fort collins community marketplace feasibility · pdf filefort collins community marketplace...

Fort Collins Community Marketplace

Feasibility Study

Prepared for:

Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority

Fort Collins, Colorado

December 22, 2010

118 William Street Portland, Maine 04103

207.321.2016

www.marketventures inc.com

Community Marketplace Feasibility Study Page 1 Fort Collins, Colorado Prepared by Market Ventures, Inc.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 4

Key informant interviews ........................................................................................................... 4

Customer demand analysis ......................................................................................................... 5

Supply analysis ........................................................................................................................... 6

Development concept.................................................................................................................. 7

Site analysis ................................................................................................................................ 8

Design concept ............................................................................................................................ 8

Organization .............................................................................................................................. 10

Financial analysis ...................................................................................................................... 11

Economic impact analysis......................................................................................................... 11

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 12

2. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 13

Study team ................................................................................................................................ 13

Study approach and initial concept ........................................................................................... 13

Feasibility considerations.......................................................................................................... 14

Research methodologies ........................................................................................................... 16

Goals ......................................................................................................................................... 16

3. Key Informant Interviews ..................................................................................................... 18

4. Customer Demand Analysis ................................................................................................. 20

Trade areas ................................................................................................................................ 20

Trade area 1: 2.5 mile ring ................................................................................................... 22 Trade area 2: Area between 2.5 mile ring and 6 mile ring .................................................. 24 Trade area 3: Area between 6 mile radius and 20 mile radius ............................................. 25

Tourists ..................................................................................................................................... 26

Sales potential ........................................................................................................................... 26

Demand analysis conclusions ................................................................................................... 29

5. Supply Analysis .................................................................................................................... 30

Farming in Northern Colorado.................................................................................................. 30

Direct marketing ....................................................................................................................... 33


Farmers’ markets ...................................................................................................................... 35

Larimer County Farmers’ Market ......................................................................................... 35 Other Fort Collins farmers’ markets ..................................................................................... 38 Boulder Farmers’ Market ...................................................................................................... 39

Competition and sources of vendors ......................................................................................... 40

Supply analysis conclusions ..................................................................................................... 42

6. Development Concept ........................................................................................................... 43

Development Program .............................................................................................................. 43

7. Site Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 48

8. Design Concept ..................................................................................................................... 54

Northern Colorado Feeders Supply site .................................................................................... 54

Mawson Lumber/C&S Freight Depot site ................................................................................ 56

Sustainable design elements ..................................................................................................... 57

Phasing opportunities ................................................................................................................ 58

9. Organization .......................................................................................................................... 59

Organizational roles .................................................................................................................. 59

Organizational recommendations ............................................................................................. 60

Ownership ............................................................................................................................. 60 Sponsor ................................................................................................................................. 60

Management .......................................................................................................................... 61

Operations ................................................................................................................................. 62

Marketing and programming .................................................................................................... 64

10. Financial Analysis ................................................................................................................. 65

Outdoor farmers’ market........................................................................................................... 65

Market hall and café.................................................................................................................. 68

Flex building ............................................................................................................................. 69

Operations pro forma – Feeders Supply site ............................................................................. 70 Income................................................................................................................................... 70 Expenses ............................................................................................................................... 71 Profit/loss statement – Feeders Supply site .......................................................................... 72

Operations pro forma – Mawson Lumber site .......................................................................... 73 Income................................................................................................................................... 73 Expenses ............................................................................................................................... 73 Profit/loss statement – Mawson Lumber site ........................................................................ 73

Development estimate ............................................................................................................... 74


Feeders Supply site ............................................................................................................... 74

Mawson Lumber site............................................................................................................. 75

Financing................................................................................................................................... 76

11. Impact Analysis .................................................................................................................... 78

Economic Impacts ..................................................................................................................... 78 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 78 Direct Impact of Sales at the Community Marketplace ........................................................ 79 Direct Impact of Construction and Operations ..................................................................... 82 Total economic impact .......................................................................................................... 83

Jobs ........................................................................................................................................... 83

Social Impacts ........................................................................................................................... 84

12. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 85

Feasibility assessment ............................................................................................................... 85

Next steps .................................................................................................................................. 86

13. Appendix A. Community Marketplace Advisory Committee Members ............................. 88

14. Appendix B. Key Informant Interviews............................................................................... 89

15. Appendix C: Map of Potential Sites and Site Matrix .......................................................... 91

16. Appendix D: Demand Analysis ........................................................................................... 92

17. Appendix E: Landmark Preservation Commission Comments ........................................... 93


1. Executive Summary

In January 2010, the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority (“DDA”) retained

Market Ventures, Inc. (“MVI”) to conduct the Fort Collins Community Marketplace Feasibility

Study. MVI’s scope of services included analyzing the project concept as it had evolved to that

date, site analysis, demand and competitive analysis, tenant mix, financial analysis, and

economic impact analysis. In July 2010, the DDA extended MVI’s scope of services to include

schematic design at two potential sites and assessment of ownership and management options.

This report summarizes the research findings and analysis, describes the proposed development

concept, analyzes feasibility, and offers recommendations for future steps.

The Community Marketplace responds to the burgeoning demand for interesting, fresh,

and sustainably grown local foods among both Fort Collins consumers and tourists, as well as the

interest from independent food entrepreneurs and farmers for direct-to-consumer sales. Project

organizers have built consensus for constructing a mixed-use facility in the downtown around the

principle of Locally Sustainable – Globally Fair. Moreover, the facility is meant to target the

emerging trend of “conscious consumers” who care about where their food comes from and how

it is grown and marketed.

Based on its study of comparable public markets around the country over the past 20

years, MVI has identified five key criteria that are present at successful public markets. MVI

applied these five criteria when exploring the feasibility of the Community Marketplace in Fort

Collins: a great site, supportive physical environment, a culture of public market shopping,

professional management, and high quality vendors. The test of economic feasibility is whether

the market can reasonably be expected to operate without subsidy following a three year start-up

period.

Public markets are mission-driven entities which seek to fulfill social and economic

goals. Based on the expressed interests of the DDA and key stakeholders, as well as the research

findings, the following goals are recommended to drive the planning, development, operation

and evaluation of the proposed Community Marketplace:

1. Create a dynamic and inclusive place in the downtown

2. Support the region’s farmers and food producers and provide opportunities to

independent entrepreneurs

3. Promote and model environmentally sustainable, socially fair, and economically viable

practices

4. Provide educational opportunities, particularly about the local food system and conscious

consumerism

Key informant interviews

MVI interviewed 72 key informants from throughout the region, including public

officials, farmers and food producers, farmers’ market managers, downtown retailers,

developers, and leaders from the nonprofit, education, and agricultural sectors. Some of the

recurring and dominant themes that emerged during the interviews include:

• General enthusiasm for having a market in Fort Collins, a “good idea”


• Growing interest in eating locally, supporting local businesses, and healthy lifestyles

• Question whether adequate population and interest to support a year round market;

challenge of getting suburban residents to shop downtown

• Concern about making the Community Market economically successful; competition

from Whole Foods Market and King Soopers Supermarkets

• Farmer and food producer interest in being part of the Community Market

• Concern about finding high quality vendors

• Success of Boulder Farmers’ Market

• Success of the Winter Farmers’ Markets

• Farmers’ markets in and around Fort Collins are not meeting their potential and do not

reflect the demand for local foods or area farmers’ interest in participation

• Growing support for Community Supported Agriculture

• Diversity and scale of farming in Northern Colorado

• Challenging environment for independent restaurants; restaurateurs interested in buying

more local foods but find them hard to access

• Strong interest in education space, perhaps a cooking school

Customer demand analysis

The purpose of the customer demand analysis is to quantify the potential demand for

fresh and prepared foods at the Community Marketplace and to identify the targeted customers

for the facility. Three separate trade areas were defined for the Community Marketplace, using

the corner of Jefferson and Linden as the center point: a 2.5 mile ring, the band between 2.5 and

6 miles, and the band between 6 and 20 miles.

Public markets typically attract a wide range of shoppers in terms of age, ethnicity, and

income level. In general, families buy more fresh food than individuals or people living in

unrelated households, and households with higher income levels ($75,000 and above) are more

frequent shoppers and spend more than people with lower incomes. Educational attainment is

also an important indicator of interest in fresh, locally grown or produced foods.

The majority of the 55,092 residents in the first trade area are not likely to be strong

buyers of fresh food at a downtown public market. Low incomes, small household sizes, and

younger residents all point to lower than typical utilization of a public market. However, the

area’s close proximity to the market and interest in local foods and “conscious consumerism”

suggest that residents of this area might frequent the market, particularly on an event basis. The

small percentage of higher income and more educated residents of this trade area are most likely

to become frequent market shoppers, although many of these are likely to be shopping at Whole

Foods Market already.

The 96,670 residents of the second trade area should show strong interest in a public

market. Incomes are high, the population is increasing, and residents are highly educated. For

residents south of downtown, however, Whole Foods Market is more conveniently located than


the downtown and key informants stressed the challenge of getting suburban residents to shop

downtown on a regular basis.

The 175,793 residents of the third trade area offer another good target for a public

market. This area has the largest population and the demographic profile of its residents closely

matches the typical profile of public market customers. Access to the site will be particularly

important because they are coming from further away. The lack of a highway connection to the

downtown makes this challenging.

In many cities, tourists make up a significant percentage of a public market’s clientele.

Tourists are often attracted to markets because they are unique places, offering a window into the

culture of the region where they are located. Given the large tourist presence in Fort Collins

already, there is significant potential to capture tourists at the Community Marketplace. Food-

related venues – the local breweries – are already the biggest visitor attractions in the region.

Linking the Community Marketplace with the breweries will help capture this group of potential

customers.

The three trade areas represent approximately $636 million in demand for the types of

fresh foods typically sold at a public market. Based on MVI’s capture rate methodology, a

public market in downtown Fort Collins could reasonably expect to capture $11.5 million in

fresh food sales, which includes $9.6 million from the three trade areas and $1.9 million from

tourists. This demand should be sufficiently large to create the fresh foods component of a

modestly sized public market.

Supply analysis

Fort Collins is located within a large and diverse agricultural region. For purposes of

analysis, the research focused on Larimer, Weld, Boulder, and Laramie counties as the likely

source of farmers participating in the Community Marketplace.

After decades of holding steady, Colorado experienced a significant upward trend in the

number of farms throughout the state over the last two census periods. If this trend continues,

Colorado will have over 12,000 more farms by 2017 than it did in 2007, an increase of 33%.

There are 7,268 farms in the four county region around Fort Collins and the region experienced a

17.7% increase in the number of farms since the 2002 Census. The market value of agricultural

products sold by farmers within the four county region equaled $1.83 billion in 2007, a

substantial 38% increase from 2002.

649 farmers in the four county region reported direct marketing (selling directly to

consumers) in 2007, up from 518 farmers in 2002 and 424 in 1997. The region exceeds the state

in terms of the proportion of farms engaged in direct marketing compared to all farms: 8.9% of

the farms in the region participate in direct marketing, compared to 7.5% in the state. Based on

recent trends, there will be 231 additional farmers in the region engaged in direct marketing by

2017. This trend could be curtailed without new facilities, such as the Community Marketplace,

to help farmers efficiently market their products.

The Colorado Farmers’ Market Association lists 76 farmers’ markets around the state,

including four in Fort Collins. While the farmers’ markets in Fort Collins are fairly small, the

very successful Boulder Farmers’ Market is recognized as one of the best in the country. There


are no indoor public markets in Colorado, although a group in Denver is at the early stages of

exploring such a facility for the downtown.

Nationally, there has been a steep decline in the number of independent, specialty food

stores selling basic food items, such as meat and seafood, making it challenging to find

experienced tenants for a public market. According to the 2007 Economic Census, there were 37

grocery stores with sales of $539 million within Larimer County. By contrast, there were only

21 specialty food stores with sales of $7.5 million, or 1.2% of total food and beverage sales. The

entire state of Colorado had only 358 specialty food stores.

Opened in 1974, the Fort Collins Food Co- operates daily on East Mountain Avenue in an

inefficient ~2,500 square foot space without any dedicated parking. The Co-op focuses on

buying organics and, when possible, locally grown and produced foods. Based on its positive

upward trends, the Food Co-op will likely be looking for a new, larger location in the next 2-3

years. They are interested in being part of the Community Marketplace.

Many of the restaurants in downtown Fort Collins are independently owned and operated,

while the suburban areas have numerous chain restaurants. Restaurateurs interviewed expressed

their interest in buying locally grown foods.

Fort Collins has a strong group of local breweries, which are the area’s biggest tourist

attraction. Their tasting rooms attract both tourists and locals.

The supply analysis indicates the interest of many regional farmers and food producers to

participate in a downtown market, many on a seasonal, part-time basis. There is a very limited

supply of experienced specialty food retailers who might become full time tenants in a public

market.

Development concept

The development concept for the Community Marketplace is driven by several central

ideas: that the market should build on existing downtown food assets; maximize returns to area

farmers and food producers; substantially differ from existing and emerging competition; focus

on direct marketing and food production; address opportunities in produce distribution,

education, meeting spaces, and the arts; be phased and flexible; and minimize operating costs

and development risk.

Based on the Marketplace’s goal and the research findings, the proposed development

program includes the following components:

1. Expanded outdoor farmers’ market which can grow and shrink according to the

seasons and expand over time.

2. Flexible building that can be programmed for a number of uses, including indoor

farmers’ market every Saturday, rentable site for special events, facilities for

education and meetings, and office space.

3. Year-round, daily indoor food retail with an expanded Fort Collins Food Co-op as the

primary tenant and several independent vendors, notably a butcher, bakery, and café,

as subtenants.

4. Restaurants including perhaps a biergarten that features the beers made in Fort


Collins.

5. Food and artist production space, including perhaps a kitchen incubator program.

6. Produce distribution that aggregates and distributes products from multiple farmers to

wholesale buyers such as restaurants, food producers, and institutions.

7. Parking

Site analysis

The DDA required that the market be located within its boundaries and be within walking

distance from the intersection of College and Mountain Avenues. MVI established criteria to

guide the site identification process, including visibility, accessibility, parking, supportive

context and adjacent uses, adequate size, availability and cost, potential to reuse historic

buildings and sustainable design opportunities, and potential to revitalize downtown.

The consultant team and DDA staff identified approximately 10 different sites within the

DDA boundaries that were either vacant or considered developable parcels. Key informants

were asked to identify other sites. MVI toured each of the identified sites to assess their

suitability for the Community Marketplace.

None of the potential sites in the downtown are large enough to incorporate a large scale

farmers’ market on the property. Rather, as in many cities, MVI recommends that the farmers’

market be located on the street.

Based on the criteria and following conversations with various property owners, the DDA

and MVI identified two sites on Linden Street between Willow and Jefferson Streets that stood

out as high potential locations: the Mawson Lumber/C&S Freight Depot site and the Northern

Colorado Feeder Supply site. Many of the key informants confirmed that this Linden Street

corridor provides an excellent location for the Community Marketplace. Linden Street between

Jefferson and the Poudre River is an eclectic area with land uses that include office, commercial,

restaurant, social service, housing, industrial and some vacant parcels. The proposed mixed used

program for the Community Marketplace fits well into this district and will help increase land

values for property owners.

Design concept

The design concept for the Community Marketplace follows several key principals for

developing a successful public market: creating a great physical environment; ensuring

functionality and efficiency for both vendors and customers; and “placemaking,” or the

conscious effort to create an active destination where a wide range of users want to be.

For both sites, the outdoor farmers’ market is located on Linden Street and Railroad Park.

The streetscape improvements planned for Linden Street, which will be under construction in

2011, include amenities such as water and electricity to support the farmers’ market.

The following design sketch shows a potential ground floor layout of the Community

Marketplace at the Northern Colorado Feeders Supply site:


The historic building along Linden Street is preserved for use as a restaurant/café and the

adjacent multiuse pedestrian plaza can be used as outdoor seating, converted into a biergarten, or

on farmers’ market days, used for vendors or educational functions. An 8,400 sf market hall

building is created to house the Fort Collins Food Co-op and several independent food vendors.

A flexible, indoor two story “winter market” and event space building with a footprint of 4,000

sf is adjacent to the market hall. The flex building can accommodate about 34 vendor spaces on

the ground floor and potentially more on an upper level; the upper level can also have meeting

rooms, offices, and educational facilities.

The Mawson Lumber/Freight Depot site, while larger than the Feeders Supply site, is

challenging because of its narrowness. This plan utilizes the historic Freight Depot for the flex

building/Winter Market. A 1,200 retail space is located in front of the Depot on Linden Street.

