Demand for
I Facility Space
150 I Amporary lauu
125
100 I N.W C7 au"no
city ". Wool Addn
75
1
50 p O T E N T I AL
E X 1 5 7 1 N 0
25
*.-.City HMI Wall amain.
0
CItv N•II 11.1
F-25 I 2s1 N. cows.
200 W. Mounlaln
25a W. Mountaln
I 112 N. Mason
-50 I Otik.. M Na pvklnp Gago
22a La P.4.321 M.p4o
Ii7nia W. Oak
75 I 235 Malnaws
112 N. NoW.,
County Court aulMing
-100 t..aaa sac• .AC•d .Inc• 1991
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Inventory of municipal facility space
— Facilities removed from the Inventory of space
Facilities added to the Inventory of space
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros:
1. The development of a single building consolidates most of the
central, City functions.
2. Excess and deficit space can be more easily balanced when
operations are in close proximity. This results in a more effi-
cient building.
3. The need to install expensive communication lines and linkages
between buildings is minimized.
4. The City operates from a central and recognizable location.
5. This approach would minimize the amount of land in the
Strategy #2 - Page 62
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Sprvices
downtown area devoted to City development thus leaving more
land for commercial development.
6. Development on Block 31 would be close to County facilities.
7. All government operations in one building represents the
potential for the public to have "one-stop-shopping" in dealing
with the services of the City.
8. Development of Block 31 is consistent with the policies of the
city regarding the disposition of that property.
9. Development of block 31 is consistent with the Downtown
Plan.
10. Developing a building of this size offers the potential for
developing extra space that could be leased to the County or to
businesses until the growth of City services required the addi-
tional space.
Cons:
1. Consolidating City facilities on Block 31 requires the use of
high-rise construction to keep the building within the limits of
the site, provide room for the County's option to develop
facilities on Block 31 and allow space for on-site parking. A
consolidation of this scale consumes available land area by the
end of the first building cycle in 1996. The alternatives for
continued development beyond this point would be limited to
choices of: 1) expanding the buildings developed there verti-
cally along with construction of structured parking or 2)
fragmenting operations by moving some departments off that
site (functionally reverting to the same situation that currently
exists)
2. The cost of construction increases when buildings rise above
four stories in height. This alternative incurs those premium
costs.
3. There is no guarantee that construction of a high-rise building
would indefinitely satisfy the needs of Fort Collins' central city
government. Subsequent development programs in the future
would result in smaller low-rise additions as the larger building
reaches capacity. In the future, land may not be available for
continuous contiguous expansion onto neighboring sites.
4. The County's requirements for space on Block 31 are not fully
quantified at this time.
5. Development in collaboration with the County on Block 31
means that the consumption of ground area for building con-
struction leaves insufficient space for surface parking to serve
the buildings there. To satisfy the City's parking ordinances,
the City's and the County's parking needs must be met in some
sort of a shared parking facility on Block 31. By the year 2006,
Strategy #2 - Page 63
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
in order keep Central Government Services consolidated on
Block 31, the demand for parking on site would grow to 1165
cars. Regardless of whether the County elects to exercise their
option to develop Block 31, the City - in order to leave the
option open to the County for development on Block 31 -
would need to build structured parking for 886 cars in the first
phase of development (1996).
6. The development of a 10-story building violates the City's
objective of maintaining a low profile.
7. Developing a 10-story building is inconsistent with the rec-
ommendations of the Downtown Plan.
Strategy #2 - Page 64
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Strategy #3 Decentralization of General Government Services
This approach to fulfilling the City's requirements for space seeks to
minimize ownership of land and construction of buildings. The contin-
ued need for space associated with providing services to an expanding
city population is fulfilled by finding commercial office space within or
close to the Central Business District. Existing buildings occupied by
the City in the Central Business District namely City Hall West, City
Hall East, 281 N. College and the various buildings on Block 31 would
continue to be occupied by departments of the central City government.
Illustrative Objective Minimize the construction, retain and use existing City
Scenario E buildings. Depend upon rental to satisfy the need for space.
(Expanded Synopsis Retain City Hall West and City Hall East, 281 N. College
Leasing) and City occupied space on Block 31 . As operations need
additional space fulfill that need by placing them in leased
facilities.
