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I’m Pat Ferrier and I’ve worked at the Coloradoan for 22 years covering business, growth and development, health care, the economy, Larimer County and the towns of Timnath, Wellington and Windsor.
Some of my favorite stories to research, report and write are those that challenge me, expose contradictions, help readers navigate life and sometimes just answer a burning question or make readers feel some connection to our community. Some of my favorites from 2023 centered on housing, including the challenges of finding affordable housing for renters and young families, soaring property values and efforts to tamp down rising property taxes.
Here are some of my favorite stories from the past year:
At the same time the city was committing to providing more affordable and attainable housing, it was considering more than doubling the cost developers pay to buy water. The 160% increase, developers said, would add about $35,000 to the cost of building one single-family home. The story highlighted some of the challenges developers and builders face and what goes into the cost of a home in Fort Collins and why building less expensive housing is sometimes not possible. Update: The city is still working through the potential increase.
As the November election started to take shape, Colorado voters were facing a steep rise in property values, which translates to higher property tax bills. The General Assembly drafted Proposition HH as a way to provide some relief for property owners while taking some of their TABOR refunds. The complex bill, of vast importance for property owners and renters, was steeped in nuance and subtleties and couldn’t be explained easily or even succinctly. Talk about challenging me.
The impetus behind Proposition HH was the average 40% increase in Larimer County property valuations this year, a hike mirrored in communities across Colorado. Property owners were truly shocked and dismayed when they got their property valuations this year. This story told of homeowners who hadn’t improved their properties in years but faced new assessments that at times doubled the value of their homes. It outlined the process for property owners to appeal their assessments, which they did in record numbers in 2023.
When you get to a certain age, you expect life to get a little easier. But, life doesn’t always work out that way. In a city with high housing costs, the struggle is real for people of all ages. I hope some of these stories help shine a light on the changing face of Fort Collins and the need for diversity and equity in for-rent and for-sale housing products.
In the category of “who knew?” was this story about a series of dry dams above Wellington that helped keep towns downstream of the Poudre River safer from potential flooding. With the dams in place, more land in the Poudre River watershed was available for buildings and helped contribute to the growth in Wellington. I’ve lived here for more than 25 years and never knew these dams existed until a presentation at a Wellington Board of Trustees meeting piqued my interest. I found it all fascinating.
Some of my favorite stories to write are those that allow me to collaborate with my coworkers. I’ve covered the Northern Colorado Regional Airport (formerly Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport) for years but when the city of Fort Collins balked at providing $1 million toward a new terminal at the airport, which had recently lost commercial service, it made our former city reporter, Molly Bohannon, and I wonder why. That led to this story revealing mixed feelings among city leaders about the airport they own.
It’s not unusual for an economic trend to repeat itself. That’s what happened this year when several businesses and retailers closed, leaving thousands of square feet of empty buildings in Fort Collins. It was similar to the Great Recession when big box after big box stood empty. Today, the storefronts are sitting vacant for entirely different reasons: It’s too expensive to renovate for new tenants.
I’ve been reporting on Foothills Mall since I got to the Coloradoan in 2002. First it was reports about the mall that was aging, a sale and subsequent deterioration, and a decade-long battle to attract new retailers and redevelopment. The city thought it had the answer when Alberta Development Partners bought the property and invested $313 million in creating a new, smaller indoor mall with retail all around it. That lasted for a few years, but the property never achieved the kind of success the city predicted. Here we are now, with another new owner and plans to reinvent the property again. It’s always a big story for Fort Collins and consumers who have pointed views about the property.
There are some stories that just make my heart sing. Ice’s ordeal and the story of her reunion with her owner was definitely one.
To read more of my work, visit Coloradoan.com/contact/staff/.
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