The market hall/Fort Collins Food Co-op is located in a newly constructed 9,500 sf building,

which includes an adjacent loading and storage area for produce distribution. The building also

has a 1,300 café on the front end. Unlike the Feeders Supply site, this site has room for a 5,625

sf commercial kitchen/food production space that could house a kitchen incubator program.


To be a model of sustainable development, green design practices and green operating

elements should be utilized throughout the Community Marketplace in such areas as construction

materials, energy, waste handling, water, lighting, and promotion of public transportation.

The development of the Marketplace can be phased through future expansion of the

farmers’ market and through development of underutilized adjacent properties.

Organization

The organizational functions can be divided into three categories: ownership,

sponsorship, and management. There are examples of public markets around the country where

each of these functions are performed by public, nonprofit or private sector entities. Regardless

of the legal structure, the Community Marketplace will need to be operated on a profitable basis

since there are no anticipated sources of ongoing subsidy. The Community Marketplace should

launch with adequate capitalization, including an operating reserve, so funds are available to pay

for unforeseen expenses or needed changes. It must be managed to meet multiple goals,

including profitability, so it requires strong, entrepreneurial leadership that can adapt to changing

circumstances and pursue emerging opportunities. Finally, leadership should be representative

and accountable to the community and to the project’s funders.

The owner of the real property will be driven in large part by the sources of funding and

the land disposition. The ownership decision can reasonably be delayed until a site is chosen and

the project enters the financing/predevelopment phase.

The Community Marketplace should be sponsored by a new or existing nonprofit

organization. A nonprofit corporation is the right legal form of sponsorship because of its

independence coupled with its focus on a dual bottom line: pursuing the mission of the


Community Marketplace and fiscal discipline. The nonprofit form also reflects the sense of

community leadership and connection that will be important for the market’s success.

To minimize operating costs, the nonprofit sponsor should master lease the market hall to

the Food Co-op, which will manage the entire building, including the vendor spaces and the food

distribution component. The sponsor can separately lease the café space and the food production

spaces to individual operators.

Market management staff will organize and run the outdoor farmers’ market and the

indoor market in the flex building, rent the flex building and plaza for events and meetings, and

oversee the market’s educational programs. Staff members include a Market Director,

Marketing/Education Coordinator, Site Manager, and bookkeeper. Ideally, the Master Gardeners

will continue to provide volunteers to assist with the operations of the farmers’ market.

The market hall and restaurant components of the Community Marketplace are conceived

as year-round, seven day a week operations. The outdoor farmers’ market will begin as a

Saturday market only, operating 8 am to 2 pm.

Cooperative Extension and CSU staff provide strong potential partners for a variety of

food and agriculture programming at the Community Marketplace. Other food educators in the

region, including local chefs, should be encouraged to provide programs within the market’s

demonstration kitchen or using mobile cooking stations.

Financial analysis

MVI developed five year financial projections for both sites on Linden Street. Income

sources include rents from the outdoor farmers’ market, indoor market, café, and site rental for

the flex building. The Mawson Lumber site includes rent from the food production facility and

separate retail store.

At the Feeders Supply site, total income to the Marketplace is projected at $265,843 in

year 1 and $627,200 in year 5. Expenses start at $358,000 in year one and raise to $462,211 in

year 5. After capital reserve, the market loses $117,157 in year one, breaks even in year 3, and

nets $134,989 in year 5. At the Mawson Lumber site, both revenues and expenses are higher, so

the Marketplace loses $104,631 in year 1, breaks even in year 3, and nets $147,297 in year 5.

MVI estimated development costs based on recent experience at other public markets and

not on formal cost estimating. Development costs, including land, are estimated at $5.7 million

for the Feeders Supply site and $8.1 million for Mawson Lumber site.

Funding opportunities for the Community Marketplace include DDA investment, New

Market and historic tax credits, foundation grants, and federal grants or earmarks.

Economic impact analysis

Using RIMS II multipliers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis for the four county

study area, MVI estimated the economic impacts of Community Marketplace. Using reasonable

estimates for sales in the fifth year of operation, total gross sales of all businesses within the

Community Marketplace are estimated at roughly $11.4 million. This will generate nearly $19

million in annual output within the region and increase earnings by $5.3 million. Sales at the


Community Marketplace generate 216 new jobs in the region. Over a ten year period, assuming

sales increase 3% each year, the aggregate impact of sales at the Community Marketplace on the

region would be $215 million.

A large portion of the products sold at the Community Marketplace will come from

regional farmers and food producers. Community Marketplace businesses are estimated to buy

approximately $3.7 million worth of food from the region’s farmers and food producers.

Applying RIMS II multipliers, these sales from area farmers lead to over $6.6 million in output

within the region, $1.3 million in additional earnings, and 62.8 jobs. Over a ten year period,

assuming 3% growth in purchases each year, the total economic impact from sales by the

region’s farmers and food producers would be $76 million.

The total economic effects of constructing the Community Marketplace with a

development budget of $4.1 million would represent a one-time increase of $7.6 million by all

industries affected by construction activity. Earnings in the region would increase $2.2 million

and employment would increase by 57.6 jobs.

The annual operations of the Community Marketplace will increase the region’s output

by $455,000 annually, increase earnings by $43,000 and support 1.5 additional jobs in the

regional economy. Over a ten year period, assuming 3% growth in operating costs each year, the

total economic impact of operations would be $5.2 million.

Aggregating these various benefits, the Community Marketplace will create 338 jobs,

increase earnings by $8.9 million, and increase output by $33.5 million in the first year. Over

ten years, the total economic impact of the Community Marketplace is estimated at $304 million.

A direct estimate of the number of jobs at the Community Marketplace equals 88.2 FTEs.

The Community Marketplace will also provide a number of social impacts, including

downtown revitalization, supporting regional agriculture and food production, education of

consumers and farmers, bringing the people of Larimer County together, and providing

opportunities for partnerships and mentoring.

Conclusion

Based on the stated criteria, the research findings and assumptions, the proposed sites and

development concept, and the financial analysis, the Community Marketplace as envisioned can

be considered feasible. The Feeders Supply site makes a superior location for the market in

terms of cost, visibility, and layout, but either site can accommodate the market’s program.

If the DDA decides to move forward with the Community Marketplace as conceptualized

in this report, next steps include presentations and community input; fundraising; outdoor

farmers’ market planning and operations; predevelopment; organizational development; and

design.


2. Introduction

In January 2010, the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority (“DDA”) retained

Market Ventures, Inc. (“MVI”) to conduct the Fort Collins Community Marketplace Feasibility

Study. MVI’s scope of services included analyzing the project concept as it had evolved to that

date, site analysis (including a review of the DDA-owned former Elks Building), demand and

competitive analysis, tenant mix, financial analysis, and economic impact analysis. In July 2010,

the DDA extended MVI’s scope of services to include schematic design at two potential sites

and assessment of ownership and management options. This report summarizes the research

findings and analysis, describes the proposed development concept, analyzes feasibility, and

offers recommendations for future steps.

The idea of creating a year-round public market in downtown Fort Collins has been

discussed for many years by community residents and leaders. These individuals have witnessed

the proliferation and success of farmers’ markets in the region and the impact of downtown

public markets in other cities around the country and around the world. Since 2007, a local

planning team has worked to describe the potential components of a Community Marketplace,

explore models in other cities, and build community support for the concept. Based on this

work, the DDA decided to conduct a professional feasibility study to explore the concept in more

detail and determine its financial implications.

Study team

The study was led by Ted Spitzer, President, Market Ventures, Inc. Hugh Boyd, FAIA,

Senior Associate, led the design process and Kevin Brinkman of Brinkman Partners, LLC in Fort

Collins provided local expertise in real estate and development issues. MVI is a specialty urban

planning and economic development firm that assists public, non-profit, and for-profit clients

with planning, creating, and managing innovative food-based projects and programs, including

public markets and farmers’ markets. The firm’s approach and experience can be found at

www.marketventuresinc.com.

The consultant team worked closely with the Community Marketplace Planning Team,

whose members are listed in Appendix A. Matt Robenalt, DDA Executive Director, provided

guidance and consistent oversight to the study. Joanna Stone, Administrative Manager, provided

essential organizational support.

Study approach and initial concept

The Community Marketplace responds to the burgeoning demand for interesting, fresh,

and sustainably grown local foods among both Fort Collins consumers and tourists, as well as the

interest from independent food entrepreneurs and farmers for direct-to-consumer sales. Project

organizers have built consensus for constructing a mixed-use facility in the downtown around the

principle of Locally Sustainable – Globally Fair. Moreover, the facility is meant to target the

emerging trend of “conscious consumers” who care about where their food comes from and how

it is grown and marketed.

As envisioned by the DDA’s Project Team, the Community Marketplace would include a

range of functions, including permanent, semi-permanent, seasonal, and day vendor stalls, public

http://www.marketventuresinc.com/


spaces, offices for like-minded nonprofits and businesses, and meeting and event facilities. The

tenant mix for the ground level Market Hall would include a range of fresh and prepared food

offerings, while the upper levels would house tenants who share the vision for triple bottom line

accountability, as well as meeting and conference rooms to support community and business

needs. The building would push the envelope in terms of sustainable design and facility

management, integrating a range of innovative building technologies and sustainable operating

practices so that the market could serve as a model and teaching laboratory for other facilities.

In testing the feasibility of this concept, the consultant team looked to understand local

assets and opportunities through a variety of research methods, and then to adjust the concept to

ensure the market met the project’s social and economic goals.

Feasibility considerations

Based on its study of comparable public markets around the country over the past 20

years, MVI has identified five key criteria that are present at successful public markets. MVI

applied these five criteria when exploring the feasibility of the Community Marketplace in Fort

Collins:

1. Great site. Like all retail, location is a critical factor. While not every successful public

market might have the following site characteristics, a great market site is:

• Easily accessible to the entire region and to tourists (physically and psychologically)

• Visible from highways or major thoroughfares

• Has easy circulation around and through the site

• Provides pedestrian access and generally is in close proximity to downtown

• Able to be phased so the market can expand over time

• Has lots of convenient parking, ideally free and at-grade

• Offers a supportive context of other independent local businesses nearby, including food-

related businesses and restaurants, and room for an outdoor farmers’ market and public

spaces

2. Environment. Public market architecture includes both the building environment and the

design and layout of each tenant space. Historically, cities have perceived their public markets

as important works of civic architecture and therefore many historic public markets are

impressive and beautiful structures. A great public market environment is:

• A place people want to be and a comfortable public space that welcomes all elements of

the community

• A landmark structure

• A facility with well designed stalls and infrastructure that supports small food retailers

• A place that offers a rich sensory experience of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes


• A facility that offers customer amenities such as comfortable seating areas and clean

restrooms

• On the cutting edge of sustainability, including green construction elements, energy

efficiency, waste minimization, composting/recycling, and education

3. Culture of public market shopping. Communities throughout the country are awakening to

the benefits of buying locally grown foods. Some communities have developed a culture of

public market shopping, with residents going out of their way to purchase locally grown food

and willing to make it a spending priority.

4. Professional management. Well run public markets require skilled professional managers

who focus on helping the market achieve its mission, supporting the vendors, and ensuring

customers have a positive shopping experience. Some of the critical roles that management

plays include:

• Property management (including cleaning, security, maintenance, and rules enforcement)

• Customer service

• Vendor recruitment

• Small business assistance and vendor training

• Marketing (including advertising, special events/promotions, public relations, education,

Internet, and consumer research)

5. High quality vendors. The most important determinant of a public market’s long term

success is the quality of its vendors. Once the developer of a public market has “set the stage”

for the public market in terms of its site, facility and management team, it is the vendors who

become “the show.” Their ability to offer high quality and unique products, as well as superior

services, will determine whether a sufficient customer base is established over time. The

presence of bona fide farmers and food producers within a public market, selling items they

produce themselves, differentiates the experience of shopping at a public market from other retail

venues.

In most communities, the initial costs of developing a public market, including land, are

paid by public or philanthropic funds, with the assumption that the public market will not carry

debt service. The test of economic feasibility therefore is whether the market can reasonably be

expected to operate without subsidy following a start-up period, typically chosen to be three

years. The public benefits of the market, including community revitalization, small business

development, support of local agriculture, access to fresh foods, and job generation, are usually

seen as the “return” for the public or philanthropic investment. To be economically feasible,

therefore, market tenants must be able to operate profitably and pay rents that will cover all of

the market’s cost of operations, including a cushion to pay for future capital maintenance needs.


Research methodologies

MVI employed a range of research methodologies for this study, including:

Key informant interviews. MVI interviewed 72 key informants from throughout the region,

including public officials, farmers and food producers, farmers’ market managers, food

retailers, developers, artists, and leaders from the nonprofit, education, and agricultural

sectors. A list of those interviewed can be found in Appendix B and principal findings are

described in Section 3.

Report review. The DDA and project partners provided MVI with various reports, including

“Fort Collins Community Marketplace Concept Report,” October 2008; “The Community

Marketplace: Refining the Vision,” March 2009; “Fort Collins Community Marketplace

Program Feasibility Study, Part 1: The Market Hall and Part 2: The Upper Floors,”

September 2009. MVI analyzed these materials and summarized its findings in a memo

provided to the DDA in February 2010.

Data analysis. MVI analyzed demographic and food consumption data for the consumer

trade areas and analyzed data from the USDA Census of Agriculture and the US Department

of Commerce for the supply analysis. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provided

current wage rates in the Fort Collins area.

Site inspections. MVI inspected sites throughout the downtown that were identified as

potential locations for the Community Marketplace.

Competition review. MVI visited food stores in and around Fort Collins and observed

operation of various farmers’ markets in the region, including the Old Town and Drake Road

Farmers’ Markets, the French Market, and the Longmont and Boulder County Farmers’

Markets.

Impact analysis. MVI utilized RIMS II multipliers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to

assess the economic impact of the Community Marketplace within the region.

Goals

Public markets are mission-driven entities which seek to fulfill social and economic

goals. Based on the expressed interests of the DDA and key stakeholders, as well as the research

findings, the following goals are recommended to drive the planning, development, operation

and evaluation of the proposed Community Marketplace:

1. Create a dynamic and inclusive place in the downtown

2. Support the region’s farmers and food producers and provide opportunities to

independent entrepreneurs

3. Promote and model environmentally sustainable, socially fair, and economically viable

practices

4. Provide educational opportunities, particularly about the local food system and conscious

consumerism


These goals helped guide the planning process and should drive the market’s

development and operating phases. Furthermore, they should be the basis for creating metrics to

evaluate the performance of the project in the future.


3. Key Informant Interviews

MVI interviewed 72 key informants from throughout the region, including public

officials, farmers and food producers, farmers’ market managers, downtown retailers,

developers, and leaders from the nonprofit, education, and agricultural sectors. Each interview

lasted approximately one hour. The key informant interview process began during the initial site

visit and continued throughout the project. A list of those interviewed and their organizational

affiliation is located in Appendix B.

Information derived from these interviews has been integrated throughout this report.

Some of the recurring and dominant themes that emerged during the interviews include:

• General enthusiasm for having a market in Fort Collins, a “good idea.” The key

informants showed nearly universal enthusiasm for a Community Marketplace in

downtown Fort Collins.

• Interest in eating locally, supporting local businesses, healthy lifestyle. Many of the

informants talked about the “Fort Collins lifestyle” which includes interest in health as

well as eating local foods and supporting local businesses. Interviewees also mentioned

the great weather which permits lots of outdoor activities. Others noted the large number

of students in the area and their potential interest in a market, particularly for events.

These qualities should make local residents very interested in supporting the

Marketplace.

• Question whether adequate population and interest to support a year round

market; challenge of getting suburban residents to shop downtown. While key

informants are excited about the Community Marketplace, they also question its viability

as a daily, year-round, indoor facility. In part, they recognize the challenges of getting

residents from the region, particularly the southern side of the city, to come downtown on

a regular basis, as well as the challenge of making a significantly-scaled project

successful when the area’s total population is not large.

• Concern about making the Community Market economically successful;

competition. Many key informants expressed their feeling that the Market must be

economically successful, meaning that it requires no ongoing subsidy. They are

concerned about taking a risk with a project in which they do not have strong confidence

in its economics. Some mentioned the failure of the indoor market on Harmony Road as

a cautionary tale. They also noted the strength of local competition, including Whole

Foods Market and King Soopers Supermarkets, both of which have strong programs for

buying local foods.

• Farmer and food producer interest in being part of the Community Market. Both

small and large scale farmers and food producers said they want to be part of the

Community Market and noted how daily, year-round sales opportunities at the

Marketplace fit into their businesses’ marketing plans.

• Concern about finding high quality vendors. Key informants recognized the

challenges in finding high quality food vendors to tenant the Market on a daily basis and

noted that there are not many specialty food businesses in the region.