Strategic Actions
Year Activity
1996 Add 34,000 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 4 people
1998 Add 1,000 S.F. of leased space
1999 Add 3,000 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 12 people
2001 Add 11,500 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 36 people
2003 Add 3,000 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 10 people
2005 Add 2,500 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 8 people
2006 Add 1,300 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 4 people
2007 Add 2,000 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 8 people
2009 Add 2,500 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 8 people
2010 Add 500 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 2 people
2011 Add 2,500 S.F. of leased space
Relocate 8 people
Strategy #3 - Page 65
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Ultimate Occupancy
City Hall West Executive and Legislative Services, Information
and Comnumication Systems, Finance Department
City Hall East Police (Office of the Chief, Information Services,
Investigation Services, exc. S.I.U.)
281 N. College Community Planning and Environmental Services
(except Transportation)
102 Remington Possibly the Poudre Fire Authority (Central
Administration, Fire Prevention Only)
117 N. Mason Facility Division
Leased Space Administrative Services (except Training, and
Information and Communication Systems)
Facilities (portion),Cultural, Library and Recre-
ational Services (Central Administrative
Operations) Police (Patrol, S.I.U.)
Facility Development Diagram
The following diagram illustrates graphically how facility space would
change under this scenario.
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
Scenario E:
Decentralized Central Municipal Government
Leasing Alternative
Assignable
Sq. Ft.
In Thousands Demand for
175 °0bn'� t""' Facility Space
150 NOW
125 t
100
75 I 9pw ykrd H
1 71 N. A4�on
what, County
I vau1u apses
50
25 1
g 200 W. MounbM
11"
•25 I Mountain, 117 N. Masonncatao
11] N. How. when County develops
1 7t119 W. Oak ■ 13 rok 71
County Court Sp.0
1990 1995 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
YEARS
Inventory of Leased Municipal Facility Space
Inventory of municipal facility space
® Facilities removed from the Inventory of space
Added Leased Space
Strategy #3 - Page 66
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros:
1. City funds are not committed to purchasing land or constructing
buildings this puts the City in flexible financial position.
2. Block 31 continues to serve as a source of parking.
3.. The City can expand its space to satisfy the changing demand
for municipal services as the need arises.
4. Leasing allows the City government to indefinitely delay deci-
sions regarding the development of City facilities.
5. Leasing does not require the commitment of capital funds.
Cons:
1. Large blocks of rentable space (5000 square feet) - of the size
that the City will likely need - are not available in the down-
town area. Currently, there is insufficient rental space of the
right quality in the Central Business District to meet the pro-
jected needs of the City. This situation was documented in the
early 1980's by the Downtown Development Authority and
remain a valid concern today.
2. Officing in leased space would likely fragment the City's
operations.
3. City functions would compete with private businesses for space
in the Central Business District. The projected demand for
75,000 square feet of lease space would consume most of the
80,000 to 90,000 square feet of available rental space available
in the downtown today.
4. Using leased space does not equate to less government itjust
hides the presence of the government. Quite to the contrary,
placing City government in leased space (since the leases would
likely fragment the operations into small amounts of space)
would actually increase the total amount of required space.
This occurs because excesses and deficits of space cannot easily
be balanced, and certain central functions, personnel and
equipment cannot be shared. This results in duplication of
space, personnel and equipment.
5. Rental rates are unlikely to remain constant. Rates will likely
increase as the economy improves and as the availability of
office quality space in the downtown vanishes. Current lease
rates in the downtown are currently $8 to $10 per square foot.
Since the City has no control over the rental rates, this alterna-
tive poses considerably more risk than the other alternatives.
6. The distance between new municipal locations is limited by the
need to maintain communication links between the City func-
tions. Establishing these links is extremely costly.
Strategv #3 - Page 67
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
7. Police Services remains in a functionally poor facility.
8. Without ownership, the cost of leasing continues through and
beyond the 20-year horizon of this study.
Strategy #3 - Page 68
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Evaluation
Economic
Analysis Since the scenarios entail different sequences of events and magnitudes
of development, they also incur different costs. The costs unique to each
scenario, tracked year by year to the planning horizon are used to com-
pute the Net Accumulated Scenario Costs for each alternative. These
figures are probable estimates of the costs and incomes incurred - they
are not necessarily budgetary figures. By applying them evenhandedly
all scenarios, one can make an economic comparison.
In this case, costs and incomes are not discounted but are accumulated
over the planning period (20 years). Inflation is taken into account and
estimated to be 4% per year.