• Note success of Boulder Farmers’ Market. Key informants discussed the impressive


level of sales at the Boulder County farmers’ markets and the fact that the Boulder

Farmers’ Market operates for a longer season and has more days and hours than farmers’

markets in Fort Collins. Informants mentioned that “Fort Collins is not Boulder” in terms

of wealth and interest in local foods but also conceded that the differences are perhaps

not so great anymore.

• Success of Fort Collins Winter Farmers’ Market. Key informants said they have been

impressed with the performance of the Winter Farmers’ Markets, noting that they

represent a place where Fort Collins is ahead of Boulder in terms of supporting local

farmers and food producers. Some informants suggested that the success of the Winter

Farmers’ Markets is perhaps due to their infrequency: they maintain an event-like

atmosphere since they occur only twice per month.

• Farmers’ markets in Fort Collins not meeting their potential. Several key informants

felt that the farmers’ markets in and around Fort Collins are not meeting their potential

and do not reflect the demand for local foods or area farmers’ interest in participation.

They feel that Fort Collins can have a great farmers’ market, like Boulder.

• Growing support for Community Supported Agriculture. Key informants noted the

expanding interest in community supported agriculture and discussed the large scale CSA

farms in the area. Some speculated that the strength of CSAs is related to the relative

weakness of farmers’ markets – consumers are signing up for CSAs because they cannot

reliably get similar products at farmers’ markets.

• Diversity and scale of farming in Northern Colorado. Key informants discussed the

wide variety of products being grown in Colorado, including Northern Colorado, and the

wide range of farm sizes. They also noted the growth in the small farm sector, which

typically looks for direct marketing opportunities, and the large percentage of farmers

who are engaged in direct marketing since it provides the greatest financial return to the

farmer.

• Challenging environment for independent restaurants. Key informants mentioned the

difficulties that independent restaurants have experienced in creating successful

businesses in Fort Collins. They noted that restaurateurs are interested in buying more

local foods but find them hard to access.

• Strong interest in education space, perhaps a cooking school. Key informants noted

the high demand for cooking classes and felt the Community Marketplace could be a

good location for classes and perhaps even a cooking school.


4. Customer Demand Analysis

The purpose of the customer demand analysis is to quantify the potential demand for

fresh and prepared foods at the Community Marketplace and to identify the targeted customers

for the facility. The quantitative demand analysis consists of defining the market’s trade areas,

evaluating the demographics of the residents of the different trade areas, and analyzing buying

behavior in order to estimate potential expenditures for the different products that might be sold

in the market. MVI also performed qualitative analysis in the form of key informant interviews.

Trade areas

Based on input from the key

informants and typical shopping patterns

at other public markets, three separate

trade areas were defined for the

Community Marketplace, using the corner

of Jefferson and Linden as the center

point. Since all of the identified sites are

close to this location, the consumer

demand at a downtown Community

Marketplace will not vary significantly

between the sites. The three trade areas

are:

1. Residents of a 2.5 mile ring around

the site. This ring includes the Old

Town section of Fort Collins,

reaching slightly past County Club

Road to the north, nearly to Drake

Road to the south, Timberline Road

to the east and Taft Hill Road to the

west. The Community Marketplace

will be easily accessible for residents

in this trade area: many will be able

to walk to the market and for others it

will be a short drive, bike ride, or bus

trip. There is important competition

for the sale of fresh food within this

trade area, including a very successful

Whole Foods Market on South

College below Drake Road, a

Safeway on South College at

Mulberry, and independent retailers

such as Beaver’s Market on West

Mountain Avenue at Shields Street.

A large King Soopers is also


scheduled to be constructed one mile north of downtown, which will be within this trade

area.

2. The area between the 2.5 mile ring and a 6 mile ring. This band covers much of the City of

Fort Collins, reaching past I-25 to the east, Lory State Park to the west, East County Road

58 to the north, and nearly to Trilby Road to the south. The market will be reasonably

convenient to residents and workers in this area although key informants reported that

suburban residents are typically not regular visitors to the downtown. This area has a

number of King Soopers and other supermarkets, as well as several farmers’ markets.

3. The area between the 6 mile ring and a

20 mile ring, which incorporates the

greater Fort Collins/Loveland area,

stretching from Berthoud to the south, to

Ault and Eaton in the east, more than

half way to the Wyoming border to the

north, and well into the National Forest

to the west. Based on our research at

numerous public markets, this area

represents the typical extended

catchment area for a large public market.

Key informants noted that Fort Collins

has regular visitors from further away,

particularly from southern Wyoming and

northeast Colorado and Nebraska. This

trade area does not include Greely,

which was seen to be outside the Fort

Collins economic sphere.

In addition to these trade areas, the demand analysis also includes estimates of potential

patronage by tourists, defined as anyone who lives outside the 20 mile ring.

According to research that Market Ventures, Inc. has conducted at other markets, public

markets typically attract a wide range of shoppers in terms of age, ethnicity, and income level.

In general, families buy more fresh food than individuals or people living in unrelated

households, and households with higher income levels ($75,000 and above) are more frequent

shoppers and spend more than people with lower incomes. Educational attainment is also an

important indicator of interest in fresh, locally grown or produced foods. The highest spending

customer is typically a 40 to 55 year old woman. What is unique about public markets, however,

is their ability to appeal to both the highest income shoppers and lower income shoppers. While

higher income shoppers might be drawn by unique products, superior quality and the ethic of

buying locally grown foods, lower income and elderly shoppers appreciate the ability to purchase

smaller quantities, the ability to negotiate with empowered owners, the availability of ethnic

specialties, and competitive prices.

Demographic data about the three trade areas were acquired from Claritas, a national

market research data company. The acquired data include 2000 U.S. Census information,

estimates developed by Claritas for 2009, and projections for 2014. Data from the three trade


areas are summarized in the chart below. Each band is independent – only the “total” section

aggregates the three bands:

2.5 mile ring 2.5-6 m band 6-20 mile band Total

Population 2000 census 54,575 84,051 128,016 266,642

Population 2009 estimate 55,092 96,670 175,793 327,555

Population 2014 projection 56,255 104,204 201,878 362,337

Population change 2000-2009 0.9% 15.0% 37.3% 22.8%

Population change 2009-2014 (%) 2.1% 7.8% 14.8% 10.6%

Population change 2009-2014 1,163 7,534 26,085 34,782

Racial diversity (% non-white) 16.5% 10.7% 9.2%

Percent Hispanic 2009 15.8% 8.9% 10.5%

Households 2009 21,984 37,446 66,135 125,565

Average household size 2.25 2.57 2.64

Median age 29.9 34.2 36.2

Average household income $48,429 $75,046 $74,473

Hhs with income >$75,000/yr 3,991 13,945 24,571 42,507

Hhs with income >$75,000/yr (%) 18.2% 37.3% 37.2%

Per capita income $20,101 $29,167 $28,161

Families below poverty line 10.2% 3.7% 4.3%

Family households 45% 66% 74%

Age 35-64 29.5% 40.7% 41.0%

No Vehicles 7.7% 2.5% 3.0%

Bachelor's Degree 26.3% 29.6% 22.0%

Master's, Professional or Doctorate 16.2% 18.8% 10.0%

Trade area 1: 2.5 mile ring

2009 population for the 2.5 mile radius is estimated at 55,092 people, which represents a

very small increase (0.9%) from the 2000 Census count of 54,575. The population is expected to

increase by 1,163 people, or 2.1%, by 2014, to 56,255 people. By comparison, the second trade

area is expected to grow rapidly by 7.8% while the third trade area will mushroom by 14.8%.

For the United States as a whole, the population is expected to grow 4.9% between 2009 and

2014.

The trade area had 21,984 households in 2009, with an average household size of 2.25

people, which is below the national average of 2.57. Only 45% of these households are families,

compared to a national average of 68%. Typically, small household size and small percentage of

families would suggest lower than average purchases at a public market.


The median age of the population, at 29.9, is well below the national median of 36.7,

which is driven in part to the many students at Colorado State University. A fairly small

percentage (29.5%) of the population is in the targeted age range of 35 to 64, compared to about

41% in each of the other two trade areas.

Household incomes in this area are very low compared to both the other trade areas and

the national average, although this is due, in part, by the small household sizes and the large

percentage of students in this area. Average household income in Trade Area 1 is $48,429,

compared to $75,046 in the second tier and $74,473 in the third tier. Per capita income is only

$20,101, compared to $29,167 in the second trade area and $25,933 nationally. Only 18.2% of

the population has household income above $75,000, compared to 37% for the other two trade

areas.

This area is more racially diverse that the other trade areas, but still only 16.5% nonwhite.

People of Hispanic heritage represent 15.8% of the population.

Educational attainment has been shown to have a strong correlation with higher spending

for quality food. This trade area has a high percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or

an advanced degree: 26.3% of those 25 years or older have a bachelor’s degree and 16.2% hold

a master’s, professional, or doctorate degree. This compares with 15.8% nationally with a

bachelor’s degree and 8.9% with an advanced degree.

Nearly 8% of households in this trade area has no vehicle, compared to 2.5% in the

second area and 3.0% in the third. Members of these households will therefore need to rely on

walking, public transportation, taxis, or rides from family or friends in order to get to the market.

Based on the demographic profile of area residents and typical expenditure patterns as

determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, Claritas estimates

the retail sales potential for consumer goods for a geographic area. Using their estimated per

capita expenditures for various food items, Claritas creates a Food Purchasing Index that

compares local expected purchases to national averages on the household level. In any category,

a score of 1.00 means that households within the defined trade area are expected to buy the same

as the national household average. If households in the targeted trade area are expected to

purchase less of a particular product, the index will be less than one. Conversely, if they are

expected to buy more of a certain item, the index will be more than one. For example, if

households in the trade area are expected to buy on average $1,200 worth of baked goods per

year and the national average is $1,000 per household, then the index would be 1.2.

For each of the trade areas, the food purchasing indices for 2009 area:


Yr 2009 Estimate 2.5 mile ring 2.5-6 mile band 6-20 mile band

Food at Home - overall 91 107 110

Food away from Home - overall 94 103 103

Market categories

Baked goods 92 105 108

Dairy 101 113 117

Meat 84 97 101

Poultry 85 95 97

Prepared foods 103 116 118

Produce - fresh 96 108 111

Seafood - fresh 63 78 81

Specialty food (jams, jellies) 103 118 123

Sweets 97 116 121

Beverages - nonalcoholic 104 111 113

Beer 126 119 121

Wine 84 106 100

For many products, the index scores are well below one in the first trade area, suggesting

that household expenditures will be significantly below national averages. These products

include meat, poultry, seafood, baked goods, and wine. Reflecting both the youth in the area and

the local interest in breweries, the index for beer is very high at 126.

Overall, these findings suggest that the majority of residents in the first trade area are not

likely to be strong buyers of fresh food at a downtown public market. Low incomes, small

household sizes, and younger residents all point to lower than typical utilization of a public

market. However, the area’s close proximity to the market and interest in local foods and

“conscious consumerism” suggest that residents of this area might frequent the market,

particularly on an event basis. The small percentage of higher income and more educated

residents of this trade area are most likely to become frequent market shoppers, although many

of these are likely to be shopping at Whole Foods Market already.

This trade area also includes downtown workers. These workers are likely to visit the

Community Marketplace at lunchtime and potentially on the way home after work.

Trade area 2: Area between 2.5 mile ring and 6 mile ring

According to Claritas, the area between the 2.5 mile ring and a 6 mile ring contained

85,051 people in 2000 and is estimated to have reached 96,670 in 2009, a 15.0% increase over

nine years. The population is expected to increase to 104,205 by 2014, an increase of 7.8% at a

time when the country’s population will grow 4.9%.

This area is divided into 37,446 households, with an average household size of 2.57,

which is the same as the national average. The median age of 34.2 is below the national average

of 36.7. 66% of the households are families, just slightly below the national average of 68%.

Average household income in this area is $75,046, which exceeds the first trade area by

nearly $27,000 and exceeds the national average of $67,918. 37.3% of the households have

income of more than $75,000.


Only 2.5% of the households have no vehicle so access to the downtown will not be

prevented by this.

In terms of educational attainment, this trade area has even higher levels of both

bachelors’ and advanced degrees than the first trade area, and far exceeds the national averages

in both categories. Nearly 30% have bachelor’s degrees and nearly 19% have graduate or

professional degrees.

The Food Purchasing Index for this trade area generally exceeds the national averages,

except for fresh seafood at 78.

These demographics suggest very strong potential interest in a public market. Incomes

are high, the population is increasing, and residents are highly educated. For residents south of

downtown, however, Whole Foods Market is more conveniently located than the downtown and

key informants stressed the challenge of getting suburban residents to shop downtown on a

regular basis.

Trade area 3: Area between 6 mile radius and 20 mile radius

The 6-20 mile band contains 175,793 people divided into 66,135 households in 2009.

This population is expected to grow by 14.8% between 2009 and 2014, following on the heels of

a torrid 37.3% growth between 2000 and 2009.

The median age within this trade area (36.2) is higher than the other two areas but still

slightly below the national average of 36.7. A fairly large percentage of people (41%) fall into

the targeted 35-64 year old age band. The average household size (2.64) surpasses the national

average of 2.57.

Household income in the third trade area is slightly below the second trade area but still

exceeds the national average: $74,473 compared to a national average of $67,918. Per capita

income of $28,161 is well above the national average of $25,933. A robust 37% of the

households have household income of more than $75,000.

Educational attainment in this trade area is the lowest of the three trade areas but still

exceeds the national averages. 22.0% have a bachelor’s degree compared to the national average

of 15.8% and 10.0% have an advanced degree compared to 8.9%.

Only 3.0% of the households do not have a vehicle so this does not prevent a barrier to

driving to the market.

Like the second trade area, this trade area generally ranks above national averages for

food purchasing.

The residents of the third trade area offer another good target for a public market. This

area has the largest population and the demographic profile of its residents closely matches the

typical profile of public market customers. Access to the site will be particularly important

because they are coming from further away. The lack of a highway connection to the downtown

makes this somewhat challenging.


Tourists

In many cities, tourists make up a significant percentage of a public market’s clientele.

Tourists are often attracted to markets because they are unique places, offering a window into the

culture of the region where they are located. As Americans have become more interested in food

and cuisine, they are searching out markets when they travel. Given the large tourist presence in

Fort Collins already, there is significant potential to capture tourists at the Community

Marketplace. Food-related venues – the local breweries – are already the biggest visitor

attractions in the region. Linking the breweries to the Community Marketplace will help capture

this group of potential customers.

Sales potential

The chart below shows Claritas estimates for aggregate annual food and beverage

expenditures in millions of dollars for each of the three trade areas, divided among the types of

products typically found in a public market. Claritas determines these estimates based on the

demographic profile of residents in each of the trade areas. The table on top shows estimates for

2009 and the table below shows projections for 2014.

Yr 2009 Estimate 2.5 mile ring 2.5-6 m band 6-20 m band

Market categories (000s) (000s) (000s)

Baked goods $10,768 $20,917 $38,084

Dairy $13,228 $25,170 $46,020

Meat $14,023 $27,534 $50,551

Poultry $6,468 $12,214 $22,058

Prepared foods $6,441 $11,866 $21,284

Produce - fresh $11,185 $21,450 $39,014

Seafood - fresh $872 $1,842 $3,390

Specialty food $12,059 $23,769 $43,307

Sweets $4,927 $10,025 $18,472

Coffee/Tea $3,452 $6,621 $12,053

Wine/Beer $14,305 $29,965 $52,834

Total $97,728 $191,373 $347,067


Yr 2014 Projection 2.5 mile ring 2.5-6 m band 6-20 m band

Market categories (000s) (000s) (000s)

Baked goods $12,514 $25,673 $49,777

Dairy $17,622 $35,466 $69,077

Meat $15,117 $31,236 $60,839

Poultry $7,209 $14,309 $27,436

Prepared foods $10,766 $21,033 $40,301

Produce - fresh $13,331 $27,123 $52,388

Seafood - fresh $1,069 $2,426 $4,767

Specialty food $16,363 $34,162 $66,302

Sweets $5,322 $11,463 $22,506

Coffee/Tea $3,710 $7,507 $14,502

Wine/Beer $27,639 $49,220 $89,557

Total $130,662 $259,618 $497,452

Change 2009-2014 33.7% 35.7% 43.3%

Adding the various categories within each trade area, total sales potential in 2009 for

residents within the 2.5 mile ring is $97.7 million. Based on population and income change, as

well as lifestyle trends, this figure is expected to grow to $130.7 million by 2014, a large increase

of 33.7%. Total sales potential in 2009 for the 2.5-6 mile band is $191.4 million and $347.1

million for the 6-20 mile band. The second trade area is expected to see a sales increase of

35.7% between 2009 and 2014, while the third trade area will see a whopping 43.3% increase.

Adding the three trade areas together, there is $636 million of demand for these fresh food

categories within the three trade areas in 2009, which is expected to rise to $888 million in 2014.

To estimate potential sales for fresh food products within a downtown public market, this

consumer demand data is utilized with projected public market capture rates. See the chart

labeled “Sales Analysis – 2009,” in Appendix D. This chart repeats the product categories and

sales estimates from the chart above in the first two columns. The third column, labeled

“Potential,” contains a realistic estimate for the percentage of sales that market vendors should

be able to obtain in downtown Fort Collins.1

The fourth column, labeled “Sales,” is the product of multiplying the potential by the

capture percentage. For example, in the Baked Goods category, Claritas estimates $10.8 million

in consumer demand for baked goods within the first trade area. Market Ventures, Inc. estimates

that vendors in a public market in downtown Fort Collins could reasonably capture 5.0% of those

sales, based on our experience and research. This results in the potential for $538,400 in annual

1. These estimates have been developed and refined by the Market Ventures, Inc. through its work planning,

developing, and operating public markets and its research of other public markets around the country. The ability to

achieve these capture rates will depend on the Community Marketplace having the qualities of other successful

public markets (good location, adequate scale, convenient parking, the right tenant mix with high quality vendors,

skilled management, effective marketing, etc.) The potential suggests what accomplished vendors might

realistically achieve for sales from a trade area. Particularly strong vendors might achieve higher sales from the

trade area and might have customers from outside the trade area if their business is unique and attractive to

consumers. Conversely, weak vendors will fall short of the demand potential because area residents will spend their

dollars elsewhere.


baked goods sales at the Community

Marketplace from residents in the first trade

area. Adding the sales for baked goods

across all three trade areas, we estimate that

bakeries within a public market could

reasonably achieve sales of $1.2 million.

The capture rates for the first trade

area are influenced upward by the strong

connection between downtown and the

adjacent neighborhoods but downward by the

less than desired demographics in this area.

In the second and third trade areas, the

demographics are strong (which would push

the capture rates upward) but we heard

repeatedly about the north-south split in Fort

Collins and the perceived challenges of getting downtown from the suburbs (which push the

capture rates down). The potential capture rates are also adjusted downward by the presence of

high quality supermarkets in the area.

Summing the sales total column for the 2.5 mile ring, the Community Marketplace could

reasonably capture $4.3 million in sales from this trade area, which represents 4.4% of the

demand for all fresh food sales in the zone, $2.8 million in sales from the 2.5 to 6 mile band,

which is 1.5% of the demand for fresh food in that region, and $2.5 million from the 6-20 mile

band, which is 0.73% of demand for fresh foods in that region.

Given the wide variation in tourist purchases, a capture rate methodology has not been

developed for tourists. Rather, we utilize a mark-up factor over the sales to local residents. For

this analysis, sales to tourists have been projected at 20% of the local consumer demand. Based

on 20% add-on sales, shoppers from outside of the 20 mile ring are expected to generate sales of

$1.9 million, which brings total market sales potential to $11.5 million.

As the chart labeled “Source of Demand” shows, the 2.5 mile ring represents the largest

share of sales at 37%, followed by the 2.5-6 mile band

at 24% and the 6-20 mile band at 22%.

These projections apply to the retail component

of the Community Marketplace. The Community

Marketplace could potentially supply wholesale buyers,

which would add to this demand analysis. At many

public markets, chefs and restaurateurs looking for

locally grown, fresh, and interesting foods are regular buyers. There is also potential demand

from larger wholesale buyers, such as institutions and produce wholesalers.

This analysis was repeated with Claritas projections for demand in 2014. Since demand

is expected to grow significantly over this period, the demand projection for the Community

Marketplace grows as well. The same capture rates were utilized with the new demand

estimates. This leads to a total demand potential of $15.5 million among all four trade areas.

Trade Area Demand 2009

2.5 mile ring $4,300,000

2.5-6 m band $2,800,000

6-20 m band $2,500,000

Tourists $1,900,000

Total $11,500,000


Demand analysis conclusions

Using the 2009 demand figure of $11.5 million and using sales per square foot of $800 (a

healthy average figure for profitable public market vendors), downtown Fort Collins could

support a public market of about 14,000 sf of leasable area, or about 22,000 sf of gross area

using typical efficiency rates. Using the 2014 demand figure of $15.5 million and $850 sales per

sf, the downtown could support a public market with 18,000 sf of leasable area or 27,000 sf gross

area.

Based on the assumptions and methodology herein, the demand potential for the

Community Marketplace should be adequately large to support a moderately sized public market

development. Since customers are likely to come from a wide geographic area, the site must be

able to attract consumers from throughout the region and be accessible to tourists. To realize this

demand potential, the other critical factors for success (location, environment, management, and

vendors) must all be present.


5. Supply Analysis

The supply analysis looks at the role the Community Marketplace might play in relation

to the region’s agriculture and who might be vendors and suppliers to the Market, as well as

current and emerging competition.

Farming in Northern Colorado

Information about the region’s agricultural sector was gathered from the recently released

2007 Census of Agriculture. Other information came from the key informant interviews.

Fort Collins is located within a large and diverse agricultural region. For purposes of

analysis, the research considered a four county region around Fort Collins as the likely source of

farmers participating in the Community Marketplace. These counties include:

County Sq. Miles Population

Boulder 742 293,161

Laramie (Wyoming) 2,686 87,542

Larimer 2,601 292,825

Weld 3,992 249,775

Total 10,021 923,303

These four counties generally

fall within a 50 mile radius around

Fort Collins, as the map to the right

shows. Most of Laramie County is

further away, but the good highway

network and the lack of marketing

opportunities in southern Wyoming

suggest that farmers from this area

are likely to travel to Fort Collins.

The key informants confirmed that

these four counties are likely sources

of farmers.

Between 1964 and 1997,

Colorado maintained a fairly steady

number of farms throughout the

state. The last two census periods

(2002 and 2007), however, showed a

significant upward trend. If this

upward trend continues, Colorado

will have over 12,000 more farms by

2017 than it did in 2007, an increase


of 33%. The chart below shows a polynomial regression analysis with the resulting trend line

and formula embedded in the chart.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, there are 7,268 farms in the four county

region around Fort Collins, or about 20% of Colorado’s 37,054 farms. The region experienced a

17.7% increase in the number of farms since the 2002 Census, although the change varied

significantly by county. Boulder County saw almost no change, while Weld County experienced

a rapid 26% increase. The chart below shows the change in number of farms over the past four

census periods for each county.

y = 29.209x3 - 155.35x2 - 739.65x + 30053R² = 0.926

-

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2017

Number of Farms - Colorado

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Boulder Larimer Weld Laramie, WY

Number of Farms

2007

2002

1997

1992

Year Farms - CO

1964 29,798

1969 27,950

1974 25,501

1978 26,907

1982 27,111

1987 27,284

1992 27,152

1997 28,268

2002 31,369

2007 37,054

2012 41,997

2017 49,280

∆ 2007-2017 12,226

∆% 1997-2007 31.1%

∆% 2007-2017 33.0%


Average farm size in the region at 606 acres is well below the state-wide average of 853

acres. The region has a wide range of farm sizes, with the greatest cluster between 10 and 179

acres (55%). In general, small and medium sized farms are more likely to utilize direct

marketing channels while larger farms are more likely to sell on a wholesale basis, so this

distribution of farm size bodes well for the Community Marketplace.

The market value of agricultural products sold by farmers within the four county

region equaled $1.83 billion in 2007, a substantial 38% increase from 2002. During the same

period, farms throughout Colorado experienced an increase of 34%, from $4.5 billion to $6.1

billion. Therefore, this region surpassed the growth experienced by the state as a whole. Among

the four counties, there was great disparity. Laramie County experienced growth of nearly 90%

while Boulder County was fairly static at 4% growth. Weld County accounted for the lion’s

share of sales, with $1.54 billion of the region’s $1.83 billion (84%).

Between 2002 and 2007, the region went from being lower than the state’s average sales

per farm to slightly exceeding it. In 2007, average sales per farm reached $164,524 among the

four counties. Weld County far exceeded the average at $393,000 per farm, while Boulder

Country had the lowest average at $45,625. Laramie County saw the biggest increase over the

five year period, as average sales climbed 69%, while Larimer County experienced an increase

of 27% as average farm sales reached $128,123.

While the region has a large

percentage of medium sized farms,

many farms report very low sales.

As the chart labeled “Farms by

Values of Sales: Region” shows, the

largest group of farms (3,355)

reported sales under $2,500. The

next largest group (936 farms)

reported sales of $100,000 or more.

Due to the large number of farms

within the four county region, there

are still hundreds of farms in each of

the sales categories.

Farmers selling fruits and

vegetables are a key element of a

successful public market. While the

Census of Agriculture has several separate categories for fruits and vegetables (F&V), this

analysis looked at the Land Used for Vegetables data. Statewide, 708 farms fell into this

category in 2007, a 57% increase from 2002, while the land in F&V production went from

38,452 acres to 95,163 acres, an increase of 148%. The region saw a smaller increase in the

number of farms and acreage: the number of farms expanded from 140 to 169, an increase of

only 21%, while the number of acres expanded from 12,841 to 15,502, also an increase of 21%.

The average acreage devoted to F&V by the region’s farmers stayed steady at 92 acres. Larimer

County experienced a large percentage increase (85%) in the number of farms with F&V,

although the absolute number of farms with F&V was only 81.


Land in orchards is another important category for farmers’ markets. 86 farms in the

four country region reported land in orchards, a 139% increase from the 36 farms in 2002. Each

of the three Colorado counties had about 30 farms with orchards, while none were reported in

Laramie County.

While F&V are grown by a fairly small percentage of farms in the region (2%), a large

percentage (26% or 1,915 farms) raises beef. The number of farms raising beef increased

modestly in Larimer, Weld, and Laramie counties but decreased in Boulder. The Community

Marketplace can be an outlet for local meat sales.

Direct marketing

A particularly important set of data concerns direct marketing. Direct marketing is

defined by USDA as agricultural products sold directly to individuals for human consumption.

Principal methods of direct marketing include farmers’ markets, U-pick operations, farm stands,

and community supported agriculture.

Overall, 649 farmers in the four county region reported direct marketing in 2007, up from

518 farmers in 2002 and 424 in 1997. This represents a 25% increase during the five year period

from 2002 to 2007, while Colorado saw a 19% increase. The region also exceeds the state in

terms of the proportion of farms engaged in direct marketing compared to all farms: 8.9% of the

farms in the region participate in direct marketing, compared to 7.5% in the state. The chart

labeled “Farms Engaged in Direct Marketing” shows the growth in farms participating in direct

marketing over the four census periods, as a percentage of all farms in the region.

Weld County

had the most farms

involved with direct

marketing with 303,

followed by Larimer

County with 199.

Boulder County had

105 farms doing

direct marketing but

the largest percentage

compared to all farms

in the county, with

14%. Boulder also

experienced the

fastest growth in the

number of farms

doing direct

marketing, with a

31% increase between

2002 and 2007. Laramie County followed with a 27% increase, although Larimer and Weld

were not far behind with about 24% increase each.


In total, direct marketing sales in the

region equaled $3.9 million in 2007, a 21%

increase from $3.2 million in 2002. In 1992, the

region had only $1.6 million in direct sales.

State-wide, direct marketing sales increased

30% between 2002 and 2007. As the chart

labeled “Direct Marketing Sales Change 1992-

2007” shows, Larimer County experienced the

greatest growth in direct marketing sales over

the fifteen year period.

Given the ongoing popularity of direct

marketing and the increasing number of farmers

engaged in selling directly to consumers, it is

likely that direct marketing sales will increase in the future. Data provided in each of the past

four Censuses of Agriculture shows a clear trend toward higher sales. As the chart labeled

“Direct Marketing Sales

($000s) Region” shows, direct

marketing sales increased

steeply from about $1.6

million in 1992 to nearly $4

million in 2007, a leap of

138%. Future sales can be

estimated with a linear trend

line, which fits the data quite

closely (although it must be

recognized that the number of

data points is few). This

method projects that direct

marketing sales in the four

county region will reach about

$4.7 million by 2012 and

increase to about $5.5 million

by 2017.

Repeating the

regression analysis (this time

using an exponential trend line

which fits the data better) for

the number of farmers

participating in direct

marketing in the region

provides a projection of 743

farmers in 2012 and 880

farmers in 2017. This means,

based on recent trends, there

will be 231 additional farmers

in the region engaged in direct

79%

188%162%

38%

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

Boulder Larimer Weld Laramie, WY

Direct Mktg: Sales Change 1992-2007

y = 801.6x + 683.5R² = 0.9619

$-

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2017

Direct Mkting Sales ($000s) Region

y = 319.27e0.169x

R² = 0.9563

-

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2017

Direct Mktg - # of Farms - Region


marketing by 2017. The Community Marketplace could play an important role in providing a

marketing outlet for both existing and new farmers engaged in direct marketing.

While the increases in direct marketing are important, the sales from this marketing

channel represent just a tiny fraction of total farm sales. For the entire region, direct marketing

equals 0.21% of total farm sales, while they represent 0.37% for the state. Within the four-

county region, only Boulder County has direct marketing valued at more than 1% of total farm

sales (it represented 2.1% of farm sales in 2007). These data can be interpreted to mean that

there is significant growth potential within direct marketing, particularly if there are facilities to

support farmers selling directly to consumers.

Farmers’ markets

Farmers’ markets are a subset of direct marketing. Throughout the country, there has

been rapid growth in the number of farmers’ markets over the past 25 years. According to

USDA, there were 6,132 farmers’ markets in operation nationwide in 2010. If present trends

continue, there will be over 7,500 farmers’ markets by 2014. The chart below illustrates this

trend:

The Colorado Farmers’ Market Association lists 76 farmers’ markets around the state,

including four in Fort Collins. There are no indoor public markets in Colorado, although a group

in Denver is at the early stages of exploring such a facility for the downtown.

Larimer County Farmers’ Market

The Larimer County Farmers’ Market (generally called the “Old Town Farmers’

Market”) is located in the Larimer County Court House parking lot on Oak Street between

Mason and Howes. For 35 years, the Market has been run by Larimer County Cooperative

Extension and operates on Saturdays from 8 am to noon. The season in 2010 ran 17 weeks from

June 26 through October 16. The site has 83 parking spaces.

y = 1676.2e0.1365x

R² = 0.9687

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

US Farmers' Markets 1994-2010


A Cooperative Extension horticulturalist oversees the Market as a small part of her job;

daily management is shared by six volunteer Master Gardeners who each run 2-3 markets per

season. The Market charges a $35 application fee and then 6% of sales each day. The Market

also collects and processes sales tax, which is 2.25% of food sales.

An effort to create a Thursday evening farmers’ market 6-7 years ago was not

implemented because, according to Coop Extension staff, the volunteers were burned out.

According to Market management, the Market attracts about 60 vendors at its peak, with

about one-half farmers (which they define as at least five acres in production) and one-half

hobbyists/gardeners. More than one-half of the market is fresh food, with the balance crafts and

value added food products. The Market is run as a complement to the Master Gardener program,

with the Market providing an outlet for gardeners’ products and Master Gardeners volunteering

to help run the Market each week.

Management estimates that about 2,000 customers visit the Market each Saturday, with

about double that when peaches come in. Based on vendors’ self-reported sales (which are used

to determine rent), gross annual sales at the Old Town Market equal about $400,000. Based on

17 market days per season and estimating the average number of vendors at 35, vendor sales in

the Market average about $670 per day. Given the financial incentive to under-report, it is

possible that true gross sales are higher.

Cooperative Extension reports that it nets $30,000 from the Market’s operations, which it

uses to fund its Master Gardener program, defray office expenses, and help fund salaries. In an

era when agencies are directed to generate revenues, the Old Town Farmers’ Market is a critical

source of income for Cooperative Extension.

Electricity is not available on the site. Management brings hand washing stations so the

vendors can do product sampling.

Observations of the Market on Saturday, July 17, 2010 confirmed key informant’s

comments that customers generally arrive late – the Market did not begin to get full of customers

until well after 9 am. One zone of the Market has a double aisle set up with farmers on both

sides of the customer circulation area. As the photo below shows (Figure 1), this area was

generally bustling and felt vibrant. Other parts of the Market had only a line of farmers on one

side (see Figure 2, below) – few customers were observed in these areas, reinforcing the

importance of designing the market with double loaded corridors.

Cooperative Extension utilizes the Market as a prime outlet for its educational programs

on food safety, preservation, and gardening. Cooperative Extension has a strong presence at the

Market each week, with several information and demonstration tables (see Figure 3, below).