Incomes for the scenarios arise from:
The sale buildings
Revenues generated from parking leases
Costs to the scenarios arise from:
Building construction
Land acquisition
Site development and landscaping
Parking development (on City property)
Leasing of space
Relocating operations
Lost productivity due to excessive travel
Environmental cleanup
Tenant finish-out
Installation of communication lines
Evaluation - Page 69
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
NET ACCUMULATED SCENARIO COSTS
Municipal Facility Development Scenarios
Fort Collins, Colorado
Accumulated
X Ex
Penses
Scenario A
$37.9
Accumulated
Incomes Net Accumulated
Scenario cost K E Y
Scenario B Accumulated Expenses
1$23.5 — Accumulated Incomes
Net Accumulated Scenario Cost
Scenario C-1 SOURCES OF ACCUMULATED EXPENSE
M$26.9 Lease Costs
0 Other Costs (Interaction,
Communication Installation,
Environmental Clean-Up,
Scenario C-2 Tenant Finish-Out)
f$22.1
Land Acquisition
Parking Development
:;
Scenario D Building Construction
M!$42.0=
SOURCES OF ACCUMULATED INCOME
- Parking Leases
Scenario E ® Sale of Buildings
$30.1
Numbers reflect net scenario costs
based on optimistic assumptions,
0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 i.e., using the lower range of
probable costs and the higher
(m Millions) range of probable revenues.
Evaluation - Page 70
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
The estimated range for net scenario costs are:
Strategy 1: Partial Consolidation /Campus Approach
Scenario A: New City Building on Block 31 $37.9-41.8
million
Scenario B: New City Building on Block 32 $23.5-$28.4
million
Scenario C-1: New City Building on Block 32, $26.9-$32.0
New Police Building on Block 33 million
Scenario C-2: New City Building on Block 22, $22.1-$24.8
New Police Building on Block 33. million
Strategy 2: Consolidate Central Government Services
in a Single Building
Scenario D: New City Building on Block 31 $42.0-$47.7
million
Strategy 3: Decentralized Central Government Services
Scenario E: Expanded Leasing $30.1-$37.4
million
Several significant observations can be made concerning the differences
between the net scenario costs:
1. Acquisition of land contributed to costs for Scenarios B, C-1
and C-2.
2. Construction of new facilities accounted for most of the costs in
all but Scenario E (Decentralized Central Government
Services/Expanded Leasing).
3. The cost of the two most expensive alternatives (A and D)
resulted from the need to build structured parking on the site.
4. The differences between Alternatives C-1 and C-2 occurred
because 281 N. College Ave. is replaced by a new facility in
the year 2001 in Scenario C-1
5. Leasing costs dominate Scenario E. Higher 'other" costs result
from greater costs of employee inefficiency due to the lack of
consolidation. Tenant finish-out costs and the cost of commu-
nications wiring account for the rest of the significant "other"
costs.
6. Although relocation costs constitute a minor portion of the
scenario costs, it is interesting that relocation costs are lower in
Scenario E. This is due to the fact that Scenario E avoids the
cost of major relocations incurred by the other scenarios.
Evaluation - Page 71
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Qualitative Following is a subjective assessment of each Strategy's performance
Analysis when measured against the planning objectives.
Objectives Scenario: A B C-1 C-2 D E
Locate departments close
to customers Good Good Good Good Good
Consolidate department
operations Good Good Good Good Good Poor
Collocate different
City departments Good Good Good Good Good Poor
Economical solution Poor Good Good Good Poor Fair
Provide appropriate
space for depts. Fair Fair Good Good Good
Provide expansion room
for departments Good Good Good Good Good Good
Provide for continued
facility development
beyond the,planning
horizon Poor Good Good Fair Poor Good
Provide adequate parking Fair Good Good Good Fair ?
Development consistent
with other plans Good Good Good Fair Fair Poor
Continued use of existing
City buildings Fair Fair Fair Fair Poor Good
Avoids competing with
business development Good Good Good Fair Good Poor
Summary
Good 6 9 10 7 6 3
Fair 3 2 1 4 2 1
Poor 2 0 0 0 3 4
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 3
Fvaluation - Page 72
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Discussion To some extent, each of the scenarios satisfy the objectives of the plan-
ning study. Of interest are the situations where scenarios fail to meet the
objectives and the explanation of their shortcomings. Following is a list-
ing of the objectives and an explanation of the variations from the
"Good" rating.
Locate departments close to customers: Only leasing fails to satisfy this
requirement and then because the location remains an unknown. It
should be noted too that "customers" includes customers of a department
within the City infrastructure.