Management reports that 115 volunteers participate at the Market over the course of a season.


Figure 1. Old Town Farmers' Market – double loaded aisle

Figure 2. Single row at Old Town Farmers' Market


Other Fort Collins farmers’ markets

The Drake Road Farmers’ Market has been operating for four years at a parking lot

within Drake Centre Mall. The market was started and is run privately by Nan Zimmerman. It

operates from 10 am to 1 pm on 24 Saturdays from April 17 to September 25, 2010.

Entrance fees at this market are $100 and, like the Old Town Farmers’ Market, rents

equal 6% of sales.

The Market is set up with one double-lined corridor (see Figure 4). The mall offers

plentiful customer parking. Several vendors interviewed who sell at both the Old Town and

Drake Road farmers’ markets reported higher sales at Drake Road. On the Saturday in July

when the market was visited, however, there were few customers.

Figure 3. Cooperative Extension educators at Old Town Farmers' Market


Figure 4. Drake Road Farmers' Market

The Harmony Road Farmers’ Market operates on 28 Sundays from May 2 to October

31, as well as Wednesdays from mid-June through October. Operating hours both days are 11

am to 3 pm. The Market is run by the Colorado Agricultural Marketing Cooperative, which also

runs a farmers’ market in Loveland.

Be Local Northern Colorado runs the Fort Collins Winter Farmers’ Market, which

operates on 12 Saturdays (10 am to 3 pm) beginning October 30, 2010 until April 9, 2011. The

market takes place in the Opera Galleria on North College Street in downtown Fort Collins in a

space of about 5,750 sf. Be Local will also sponsor two Winter Markets in Loveland in fall

2010, which have space for 17 vendors.

The Winter Market has 38 vendor spaces available. Be Local charges $25 plus 6% of

sales for each market day, plus a $35 application fee.

Boulder Farmers’ Market

The Boulder Farmers’ Market is recognized as the premier farmers’ market in Colorado

and one of the best in the country. Since 1987 it has operated in downtown Boulder. In 2010, it

ran on 32 Saturdays (8 am to 2 pm) from April 3 to November 6 and on 23 Wednesdays (4 to 8

pm) from May 5 to October 6. The Market is considering adding a third day of operations.

The Market is sponsored by the nonprofit Boulder County Farmers’ Markets (“BCFM”),

which is a membership organization of participating vendors and is governed by a board that

includes 12 farmers and one at-large member.

110 vendors participate in the downtown market on Saturdays and about 80 on

Wednesdays. The market includes a mix of fresh food, prepared food, and crafts. Management

estimates that 10-12,000 customers visit the market on a typical Saturday.

New applicants pay $100 to become members and renewing members pay $50. Rents at

the Market equal 5% of sales. From this 5%, BCFM pays the Boulder city sales tax of 3.58%,

meaning that actual rents are less than 1.5% of sales (vendors are required to collect and pay any


Colorado state sales tax). Vendors who wish more than 10 feet of space pay annual space fees:

$125 for 15 feet, $250 for 20 feet, and $325 for 25 feet (the maximum). Boulder also has

minimum sales qualifications for vendors who want more than 10 feet. For example, a vendor

wishing 20 feet of space must have reported sales of more than $21,000 the previous year.

Prepared food vendors, which represent more than half of all sales at the Market, pay

significantly higher fees: 15% of sales.

BCFM also operates the Longmont Farmers’ Market at the Boulder County Fairgrounds

on 27 Saturdays from May 1 to October 30. The county recently paved a section of the parking

lot for the farmers’ market and provided electricity and trees, which has greatly improved the

operations and atmosphere. About 80 vendors participate, of which 60% come from outside

Boulder County. The site has huge amounts of parking. While fewer customers visit Longmont

compared to downtown Boulder, a recent survey by market management found that average

fresh food sales per customer are three times higher: $30 per customer at Longmont compared to

$10 downtown. Total sales at Longmont are estimated at $650,000.

Rents for farmers equal 6% of sales and, since the site is not within the City of Boulder,

BCFM does not collect city sales tax. Prepared food vendors pay 10% of sales.

BCFM created a winter market in Longmont, utilizing a Boulder County fairground

building.

BCFM has a full time executive director, a bookkeeper/administrator, and two full time

market managers.

Competition and sources of vendors

Today supermarkets and groceries dominate food retailing in the United States, with

nearly 95% market share in the year 2000. The remaining 5.3% of food sales are captured by

specialized food stores, defined as stores that are primarily engaged in the retail sale of a single

food category such as meat and seafood markets, dairy stores, candy and nut stores, and retail

bakers. The market share of specialized food stores dropped from 6.6% in 1980 to 5.3% in 2000.

All food stores are facing increased competition from mass-merchandisers and warehouse club

outlets and long term trends toward more eating out, resulting in increased competition for a

smaller pie.2

The past 20 years has seen radical change in the grocery business, commencing with the

first Wal-Mart supercenter in 1988 which offered fresh and grocery food items in addition to its

large selection of discounted department store merchandise. Along with the growth of

warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club, these nontraditional food stores have grown

from controlling 13.8% of the national share of food purchases for at-home consumption in 1986

to a staggering 32.6% in 2006.3 In less than 20 years, Wal-Mart became the country’s single

largest seller of food for at-home use. Having saturated the country with supercenters, Wal-Mart

is now moving aggressively into smaller format stores with grocery components, including a

15,000 sf neighborhood format.

2 Economic Research Service, USDA, U.S. Food Marketing System, 2002, AER-811.

3 Martinez, Steve and Phil Kaufman, “Twenty Years of Competition Reshape the U.S. Food Marketing System,”

Economic Research Service, USDA, April 2008.


Over time, there has been

a steep decline in the number of

independent, specialty food

stores selling basic food items,

such as meat and seafood,

making it more challenging to

find experienced tenants for a

public market. According to the

2007 Economic Census, there

were 37 grocery stores with

sales of $539 million within the

Fort Collins-Loveland

Metropolitan Statistical Area

(which is the same geography as

Larimer County). By contrast,

there were only 21 specialty

food stores with sales of $7.5

million, or 1.2% of total food

and beverage sales (see chart,

“Food & Beverage Sales 2007:

Fort Collins-Loveland MSA”). The entire state of Colorado had only 358 specialty food stores,

whose sales represented 1.4% of all food and beverage sales. Therefore, there is a very small

pool of existing food retailers for the Community Marketplace to draw from, both locally and

around the state.

Another major development has been the indirect competition that food retailers have felt

from the food-away-from-home sector. In 1988, Americans spent 45.4% of their food dollars on

food away from home; by 2006, that percentage had grown to 48.9%. In some parts of the

country, expenditures for food away from home exceed those for food bought for consumption at

home. The recent recession has altered these figures somewhat but the fact remains that

Americans are cooking less and eating fewer of their meals at home. In Fort Collins, sales at

eating and drinking establishments equaled $277.2 million in 2009, while grocery sales equaled

$308.4 million.4 Therefore, eating and drinking establishments represented 47.3% of food sales

in Fort Collins.

Many of the restaurants in downtown Fort Collins are independently owned and operated,

while the more suburban areas outside of downtown have numerous chain restaurants.

Restaurateurs interviewed expressed their interest in buying locally grown foods.

A third major development has been the growth of “fresh format” stores which

emphasize perishables and natural or organic products. From 1999 to 2006, Whole Foods

Market, the industry leader, experienced 275% growth in sales while the second largest chain,

Wild Oats, saw sales grow 64%. This compares to 22% increase for all grocery stores during the

same period. Whole Foods has a strong presence in Fort Collins.

The Fort Collins Food Co-op has operated in the Old Town since 1974. The Co-op is

located on East Mountain Avenue in an inefficient ~2,500 square foot space that they own; grade

4 Source: City of Fort Collins Finance Department, 02/2010

Grocery stores84.4%

Specialty food stores

1.2%

Beer, wine liquor stores

14.4%

Food & Beverage Sales 2007: Fort Collins-Loveland MSA (Larimer Cty)


changes within the space prevent use of shopping carts. The business does not have any of its

own parking. They focus on buying organics and, when possible, locally grown and produced

foods. The Co-op operates daily.

The Food Co-op was strongly impacted by the opening of Whole Foods Market in 2002.

A new general manager was hired in March 2009 and she has helped shift the merchandising

focus to include more sandwiches, soups, and other ready-to-eat foods, as well as reduce

operating expenses. They rent a space at the Winter Market where they sample some of their

bulk items.

Based on its positive upward trends, the Food Co-op will likely be looking for a new,

larger location in the next 2-3 years. They are interested in being part of the Community

Marketplace.

Fort Collins has a strong group of local breweries, which are the area’s biggest tourist

attraction. Their tasting rooms attract both tourists and locals. Fort Collins Brewing Company is

completing a new brewing facility that will include a full service restaurant and biergarten. The

area also has a growing number of specialty food manufacturers.

Supply analysis conclusions

Northern Colorado has a large and diverse agricultural sector with strong trends toward

direct marketing. Farmers’ markets in Fort Collins are small compared to the Boulder or

Longmont Farmers’ Market and operate for shorter seasons. The area has very few specialty

food retailers but strong local and national supermarkets, including Whole Foods Market. The

downtown is the hub for the area’s independent restaurants as well as the location for the Fort

Collins Food Co-op, which plans to expand its operation in the next few years in the downtown.


6. Development Concept

Based on the goals enumerated for the Community Marketplace, the results of the market

research, and the recent experiences of other public markets around the country, MVI refined the

development concept for the Fort Collins Community Marketplace. This concept was driven by

several central ideas:

• Build on existing downtown local food assets. Some of these assets include the Old Town

Farmers’ Market, the Winter Market, the Food Co-op, local food producers, and independent

downtown restaurants.

• Maximize return to area farmers and food producers. The development concept should

be developed to the greatest benefit for local farmers and food producers, who represent the

foundation of the local food system.

• Substantially differ from existing and emerging competition. Fort Collins has strong

food retailers, including both Whole Foods Market and King Soopers. The mix of activities,

spaces, and merchandise at the Community Marketplace needs to be significantly different

from these businesses.

• Focus on direct marketing and food production. Small-scale farmers and food producers

generally receive the most income when they sell their products directly to buyers, at retail

prices and without middlemen. Since most (although not all) of the potential vendors at the

Community Marketplace have limited production, their greatest income potential comes from

direct-to-consumer sales. Products made by innovative local food producers can be different

from what is sold at supermarkets. Having products made and sold within the Community

Marketplace creates a positive point of differentiation from existing area food retailers in

terms of the atmosphere, the consumers’ personal connection to the producer, and the

products themselves.

• Address opportunities in produce distribution, education, meeting spaces, and the arts.

The Community Marketplace should seek to creatively incorporate produce distribution to

serve restaurants and institutional buyers such as hospitals and the schools. The market

should also have spaces and programs for education, for meetings, as well as for the visual

and performing arts.

• Be phased and flexible. The Community Marketplace should be able to develop over time

so the plan for the market should consider ways that it can be phased and that the spaces are

flexible so they can adapt to future circumstances and opportunities.

• Minimize operating costs and development risk. Concerns over the viability of a daily,

year-round public market in Fort Collins and the lack of sources of ongoing subsidy suggest

that the development concept should carefully reduce risk, in part by keeping operating costs

low.

Development Program

The proposed development program includes the following components:

1. Expanded farmers’ market. The outdoor farmers’ markets in Fort Collins do not appear to

be meeting the potential demand or supply, particularly when there are other farmers’


markets in the region (such as Longmont and Boulder) that are so much larger and more

popular, and which are drawing farmers from Larimer County. There appear to be a number

of factors that have kept the farmers’ markets in Fort Collins smaller including suboptimal

sites, market policies, management, and marketing.

A large farmers’ market offers smaller scale farmers and food producers the lowest cost,

most flexible selling opportunity, along with the lowest development cost. It can be designed

to grow and shrink according to the seasons and to expand over time. The farmers’ market

can start as a one or two day per week operation and then add a day. Like in Boulder, the

weather in Fort Collins permits an outdoor market to operate from April through October,

while a shed roof component could extend the season by at least a month on both ends.

The product mix in the farmers’ market should include fresh food (produce, meat, dairy,

etc.), value added food products, prepared foods, and hand-made crafts; the prepared foods

and crafts should be segregated from the other food products. To support area farmers, only

farmers should be permitted to sell in the farmers’ market (not hobbyists or backyard

gardeners) because farmers need to have a reasonably accurate sense of who else is selling

similar products and compete with others trying to make a living from farming. Rules should

be established to ensure that farmers sell what they grow with a small percentage of sales

from neighboring farms’ products.

As a one or two day per week operation, the farmers’ market maintains a special event feel,

which is particularly appealing to university students and others in the community. It will be

inexpensive to develop and can be created quickly.

We recommend that the Larimer County Farmers’ Market be relocated to the Community

Marketplace at the start of a market season. While moving a farmers’ market causes

disruption and is not taken lightly, the benefits should outweigh the costs. As proposed, the

new site offers better layout, potentially improved parking, synergy with the other

components of the Community Marketplace (such as access to year-round vending

opportunities), professional management, and increased marketing.

2. Flex building. A flexible building could be programmed for a number of uses. First, it

could be the site of the successful Winter Market, permitting farmers and other vendors to

sell in downtown Fort Collins year-round. For customers who establish a pattern of shopping

at the market on Saturdays, the availability of a place to continue the Saturday farmers’

market every Saturday throughout the year would mean their habits will not be broken at the

end of the outdoor season.

A second use for the flex building is as a rentable site for special events. Businesses,

nonprofits, and community members could utilize the space for meetings, parties, musical

offerings, and other events.

Finally, the flex building could have education spaces, such as a demonstration kitchen or

gardening area, as well as upstairs offices and meeting rooms.

3. Year-round, daily indoor food retail. Based on its market research, MVI determined that

developing a traditional multi-vendor fresh food market in Fort Collins, such as the

Milwaukee Public Market, would be highly risky and it would be very difficult to find

enough experienced food vendors to be tenants. In order to have daily food retail at the

Community Marketplace, MVI recommends that the project include an expanded Fort


Collins Food Co-op as the primary tenant. This business is located in Old Town and wants to

remain there, has community ownership, is dedicated to providing locally grown and

produced foods and has good relationships with many area farmers, and has operated

successfully for decades. The Co-op needs a larger facility and dedicated parking.

One of the primary challenges facing multivendor public markets is the cost of market

management. While management is recognized as a key ingredient for long term success, the

cost of management (assuming no operating subsidy) must be carried by tenants. In smaller

public markets, these costs can be onerous to small independent retailers. Many successful

public markets, including large ones, have sources of subsidy, such as adjacent parking

garages, city allocations, or annual fundraising drives; the goal in this project is to operate

without subsidy. MVI recommends that the Food Co-op sublease part of its space to several

independent vendors, notably a butcher, bakery, and café, and the Community Market’s

market hall should be designed so it has a strong sense of being a public space. For

efficiency, the Co-op could provide a common customer check-out. Integrating the Food Co-

op with independent food vendors should provide the Community Marketplace with the best

of both worlds: a full of range of products (particularly local foods) on a daily basis sold be

multiple vendors, with an economic model that minimizes the cost of management and relies

on an experienced retailer.

4. Restaurants. Depending on the location, the Community Marketplace could have one or

more restaurants, including perhaps a biergarten that features the beers made in Fort Collins.

While the restaurant scene in Fort Collins is good, the area could benefit from additional

unique restaurants, particularly those that feature local foods.

5. Food and artist production space. Another way the Community Marketplace can

differentiate itself from national food retailers and support the local food movement is to

include food and artist production space. The area has recently seen the growth of artisan

food producers who are making cheeses, sauces, baked goods, and a range of other products,

including gluten-free items. Fort Collins is also home to a vibrant arts community and there

have been various efforts over the years to create arts production spaces. These production

spaces can have small retail sections that can take advantage of the farmers’ markets days.

One of the food production spaces could house a kitchen incubator program.

6. Produce distribution. A missing element in the local food system has been a place to

aggregate and distribute products from multiple farmers in order to sell to wholesale buyers

such as restaurants, food producers, and institutions. While this concept is unlikely to be

large enough to be a stand-alone business, it could function as part of the Community

Marketplace, particularly if it were managed as part of the Food Co-op. Physically, the

produce distribution would require cold and dry storage as well as loading docks.

7. Parking. Parking will be needed to support all of the functions at the Community

Marketplace.

The development concept does not include office space for nonprofits and other businesses,

as originally envisioned by the Planning Committee. The availability and low cost of office

space downtown suggests that new office space is not needed. Creating office space in the


Community Marketplace would also be perceived as unfairly competitive by private property

owners.

The Sante Fe Farmers’ Market provides a somewhat comparable model for this development

program. The Market has a large plaza that holds an outdoor farmers’ market and a flexible

building for indoor market vending. The building includes leasable space for a restaurant and

second story offices and meeting rooms. The photos below show the building, the plaza with the

farmers’ market in operation, and the indoor farmers’ market. The Market has proven to be very

popular with Sante Fe residents and visitors.


7. Site Analysis

Securing a good site for the Community Marketplace is a key element of creating a

successful project. The DDA’s locational requirements included that the market be within its

boundaries and that it should be within walking distance from the intersection of College and

Mountain Avenues.

MVI identified the following criteria to guide the site identification process:

• Visibility from a major thoroughfare

• Accessibility by car, bicycle, bus and foot

• Availability of parking, including adjacent surface parking

• Supportive context and adjacent uses

• Adequate size (two acre minimum for entire program and parking)

• Availability and cost

• Potential to reuse historic buildings and sustainable design opportunities

• Potential to influence the ongoing revitalization of downtown Fort Collins

The consultant team and DDA staff identified approximately 10 different sites within the

DDA boundaries that were either vacant or considered developable parcels, including the former

Elks Building on Oak and Remington Streets which is owned by the DDA. Key informants were

asked to identify other sites. MVI toured each of the identified sites to assess their suitability for

the Community Marketplace. Appendix C includes a downtown map with each of the sites and a

matrix that addresses the selection criteria at each site.

None of the potential sites in the downtown are large enough to incorporate a large scale

farmers’ market on the property. Rather, as in many cities, MVI recommends that the farmers’

market be located on the street. While this raises issues about traffic circulation, safety, and

access to adjacent storefront businesses, a farmers’ market on the street can create a dynamic

pedestrian environment that allows people to reclaim the streets from cars for several hours each

week. It also permits expansion over time at minimal cost.

Based on the criteria and following conversations with various property owners, the DDA

and MVI identified two sites on Linden Street between Willow and Jefferson Streets that stood

out as high potential locations: the Mawson Lumber/C&S Freight Depot site and the Northern

Colorado Feeders Supply site. Many of the key informants confirmed that this Linden Street

corridor provides an excellent location for the Community Marketplace. The owners of both

sites expressed openness to the idea of providing their property for the Community Marketplace.

The Mawson Lumber/Freight Depot site occupies a midblock location between Linden

Street and Lincoln Avenue. The site encompasses approximately 2.85 acres and is owned by

Tom Moore. On Linden Street, the site is adjacent to a vacant parcel to the north, owned by

Jerry Kiefer, which is used for equipment storage. Immediately to the south is an active although

infrequently used rail line and then the Open Door Mission (see aerial photograph, below).


The Northern Colorado Feeders Supply site is located at the southwest corner of Linden

and Willow Streets and encompasses approximately 1.16 acres. It is owned by Dennis Nader,

who has operated the feed store at this location since the early 1970s (see aerial photograph,

below). The property includes an historic and iconic building as well as significant open space.

These two sites are evaluated by each of the site selection criteria:

• Visibility. The outdoor farmers’ market on Linden will be highly visible from Jefferson.

Due to its corner location the Feeders Supply site has significantly better visibility than the

mid-block Mawson Lumber site.

• Access by car, bicycle, bus and foot. Compared to other downtown locations, the Linden

Street sites are equally or better accessible. The sites are near Jefferson Street, one of the

major entranceways into the downtown, providing good car access. For customers coming

from the interstate, access is particularly good because the sites are on the east side of

College Avenue. Since the sites are on the north side of downtown, they are several blocks

further from south side residents.


By bus, the sites are about three blocks away from the Downtown Transit Center, located at

North Mason and LaPorte. The Number 8 bus goes alongside the Feeder Supply site at

Willow and Linden.

By foot, the site is easily accessible from the heart of downtown at College and Mountain.

The only access challenge is crossing Jefferson Street by foot or bicycle. At present, the

traffic light at Jefferson and Linden has a long cycle and Jefferson is heavily used as a truck

route. The traffic light should be reprogrammed for more frequent pedestrian crossings.

Other urban design changes, which are being considered to improve pedestrian circulation,

will help address this issue.

• Parking. There is currently head-in street parking on Linden Street and parallel parking on

Willow. BHA Design is working with the city on a streetscape redesign for Linden Street,

which includes angled parking. Willow Street is wide enough to create angled parking, and

potentially wide enough for midblock parking as well. Both sites will have on-site parking,

with the Mawson Lumber site allowing more parking (see design concepts, below).

• Adjacent uses. Linden Street between Jefferson and the Poudre River is an eclectic area

with uses that include office, commercial, restaurant, social service, housing, industrial and

some vacant parcels, as well as an active freight rail line. South of Jefferson Street, Linden

Street is predominately retail and restaurant on the ground level. The northwest corner of

Linden and Jefferson is the site of Railroad Park, a small, underutilized city park that could

be used as part of the open-air farmers’ market. The Feeders Supply site is directly adjacent

to an attractive, recently developed building that includes Old Town Athletic Club, Old

Town Health & Wellness Center, and the offices of CTL Thompson Associates. El Burrito is

a long-time downtown restaurant located in the area.

The proposed mixed used program for the Community Marketplace fits well into this block

and will help increase land values for property owners.

• Size. The Mawson Lumber site, at 2.85 acres, is more than twice the size of the Feeders

Supply site, at 1.16 acres. However, the Mawson Lumber site is very long and narrow,

offering very limited frontage on Linden. Utilizing streets for the outdoor farmers’ market

allows it to grow large over time.

• Availability and cost. The owners of both sites have indicated openness to the idea of

utilizing their properties for the Community Marketplace. However, both properties have

operating businesses and neither is actively being marketed except for the Freight Depot

which is currently listed for lease.

Based on comparable properties in Fort Collins, the consultant team has estimated the land

purchase price at $18-20 per sf. Assuming $20 per sf for the Feeders Supply site, the

purchase price would be approximately $1 million. Assuming $18 per sf for the larger, mid-

block Mawson Lumber site, the purchase price would be about $2.2 million.

• Potential to reuse historic buildings and sustainable design opportunities. Both

properties have historic buildings: the Feeders Supply store is a beloved local landmark and

the Freight Depot has strong historic character. There will also need to be new construction

on both sites, allowing use of innovative green design and other sustainable approaches.

• Potential to influence the ongoing revitalization of downtown Fort Collins. This section

of Linden Street bridges the Old Town Square pedestrian mall/Linden Street retail zone that


extends from Mountain Avenue to Jefferson Street, and the brewery district across the

Poudre River. Creation of the Community Marketplace at either of these two sites will help

shrink the perceptual distance between the downtown core and the brewery district. It will

also help the retail stores along Linden between Walnut and Jefferson Streets, which

currently feel like they are located at a dead end rather than along a continuous retail

corridor.

Overall, Linden Street between Jefferson Street and the Poudre River offers a compelling

location for the Community Marketplace. It is an eclectic mixed-use area with lower land costs

than elsewhere in the downtown. Parking pressure is much less than other parts of downtown.

The area bridges the gap between downtown and the brewery district. Access to the sites by all

transportation modes is favorable, and it is a short walk to the heart of downtown at College and

Mountain. The map below shows the relationship between the two sites and the downtown core

and brewery district.

Linden Street also offers a good location for the outdoor farmers’ market. Street

reconstruction is scheduled to take place in 2011 and the streetscape design will include

amenities to support the farmers’ market, including access to electricity and water. The street is

wide enough to create the preferred double loaded corridor of farmers selling from their trucks

on the outside and customers walking down the center of the street. There are also multiple

phasing opportunities for the farmers’ market: it can potentially expand on Willow Street,

further down Linden toward College, and along Walnut Street.


The Feeders Supply site provides significantly better visibility because of its corner location

and the historic building is well known and, while small, architecturally interesting. The Feeders

Supply site is much smaller than the Mawson Lumber/Freight Depot site but has a better shape

for development.


8. Design Concept

The design concepts for the Community Marketplace followed several key principals that

are seen as essential for creating a successful public market:

• Great environment. As described at the beginning of this report, a great physical

environment is seen as one of five key factors for creating a successful public market.

The market needs to be a place where people want to be and it should be an attraction

unto itself. Historically, public markets throughout the world have been considered

important and sometimes even monumental civic architecture, like city halls.

• Functionality. The Community Marketplace must meet the practical, operational needs

of its tenants. While the architecture of the building shell is important, equal attention

must be given to the day-to-day needs of the farmers and food businesses so they can

operate efficiently and can merchandise their products most effectively. Visibility,

flexibility, circulation, access and parking are all critical, as are the flow of customers and

products throughout the space. To meet its sustainability goals and minimize operating

costs, the Community Marketplace must also be very energy efficient and integrate

sustainable practices.

• Placemaking. Placemaking refers to the conscious effort to create physical places that

meet the various needs of a wide range of potential users. The Community Marketplace

needs to be a great “people place” which draws residents from throughout the region as

well as tourists. Some elements of placemaking include embracing complexity,

encouraging social interaction within a dynamic environment, and making the facility a

comfortable and welcoming place for all users. Great places are unique, interesting

spaces that offer users a sense of discovery.

Schematic design concepts were prepared for both sites to determine how the proposed

development program would fit in each. According to the Landmark Preservation Commission,

neither the Feeders Supply building nor the Freight Depot building is designated as a Fort

Collins landmark although both are eligible. Both are part of the Old Town Fort Collins Historic

District, which might limit the ability to alter the buildings. A letter from the Landmark

Preservation Commission highlighting some of the issues with these buildings is attached in

Appendix E.

Northern Colorado Feeders Supply site

The following design sketch shows a potential ground floor layout of the Community

Marketplace at the Northern Colorado Feeders Supply site.

The historic building along Linden Street is preserved for use as a restaurant/cafe and the

rear “L” shaped appendage, which appears to be a more recent addition, is removed. The

restaurant has about 1,620 sf on the ground level. The historic building also has a small second

floor, which is most likely useful for offices and dry goods storage.

The restaurant/café space is adjacent to a multiuse pedestrian plaza. This space can be

used as outdoor seating for the restaurant or for eating prepared foods/deli items from the market


hall. In the evening, it could be converted into a biergarten. On farmers’ market days, the plaza

could be used for vendors or educational functions.

An 8,400 sf market hall building is created to house the Fort Collins Food Co-op and

several independent food vendors. This building has two entrances: one from Linden Street and

another from the rear parking area, which has 56 parking spaces. An awning is created on the

north and west side of the building so produce, plants and flowers, and other products can be

merchandised outside.

A flexible, indoor “winter market” and event space building of 4,000 sf is adjacent to the

market hall. This building directly fronts the plaza but can also access the rear truck loading area

through the market hall. The flex building can accommodate 34 vendor spaces, each 8’ by 8’.

This building can have a second story that houses offices, meeting rooms, and educational

facilities.

The roofs of either the market hall or the flex building could have educational facilities

such as a greenhouse. Excess heat from the market hall could be used to heat the greenhouses.

For both sites, the outdoor farmers’ market is located on Linden Street. Based on BHA

Design’s proposed streetscape realignment, the farmers can park in the angled parking and have

10’ by 10’ spaces. A 15’ wide pedestrian corridor is created between the farmers’ stalls.


The produce distribution component is part of the market hall building, sharing the

loading docks. The small size of the Feeders Supply site does not allow room for separate food

processing facilities or additional restaurants– adjacent properties would need to be purchased

for this. While the site cannot accommodate this element of the development program, it should

not alter the overall viability of the Community Marketplace nor prevent it from achieving the

project’s goals.

Willow Street appears wide enough to accommodate midblock as well as angled curb

parking. Ideally, Willow Street will follow Linden Street with streetscape improvements and

expanded parking spaces.

Mawson Lumber/C&S Freight Depot site

The Mawson Lumber/Freight Depot site, while larger than the Feeders Supply site, is

challenging because of its narrowness. The site permits a one-way, entrance only from Linden

Street; the site can have both an entrance and exit on Lincoln Avenue.

The site allows significantly more parking than the Feeders Supply site. The current

configuration includes 107 parking spaces.

This plan utilizes the historic Freight Depot for the flex building/Winter Market. This

building has approximately 4,300 sf on the ground floor. Since the floor is raised to train loading

height, it will require steps and ramps. A 1,200 sf retail space is located in front of the Depot on

Linden Street.

The market hall/Fort Collins Food Co-op is located in a newly constructed 9,500 sf

building, which includes an adjacent loading and storage area for produce distribution. The

building also has a 1,300 sf café on the front end.


The outdoor plaza in this plan is small. While the market hall could be pushed farther

back into the site, it would diminish visibility and take away from the urban street edge. The

space between the Freight Depot and the market hall could be used for public seating, but it is

narrow.

This site has room for a 5,625 sf commercial kitchen/food production space that could

house a kitchen incubator program.

While the Mawson Lumber/Freight Depot site is significantly larger, the Feeders Supply

site offers a much better layout, as well as better visibility. Since the property behind Feeders

Supply is used for parking and outdoor storage, perhaps the site could be expanded through

purchase of some of this land. Neither site is large enough to include a farmers’ market shed.

Sustainable design elements

One goal of the Community Marketplace is to be a model of sustainable development. As

originally envisioned, the Marketplace would push the envelope in terms of sustainable design

and facility management, integrating a range of innovative building technologies and sustainable

operating practices so that the market could serve as a model and teaching laboratory for other

facilities.

The adaptive reuse of either the Feeders Supply building or the Freight Depot is an

important sustainable development opportunity. The facilities can include a number of

sustainable design elements and the project should pursue LEED or Energy Star certification. It

will be particularly important to identify sustainable design elements that can lower operating

costs.

Some sustainable design elements include:

• Construction materials. This might include reuse of materials found on-site, high R-

factor insulation, and the use of green-certified materials.

• Energy. Food markets utilize significant quantities of energy, particularly if the

Community Marketplace hosts a food production facility. Given the site’s close

proximity to the river, geothermal heating/air conditioning should be explored.

Refrigeration compressors should be clustered for maximum efficiency. High efficiency

appliances should be used whenever possible. Since the restaurants are likely to produce

vegetable oil waste, another option to explore is vegetable oil cogeneration. The roofs

could include solar panels.

• Waste handling. The Community Marketplace should work to minimize the amount of

waste generated by vendors and visitors, particularly food containers and plastic bags.

The Market can create a composting program for food waste, either on-site or working

with a farmer who can back haul the compostable food waste to the farm. There should

also be a robust recycling program for cans/bottles, corrugated paper, and other

recyclable products. As mentioned above, vegetable oil waste could be converted to

energy through vegetable oil cogeneration. A biodigester might be appropriate for

organic waste.


• Water. Water should be submetered for each tenant so they have an economic incentive

to reduce consumption. Low water fixtures should be used in bathrooms and wherever

else practicable.

• Lighting. Natural lighting should be used whenever possible, possibly by adding

skylights to the market hall. Lighting in the project should be high efficiency and long

lasting, as well as properly colored to enhance the merchandise.

• Transportation. The selected site provides good access to public transportation so

customers should be encouraged to use the bus. Visitors should also be encouraged to

walk to the Marketplace and ride their bikes. Bicycle racks or other bike parking should

be provided.

These and other sustainable design concepts can be explored during the design

development phase of the project, working with the architecture and engineering team that

designs the facilities.

Phasing opportunities

By being located in the street, the farmers’ market can grow over time by expanding into

adjacent blocks. Initially, the farmers’ market might only be located on Linden Street between

Willow and Jefferson, as well as Railroad Park at the corner of Jefferson and Linden. When

supply and demand conditions warrant, the farmers’ market can expand in several ways: it can

potentially expand on Willow Street between Linden and Lincoln, and/or it can jump over

Jefferson Street and extend down Linden Street to Walnut. As the farmers’ market grows toward

College Avenue, it will improve the link between Old Town Square and this district. If Old

Town Square is reconfigured, the space should be designed so it can accommodate the outdoor

farmers’ market, which will then effectively link Mountain Avenue at College all the way to the

Community Marketplace. The farmers’ market could further expand in either direction on

Walnut Street. This flexibility provides the opportunity to create a world-class farmers’ market

in downtown Fort Collins.

Both sites have underutilized adjacent properties that perhaps could be the site for future

expansion. For the Feeders Supply site, this would mean extending the Community Marketplace

on Willow Street toward College Avenue. The vacant lot at the southeast corner of Linden and

Willow Streets, owned by Jerry Keifer, might offer expansion space in the future.


9. Organization

Organizational roles

The organizational functions of a public market can be divided into three main

categories: ownership, sponsorship, and management. These roles can be summed up as

follows:

• Owner: the owner of the real property and facilities.