Consolidate department operations: Leasing, unless provided in a con-
centrated area (and such an area of that scale does not presently exist)
cannot meet this criteria.
Collocate different City departments: Leasing cannot meet this criteria
unless the City could find a large, contiguously located concentration of
leasable space. Lease space fitting this description does not presently
exist in the downtown area.
Ecomotmical solution: Because of the need to construct structured parking
when facilities are developed on Block 31, Scenarios A and D are con-
siderably more expensive than scenarios that develop elsewhere.
Leasing (Scenario E) incurs the penalty of tenant finish out and is vul-
nerable to escalating lease rates. Even with these penalties, leasing falls
in the middle economically of the scenarios considered. One disadvan-
tage that leasing has that the others avoid is that leasing acts as a
perpetuity (a perpetual annuity) and continues to demand funding long
after the other scenarios are paid for.
Provide appropriate space for the departments: The scenarios that rated
"fair" were rated so because they failed to place Police Services in more
suitable facilities.
Provide for continued facility development: This addresses the potential
for tine scenarios to continue to satisfy the needs of General Government
Services beyond the horizon of this plan. Scenarios A and D fail in this
matter because development confined to Block 31 has the potential to
become landlocked. Development on Block 22, because it represents
less developable land area may have this problem, too.
Provide adequate parking: Scenarios A and D are constrained by the
ability of the City to keep up with the demand for parking on Block 31.
Since this involves constructing structured parking, these alternatives are
more vulnerable to deficiencies in this area. Scenario E (Leasing) rep-
resents an unknown since it depends upon parking provided by the
landlord. Although the City would try to lease space that provides
adequate parking, there is no guarantee concerning the availability of the
parking.
Development consistent with other plans: Scenario C-2 has the potential
to compete with commercial development in the downtown. Scenario D
depends upon the development of 10-story, high-rise construction; this
Evalualtion - Page 73
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
conflicts with the objectives of the Downtown Plan. Scenario E would
consume most of the available space in the downtown. This could
potentially impede the revitalization of the commercial sector of the
downtown and would violate a key issue of the downtown plan.
Continued use of existing City buildings: Most of the scenarios take some
liberties with the disposition of the City buildings in order to meet other
criteria. Scenario D was the most extreme in this matter ceasing to use
most of the buildings in the City's inventory. Scenario E, on the other
hand, retained as many of the existing buildings as possible augmenting
their space with leased space.
Avoids competing with business development: Scenario C-2 rates lower
in this area because occupancy of 281 N. College Ave. may, in the
future, occupy prime commercial space along N. College Ave. Scenario
E rated poorly in this area because meeting the City's needs for space
through leases would eventually consume the rentable office space in the
Central Business District.
Evalualtion - Page 74
Fort Collins Strategic Facility Plan for General Government Services
Credits
Fort Collins Susan Kirkpatrick, Mayor
City Council Ann Azari, Mayor Pro Tern
Dave Edwards
Cathy Fromme
Gerry Horak
Loren Maxey
Bob Winokur
Chuck Mabry, former Council Member
City Staff Steven C. Burkett, City Manager
Diane G. Jones, Deputy City Manager
Peter K. Dallow, Director of Administrative Services
Tom Frazier, General Services Director
Jared Interholzinger, Facilities Manager
Wendy Irving, Facilities Planner/Architect
Consultants Jim Drebelbis, Facility Dynamics
Bob Sutter, Architectural Horizons
Others the following individuals contributed to this study by
providing and reviewing information.
Kathleen Allin Louise Grove Julia Novak
Peter Barnes Tess Heffernan Tom Peterson
Guy Boyd Jean Helberg Mike Powers
Jerry Brown Jody Kole Fred Rainguet
Frank Bruno Bob Kost Steve Roy
Greg Bryne Wanda Krajicek Jon Ruiz
Tim Buchanan Alan Krcmarik Rich Shannon
Marsiea Dahlgren Wayne Lawler Tom Shoemaker
James M. Davis Felix Lee Dave Siever
Jane Davis Ken Mannon Mike Smith
Rita Davis Jaime Mares Rick Steadman
Gary Diede Moe Meckelberg Robert Steiner
Paul Eckman Curt Miller Ken Sylvester
Rick Ensdorf Ron Mills Virgil Taylor
Craig Foreman Brian Moroney Ron Uthmann
Joe Frank Dave Mosnik Ken Waido
Kim Garber Bob Nastan
Bruce Glasscock Dottie Nazarenus
Credits - Page 75