• Sponsor: the sponsor has legal and fiduciary responsibility for the public market. It

works to ensure that the market meets its defined goals and that it operates in a business-

like and financially prudent manner. The sponsor is responsible for maintaining

appropriate financial resources (including capital and operating reserves), setting policies,

legal compliance, and overseeing management, as well as community and government

relations.

• Management: management is responsible for operating the market on daily basis. It

enforces market rules, recruits vendors and oversees leasing, oversees property

management (stall assignment, cleaning, security), performs marketing, maintains good

vendor and customer relations, and is responsible for financial management.

While the organizational functions can be divided into three distinct categories, in

practice these functions can be done by three different entities, by one entity, or any combination

thereof. Furthermore, there are examples of public markets around the country where each of

these functions are performed by public, nonprofit or private sector entities.

The owner of the facilities will be driven in large part by the sources of funding and the

land disposition. Typically, public markets paid for with public or philanthropic funds owned

are owned by public or nonprofit entities. For certain types of tax credits, a private owner is

needed, at least during the seven year tax period, although that private owner can be controlled

by a nonprofit entity. If the Community Marketplace can attract private investment, then it will

likely need private ownership.

Regardless of the legal structure, the Community Marketplace will need to have the

following characteristics:

• Since there are no anticipated sources of ongoing subsidy, the Community Marketplace

must be profitable, which is defined as having income that exceeds expenses, including

funds that are put in operating and capital reserves. This definition is different from

“profit-maximizing” because the Community Marketplace is intended to achieve public

goals (which were defined at the beginning of this report) not only seek profits. These

public goals cannot be achieved unless income exceeds expenses.

• The Community Marketplace should launch with adequate capitalization, including an

operating reserve, so funds are available to pay for unforeseen expenses or needed

changes.

• Since the Community Marketplace must be managed to meet multiple goals, including

profitability, there needs to be strong, entrepreneurial leadership that can adapt to

changing circumstances and pursue emerging opportunities. Typically this means having


a dedicated and wise board that gives the project adequate attention, as well as competent

and dedicated day to day management. It is important to keep politics out of a market’s

operations.

• Leadership should be representative and accountable to the community and to the

project’s funders.

Organizational recommendations

Ownership

The site owner will depend on the property and the arrangement that can be made with

the current owner, as well as the financing. At the Mawson Lumber site, for example, the

property could be purchased outright and then owned by the DDA or the proposed nonprofit

sponsor (described below). Alternatively, the site ownership could remain with the Moore

family and the property could be leased to the nonprofit.

The financing will influence the ownership. New Market Tax Credits, for example,

require a for profit property ownership entity, although this can be a subsidiary of a nonprofit

corporation. The ownership decision can reasonably be delayed until a site is chosen and the

project enters the financing/predevelopment phase.

Sponsor

The Community Marketplace should be sponsored by a new or existing nonprofit

organization. A nonprofit corporation is the right legal form of sponsorship because of its

independence coupled with its ability to focus on a dual bottom line: pursuing the mission of the

Community Marketplace and fiscal discipline. The nonprofit form also reflects the sense of

community leadership and connection that will be important for the market’s success.

Like the Boulder County Farmers’ Market, this organization should be devoted to

providing marketing and educational opportunities to area farmers and food producers. Unlike

the Boulder model, however, the board of directors should not include any vendors who are

selling in the market. Board members need to be concerned foremost with the health and

strength of the organization and not have conflicts of interest when setting policies such as rents

or compliance procedures.

In order to be the sponsor of the Community Marketplace, an existing nonprofit

organization will need to have both adequate mission overlap with the goals of the market and

adequate organizational and financial capacity to run the market. An existing nonprofit

organization that already operates markets in the region or has significant special event

experience would be the most likely fit. An organization with financial resources that it can

invest into the market’s development would also be beneficial.

If a new organization is created, the board of directors will need to be carefully

constructed so it has both appropriate skills and the passion to create a great public market.

Important board skills include:

• Education (culinary, nutrition, and environmental)

• Financial management


• Law

• Local food systems and regional agriculture

• Marketing

• Nonprofit management and organizational development

• Property management

• Small business (particularly in food and the arts)

In addition to these skills, the board should reflect the envisioned diversity of the

Community Marketplace in terms of board members’ age, race/ethnicity, gender, and geography.

Some funding sources will be concerned about board composition, particularly the involvement

of low income or disadvantaged individuals who are meant to benefit from the Community

Marketplace.

Management

A major challenge facing most year-round, indoor public markets is the cost of

management. Whether a public market has 20 vendors or 90, there typically needs to be a

market director, marketing/education director, bookkeeper/office manager, and maintenance and

cleaning staff. Smaller markets generally do not have enough leasable square footage to pay for

this staff overhead.

To overcome this problem in Fort Collins, it is recommended that the Fort Collins Food

Co-op have a master lease with the Community Marketplace nonprofit sponsor to operate the

market hall, which includes several independent food vendors. The Food Co-op will provide the

day-to-day management of the entire building, including the vendor spaces and the food

distribution component. The master lease should have stipulations that the board of the

Community Marketplace must agree to approve changes to this approach.

The sponsor can also lease the café space and the food production spaces (on the Mawson

Lumber site) to individual operators. Surplus income from the leases and from running the

farmers’ market, if it materializes, could be used to run a kitchen incubator program in the food

production space.

The primary functions of market management staff will be to organize and run the

outdoor farmers’ market and the indoor market in the flex building, rent the flex building and

plaza for events and meetings, and oversee the market’s educational programs.

The following staff members have been identified to manage the Community

Marketplace:

• Market Director. The Market Director has overall responsibility for running the

Community Marketplace. He or she will report to the board of directors. The ideal

candidate for market director will possess the following characteristics:

– Experience with farmers’ markets, marketing, and working with farmers and

small businesses

– Ability to develop good rapport and trust with farmers and vendors


– Ability and willing to enforce rules

– Financial management skills

– Strong communications skills that range from individual relationships with

vendors and members of the public to the board of directors and media

– Ability to guide and motivate staff

– Ability to develop and lead partnerships with government, nonprofits, and area

businesses

– Passion for farming, food, small businesses, and downtown revitalization

The Market Director will be very involved in recruiting farmers and other vendors,

working with the city and adjacent property owners on issues relating to use of the

street and park for the farmers’ market, recommending policies to the board, and

helping to oversee market operations.

• Marketing/Education Coordinator. The Marketing/Education Coordinator develops

and implements the market’s annual marketing plan of special events, advertising,

and public relations, and should oversee ongoing market research. This person

promotes and books the event spaces, and oversees the web site and all new media

and social marketing efforts. This person also organizes the market’s educational

programs, in partnership with Cooperative Extension, CSU, and other partners.

• Site Manager. The Site Manager is responsible for operation of the farmers’ market,

including recruiting, space assignment, rules enforcement, and cleaning.

• Bookkeeper. The bookkeeper is a part time position that maintains the organization’s

financial records, including overseeing AP and AR.

The Community Marketplace should be able to attract and utilize both interns and

volunteers for many of its programs and events. The abundance of college students in the city,

particularly those involved with agriculture and sustainability, are good sources of interns. The

Master Gardeners have been a consistent source of volunteer support for the Larimer County

Farmers’ Market; ideally they will continue to assist with the operations according to the new

rules and procedures.

In order to ensure that farmers and other vendors have a voice in market policy and

operations, the sponsor should create a Vendors Committee that meets regularly with market

management and board representatives.

Operations

The market hall and restaurant components of the Community Marketplace are conceived

as a year-round, seven day a week operations. Currently, the Food Co-op operates from 8:30 am

to 8:30 pm Monday through Friday, and 8:30 am to 7 pm on Saturday and Sunday. These are

reasonable hours in the new facility.


To ease the transition of moving the Old Town

Farmers’ Market to this new site under new management, the

outdoor farmers’ market can run on Saturdays only in its first

year of operation. The hours have traditionally been 8 to

noon. Ideally, these hours will be stretched longer, so the

market stays open until 2 pm (which is the same as the

Boulder farmers’ markets). A second, mid-week day of

operation is envisioned for the second year.

The farmers’ market will need a strong set of rules.

The best farmers’ markets are typically the ones that have the

strictest rules in terms of what vendors may sell. Farmers

interviewed for this study agreed that the market should have

strictly enforced rules that promote “sell what you grow”,

with some flexibility. The farmers’ market should only allow

products grown or produced in Colorado at the farmers’

market. The market should adopt a 70:30 rule, by which at

least 70% of what is sold comes from the farmer’s own farm.

This rule allows farmers to buy-in 30% of their goods from

other farmers in Colorado.

The market should require each farm to display signs

that clearly state what is grown on that farm and what comes from other farms. The Community

Marketplace can create a standardized sign, such as the ones at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market

in San Francisco (right). These signs, which are posted on each farmer’s tent or table, provide

information about the farm’s history and location, what it grows, and production methods.

Crafts should be selected based on jury selection by qualified crafters. Everything should

be handmade by the vendor.

Prepared foods should be of high quality and prepared by the vendor. The market should

seek a diverse range of products.

As part of its sustainability initiative, management should develop a robust waste

management program, including recycling and composting.

Management should work with vendors and farmers to ensure that they accept SNAP

(food stamps) and Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (WIC and Senior) coupons. SNAP now

utilizes EBT cards, which require a credit card terminal. Many farmers’ markets have created

“Market Bucks” programs whereby electronic benefits are transferred to tokens that can only be

redeemed by farmers at the market; these tokens can also be used as gift certificates.

The Community Marketplace should have an ATM machine to provide customers with

easy access to cash; rental payments from the ATM bank to the Community Marketplace are also

a source of income.


Marketing and programming

The Community Marketplace requires a robust marketing effort, particularly in the first

several years of operation as the market becomes established and develops its core customers.

The professional marketing offered at a public market is a key advantage for small businesses,

which typically don’t have the expertise or resources to implement a strong marketing effort.

The location along Jefferson Street provides a great opportunity for highly visible

signage. At most markets, marketing programs are centered on special events such as food

festivals, which often receive editorial coverage in local media. Some markets advertise in print,

radio or TV. The Community Marketplace will need to develop a year-long marketing program

aimed at the targeted consumers identified by the market research. The initial operating budget

includes $75,000 per year for marketing expenditures.

The marketing and communications effort will need to begin as soon as the project gets

underway in order to help set expectations and define what the Community Marketplace is. The

Community Marketplace lends itself to the new social marketing channels, allowing consumers

to share their experiences at the market with others and for market vendors and management to

communicate to customers in new ways.

Cooperative Extension and CSU staff provide strong potential partners for a variety of

food and agriculture focused programming at the Community Marketplace. Cooperative

Extension has extensive programming that it provides each week at the Larimer County Farmers’

Market – this should be incorporated at the new site. Other food educators in the region,

including local chefs, should be encouraged to provide programs within the market’s

demonstration kitchen or using mobile cooking stations.


10. Financial Analysis

MVI developed five year financial projections for both sites on Linden Street, including

operating statements and development budgets.

For both sites, income sources include:

1. Outdoor farmers’ market (farmers, nonfood/crafts, and prepared foods)

2. Flex building use (indoor market space, site rental)

3. Market hall/Food Co-op rent

4. Café rent

For the Mawson Lumber site, there is also rent from the food production facility and a

separate retail store.

Outdoor farmers’ market

The outdoor farmers’ market has three types of vendors: (1) farmers and food producers

selling fresh and value added foods, (2) crafters/nonfood vendors, and (3) prepared food vendors.

Income from the outdoor farmers’ market depends on the number of participating

vendors, rents charged, number of days of operation, and utilization (vacancies). Rents are

suggested to be 6% of gross sales (which is the same as most farmers’ markets in the region) for

farmers and crafters, and 10% of gross sales for prepared food vendors. The financial model also

assumes that there is a $35 annual registration fee, which is paid by 80 different vendors in year

one and then more in subsequent years, as per the following schedule:

Annual registration fee $35.00 $35.00 $37.00 $37.00 $39.00

Registrants 80 95 110 125 140

Registration income $2,800 $3,325 $4,070 $4,625 $5,460

In this model, the outdoor farmers’ market operates one day per week, on Saturday, from

April through October. In the second year, one weekday (potentially an evening) is added. In

the fifth year of operation, a third day is added.

At present, about 60 vendors participate in the Old Town Farmers’ Market at its peak,

about half of whom are selling fresh foods. It is assumed that the Old Town Farmers’ Market

will move to the new location and the new market’s management will undertake an aggressive

recruitment effort. In year one, 30 farmers/food producers are estimated to take part in the

outdoor farmers’ market, with incremental additions each year (up to 50 by year five).

Since rent is dependent on gross sales, the model includes estimates of typical farmer

sales divided into three categories. In the first year, five farmers are estimated to be “high

grossing” vendors with average daily sales of $2,000; 10 are estimated to be “medium grossing”

vendors with sales of $800, and 15 are estimated to be “low grossing” vendors with sales of


$400. The number of participating farmers increases each year and average gross sales increase

slightly as well.

Vacancies are estimated on a quarterly basis. Since the market does not operate January

through March, vacancy equals 100%. Vacancies are lowest during the third quarter (peak

harvest period). When a new day is added between years, average vacancies go up since the

farmers are spread out over more days; when the number of days stays the same between years,

vacancies drop as the market builds up its base of participants.

The following chart shows the income and sales model based on these inputs:

FarmersYear 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Operating days/week 1 2 2 2 3

Sales - high # 4 5 5 6 6

Sales - med # 12 14 16 18 20

Sales - low # 16 18 20 22 24

Total farmers 32 37 41 46 50

Sales - high $ $2,000 $2,060 $2,122 $2,185 $2,251

Sales - med $ $800 $832 $865 $900 $936

Sales - low $ $400 $416 $433 $450 $468

Total daily sales $24,000 $29,436 $33,106 $39,210 $43,454

Rent as % sales 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0%

Total daily rent $1,440 $1,766 $1,986 $2,353 $2,607

Vacancy

Jan-Mar 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Apr-Jun 50% 65% 55% 45% 60%

Jul-Sep 15% 30% 20% 10% 25%

Oct-Dec 60% 75% 65% 55% 70%

Rent

Jan-Mar -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Apr-Jun 9,360$ 16,072$ 23,241$ 33,642$ 40,673$

Jul-Sep 15,912$ 32,144$ 41,317$ 55,050$ 76,263$

Oct-Dec 7,488$ 11,480$ 18,076$ 27,525$ 30,505$

Total 32,760$ 59,696$ 82,633$ 116,217$ 147,441$

Sales

Jan-Mar -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Apr-Jun 156,000$ 267,868$ 387,343$ 560,697$ 677,890$

Jul-Sep 265,200$ 535,735$ 688,611$ 917,504$ 1,271,044$

Oct-Dec 124,800$ 191,334$ 301,267$ 458,752$ 508,417$

Total 546,000$ 994,937$ 1,377,221$ 1,936,953$ 2,457,351$

Based on these assumptions, total rents from farmers equal $32,760 in year one and

grows to $147,441 in year five. Total annual sales equal $546,000 in year one and increases to

$2.46 million in year five.


Similar estimates are made for Crafters/Nonfood and Prepared Food vendors, in these

cases using a single daily average for each type of vendor:

Crafts/NonfoodYear 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5


Participants 10 12 14 16 18

Average daily sales $400 $412 $424 $437 $450

Rent as % sales 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0%

Average rent/stall $24 $25 $25 $26 $27

Vacancy

Jan-Mar 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Apr-Jun 50% 65% 55% 45% 60%

Jul-Sep 15% 30% 20% 10% 25%

Oct-Dec 25% 40% 30% 20% 35%

Rent

Jan-Mar -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Apr-Jun 1,560$ 2,699$ 4,171$ 6,000$ 7,585$

Jul-Sep 2,652$ 5,399$ 7,414$ 9,819$ 14,222$

Oct-Dec 2,340$ 4,628$ 6,488$ 8,728$ 12,326$

Total 6,552$ 12,726$ 18,073$ 24,547$ 34,133$

Sales

Jan-Mar -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Apr-Jun 26,000$ 44,990$ 69,510$ 100,006$ 126,417$

Jul-Sep 44,200$ 89,981$ 123,574$ 163,647$ 237,032$

Oct-Dec 39,000$ 77,126$ 108,127$ 145,464$ 205,428$

Total 109,200$ 212,098$ 301,211$ 409,117$ 568,877$


Prepared FoodYear 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5


Participants 8 10 10 12 12

Average daily sales $1,000 $1,030 $1,061 $1,093 $1,126

Rent as % sales 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 10.0%

Average rent/stall $100 $103 $106 $109 $113

Vacancy

Jan-Mar 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Apr-Jun 25% 40% 30% 20% 35%

Jul-Sep 15% 30% 20% 10% 25%

Oct-Dec 30% 45% 35% 25% 40%

Rent

Jan-Mar -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Apr-Jun 7,800$ 16,068$ 19,308$ 27,274$ 34,238$

Jul-Sep 8,840$ 18,746$ 22,067$ 30,684$ 39,505$

Oct-Dec 7,280$ 14,729$ 17,929$ 25,570$ 31,604$

Total 23,920$ 49,543$ 59,304$ 83,528$ 105,348$

Sales

Jan-Mar -$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Apr-Jun 78,000$ 160,680$ 193,084$ 272,745$ 342,380$

Jul-Sep 88,400$ 187,460$ 220,667$ 306,838$ 395,054$

Oct-Dec 72,800$ 147,290$ 179,292$ 255,698$ 316,043$

Total 239,200$ 495,430$ 593,043$ 835,281$ 1,053,476$

Aggregating all three vendor categories results in the following totals:

Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Vendors 50 59 65 74 80

Rent 63,232$ 121,965$ 160,010$ 224,292$ 286,921$

Sales 894,400$ 1,702,464$ 2,271,475$ 3,181,350$ 4,079,705$

Market hall and café

The Fort Collins Food Co-op is expected to be the primary tenant in the market hall. The

Co-op will then sublease to individual vendors such as a butcher and baker. Rents are assumed

to be on a triple net basis, so the tenant will be responsible for all operating costs and property

taxes. Based on current local market conditions, rents might be in the range of $10-15 per square

foot. It is important to note that this financial model assumes market rate rents, not a subsidized

scenario.

For this analysis, rents for the Food Co-op are assumed to be $12.00 per square foot, or

$100,800 per year for 8,400 sf. While this is higher than some properties in the area, the Co-op


gets use of a new, custom-built facility. If the Co-op achieves sales of $3 million, then rents will

equal 3.4% of gross sales, which is a reasonable percentage.

The Co-op will be able to charge significantly higher rents per square foot to the vendors,

helping it to recapture some of these occupancy costs. Vendor rents in public markets are

typically up to twice as expensive as nearby retail rents because vendor stalls are so small and do

not include customer circulation or other typical spaces. At the Feeders Supply site, the

schematic drawing shows subtenant spaces totaling 1,700 sf. Assuming subtenant rents are $20

per sf, the Co-op should be able to capture back $34,000 and lower its rent to $66,800, or 2% of

sales.

The café has 1,620 square feet. Rent is projected at $14.00 per square foot, or $22,680

per year.

Flex building

The 4,000 sf flex building will be used for vendors when the outdoor farmers’ market is

operating and throughout the winter as a Winter Market. Currently, the Fort Collins Winter

Market has 38 stalls and charges $25 plus 6% of gross sales. Based on an initial layout, the flex

building can fit 34 vendors in 8’ by 8’ spaces. The same rents are used here. Average daily sales

are estimated at $400 per vendor. While only the ground floor space is included in this analysis,

it might be possible to accommodate more indoor vendors on the building’s second floor.


Indoor Market (Flex Space)Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Stalls 34 34 34 34 34

Days/week (Jan-March) 1 1 2 2 2

Days/week (April-Dec) 1 2 2 2 3

Average daily sales $400 $412 $424 $437 $450

Rent as % sales 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0%

Rent fee $25.00 $25.00 $25.00 $26.00 $26.00

Average rate/stall $49 $50 $50 $52 $53

Vacancy

Jan-Mar 10% 5% 20% 10% 5%

Apr-Jun 15% 30% 20% 10% 25%

Jul-Sep 15% 30% 20% 10% 25%

Oct-Dec 10% 25% 15% 5% 20%

Rent

Jan-Mar 19,492$ 20,877$ 35,686$ 41,551$ 44,520$

Apr-Jun 18,409$ 30,767$ 35,686$ 41,551$ 52,721$

Jul-Sep 18,409$ 30,767$ 35,686$ 41,551$ 52,721$

Oct-Dec 19,492$ 32,964$ 37,917$ 43,859$ 56,235$

Total 75,803$ 115,375$ 144,976$ 168,511$ 206,196$

Sales

Jan-Mar 159,120$ 172,999$ 300,107$ 347,749$ 378,081$

Apr-Jun 150,280$ 254,946$ 300,107$ 347,749$ 447,727$

Jul-Sep 150,280$ 254,946$ 300,107$ 347,749$ 447,727$

Oct-Dec 159,120$ 273,156$ 318,864$ 367,069$ 477,576$

Total 618,800$ 956,046$ 1,219,186$ 1,410,317$ 1,751,112$

Finally, the Community Marketplace will derive rental income from site rental fees. In

year one, it is estimated that the market will have 50 paying events with an average of 50 people

who pay a fee of $3.50 per person, for a total of $8,750 of site rental income. By year five, site

rental income equals $18,900.

Site rental for catered events Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Events/year 50 55 55 60 60

People/event (average) 50 55 60 65 70

Site fee/person $3.50 $3.50 $4.00 $4.00 $4.50

Income $8,750 $10,588 $13,200 $15,600 $18,900

Operations pro forma – Feeders Supply site

Income

Pulling all of these income sources together provides the income side of the operations

pro forma:


Feeders Supply site Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Rental Income

Outdoor market 63,232 121,965 160,010 224,292 286,921

Registration fees 2,800 3,325 4,070 4,625 5,460

Flex building 75,803 115,375 144,976 168,511 206,196

Site rental 8,750 10,588 13,200 15,600 18,900

Market hall/Food Co-op 100,800 100,800 102,312 103,847 105,404

Café 22,680 22,680 23,020 23,366 23,716

Gross Operating Income 274,065 374,733 447,589 540,240 646,598

These totals are then reduced 3% as bad debt expenses for uncollectable accounts.

Expenses

The largest expense of operating the Community Marketplace is personnel costs. Based

on the personnel identified in the Operations section above, the following chart of salaries and

benefits was created:

Personnel

Market Director $65,000

Marketing Coordinator $43,000

Site manager 1 $32,000

Bookkeeper (PT) $20,000

Fringe benefits $40,000

Payroll tax $16,000

Subtotal $216,000

A second site manager is added in year four to support the move to three operating days

per week.

Other operating expenses include maintenance/repair, supplies, telephone, professional

fees, waste hauling, and utilities:

Market operations

Maintenance/repair $10,000

Personnel $216,000

Telephone/Web $5,000

Professional/legal fees $6,000

Supplies $10,000

Utilities $12,000

Waste removal $6,000

Subtotal $265,000

Marketing/education costs have been budgeted at $75,000 in year one and increase 3%

per year, as do the other expenses. Insurance is budgeted at $18,000 per year. Property taxes are


assumed to be paid by the tenants in the market hall and café spaces; since the other spaces will

be run by a nonprofit organization, property taxes are assumed to be zero.

Profit/loss statement – Feeders Supply site

The income and expenses come together in the following estimated profit and loss

statement for the Community Marketplace at the Feeders Supply site:

Feeders Supply site Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Rental Income

Outdoor market 63,232 121,965 160,010 224,292 286,921


Flex building 75,803 115,375 144,976 168,511 206,196

Site rental 8,750 10,588 13,200 15,600 18,900


Café 22,680 22,680 23,020 23,366 23,716


Bad Debt Expense 8,222 11,242 13,428 16,207 19,398

Adjusted Gross Income 265,843 363,491 434,161 524,033 627,200

Operating Expenses

Market operations $265,000 $274,030 $283,369 $333,527 $344,932

Insurance $18,000 $18,540 $19,096 $19,669 $20,259

Property tax $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Marketing/Education $75,000 $78,000 $81,120 $84,365 $97,020

Subtotal $358,000 $370,570 $383,585 $437,561 $462,211

Net Operating Income ($92,157) ($7,079) $50,576 $86,472 $164,989

Capital reserve $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $30,000 $30,000

Profit (Loss) ($117,157) ($32,079) $25,576 $56,472 $134,989

This projection shows that the Community Marketplace can have positive cash flow in

year three and this should increase each year as the outdoor farmers’ market grows and more

events are held in the flex building. The free cash flow can then be used either to pay a small

amount of debt service or can be used to support education and marketing programs to promote

local foods and support the market’s mission in other ways.


Operations pro forma – Mawson Lumber site

Income

The Mawson Lumber site has the same income for the outdoor market, registration fees,

the flex building, and site rental. Income from the market hall is slightly higher because the

building is larger and there is also income from the retail space and the food production space:

Mawson Lumber site Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Rental Income

Outdoor market 63,232 121,965 160,010 224,292 286,921


Flex building 75,803 115,375 144,976 168,511 206,196

Site rental 8,750 10,588 13,200 15,600 18,900


Café 18,200 18,200 18,473 18,750 19,031

Retail 14,400 14,400 14,616 14,835 15,058

Food production 22,500 22,500 22,838 23,180 23,528


As before, these totals are then reduced 3% as bad debt expenses for uncollectable

accounts.

Expenses

Operating expenses for the Mawson site are similar to the Feeders Supply site because

the management staff needed to run the market is the same. The insurance cost is higher

($22,000) because the property is larger.

Profit/loss statement – Mawson Lumber site

The profit/loss statement for the Mawson Lumber site is presented below. The results are

similar to the Feeders Supply site, with the Community Marketplace achieving profitability in

year three.


Mawson Lumber site Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Rental Income

Outdoor market 63,232 121,965 160,010 224,292 286,921


Flex building 75,803 115,375 144,976 168,511 206,196

Site rental 8,750 10,588 13,200 15,600 18,900


Café 18,200 18,200 18,473 18,750 19,031

Retail 14,400 14,400 14,616 14,835 15,058

Food production 22,500 22,500 22,838 23,180 23,528


Bad Debt Expense 8,916 11,936 14,132 16,922 20,123

Adjusted Gross Income 288,269 385,917 456,924 547,137 650,651

Operating Expenses

Market operations $270,900 $280,107 $289,628 $339,974 $351,573

Insurance $22,000 $22,660 $23,340 $24,040 $24,761

Property tax $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Marketing/Education $75,000 $78,000 $81,120 $84,365 $97,020

Subtotal $367,900 $380,767 $394,088 $448,379 $473,354

Net Operating Income ($79,631) $5,150 $62,836 $98,759 $177,297

Capital reserve $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $30,000 $30,000

Profit (Loss) ($104,631) ($19,850) $37,836 $68,759 $147,297

Development estimate

An initial estimate of development costs, based on recent experience at other public

markets and not on formal cost estimating, was prepared.

Feeders Supply site

The Feeders Supply site is approximately 1.16 acres, or 50,530 sf. Estimating a purchase

price of downtown sites is difficult because there has been a wide range of prices paid for

downtown properties in the last few years. Since this block is outside the downtown core, the

project team determined that a reasonable approximation is $20 per sf. This results in total land

acquisition cost of $1.01 million.

Per square foot construction costs have been estimated for each element of the project. In

addition to construction costs, the estimate includes site work, construction management,

architecture and engineering (“A&E”) fees, and a range of other costs including signage, project

management/leasing, insurance, capital/equipment, opening promotion, tenant allowances, and

negative cash flow/operating reserve. Total development costs, including land acquisition, are


estimated at $5.73 million. The development budget does not include costs associated with

financing, such as legal and accounting fees needed for tax credits.

Feeders Supply Site Square feet Cost/sf Subtotal Total

Land acquisition 50,530 $20.00 $1,010,592

Construction

Site work 36,510 $10.00 $365,096

Market hall - Food Co-op 8,400 $175.00 $1,470,000

Café 1,620 $175.00 $283,500

Flex building (2 story) 8,000 $150.00 $1,200,000

Subtotal 54,530 $3,318,596

construction management $3,318,596 3.0% $99,558

general conditions $3,418,154 7.0% $239,271

contingency $3,657,425 5.0% $182,871

architecture & engineering $3,840,296 6.0% $230,418

subtotal $752,118 $4,070,714

Other

signage/graphic design $50,000

project management/leasing $100,000

legal/professional fees $25,000

insurance $50,000

capital/equipment $25,000

tenant allowances 10,020 $30.00 $300,600

negative cash flow/operating reserve $100,000

subtotal $650,600

Total $5,731,906

Mawson Lumber site

The Mawson Lumber site is significantly larger than the Feeders Supply site, so the

acquisition cost will be higher. Since this site is less favorably shaped and has a mid block

location, the project team estimated the purchase price at $18 per sf. Since the site is

approximately 2.85 acres or 124,146 sf, the acquisition cost is $2.23 million.

This site also has more square footage of construction. Total development costs are

estimated at $8.1 million, including land acquisition.


Mawson Lumber site Square feet Cost/sf Subtotal Total

Land acquisition 124,146 $18.00 $2,234,628

Construction

Site work 101,621 $9.00 $914,589

Market hall - Food Co-op 10,100 $175.00 $1,767,500

Café 1,300 $175.00 $227,500

Flex building (Freight Depot) 4,300 $100.00 $430,000

Retail (Freight Depot) 1,200 $125.00 $150,000

Food production 5,625 $125.00 $703,125

Subtotal 124,146 $4,192,714

construction management $4,192,714 3.0% $125,781

general conditions $4,318,495 7.0% $302,295

contingency $4,620,790 5.0% $231,040

architecture & engineering $4,851,830 6.0% $291,110

subtotal $950,225 $5,142,939

Other

signage/graphic design $50,000

project management/leasing $100,000

legal/professional fees $25,000

insurance $50,000

capital/equipment $25,000

tenant allowances 12,600 $30.00 $378,000

negative cash flow/operating reserve $100,000

subtotal $728,000

Total $8,105,567

Financing

The primary source of financing for the Community Marketplace is expected to come

from DDA funds through its tax increment district. Public markets typically have not been able

to utilize conventional financing sources and the economics of this project do not lend

themselves to private investment.

The Linden Street area is an eligible location for New Market Tax Credits (NMTC),

which have been used at public markets, including the recently development Midtown Global

Market in Minneapolis. The recently announced Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a joint effort

of USDA and Treasury, includes a large pot of NMTCs for these types of projects. Given the

historic properties at both locations, the project might also qualify for some historic tax credits.

Public markets have attracted both public and philanthropic grants. On the federal level,

the principal source for significant capital dollars has been the Economic Development


Administration of Department of Commerce. The Department of Health and Human Services,

through its Office of Community Services, has also provided (smaller) grants.


11. Impact Analysis

MVI estimated the economic and social impacts that the Community Marketplace would

have in the study area.

Economic Impacts

The economic impacts on Northern Colorado will consist of direct benefits in increased

sales, indirect benefits that flow from increased purchases of other materials and services, and

induced benefits to household incomes and consumption.

Methodology

The methodology for measuring economic benefits of specific projects or programs on

affected regions is well established in the field of urban economics. Systematic analysis takes

into account inter-industry relationships within regions, because these relationships largely

determine how regional economies respond to project or program changes. The tool of regional

input-output (I-O) multipliers, developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and

customized for specific regions as RIMS II Multipliers, accounts for highly disaggregated inter-

industry relationships within regions. It is based upon BEA’s 2002 national benchmark I-O

table, which accounts for the input and output structure of more than 500 U.S. industries, and

BEA’s 2007 regional economic accounts, which show each region’s industrial structure and

trading patterns.

RIMs II Multipliers can be estimated by BEA for any region composed of one or more

counties and for any industry in the national I-O table. For purposes of measuring the economic

benefits of the Community Marketplace, RIMS II Multipliers were customized for the same four

county region around Fort Collins utilized in the Supply Analysis. These counties include

Larimer, Weld, Boulder, and Laramie.

The table below shows the Final Demand multipliers for various industry sectors. The

Final Demand Multipliers account for all regional economic repercussions of generating an

additional dollar of sales or construction output.

RIMS II Multipliers for Northern Colorado 4 County Region

Final Demand Multiplier

Output Earnings Employment

Food services 1.7323 0.4723 24.3663

Wholesale trade 1.5629 0.3984 8.1184

Retail trade 1.6308 0.4667 17.9628

Real estate 1.3193 0.1245 4.4100

Construction 1.8708 0.5482 14.1446

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis


The multipliers listed under Final Demand include Output, Earnings, and Employment.

The Output column represents the total dollar change in output that occurs in all industries in the

regional economy for each additional dollar of output delivered to final demand by the industry

sector corresponding to the row entry (e.g., Food services). In this case, $10 of new sales in

Food Services creates $17.32 in new economic output. Entries in the Earnings column represent

the total dollar change in earnings of households employed by all industries in the regional

economy for each additional dollar of output delivered to final demand by the industry sector

corresponding to the row entry. Entries in the Employment column represent the total change in

number of jobs that occurs in all industries in the regional economy for each additional one

million dollars of output delivered to final demand by the industry corresponding to the row

entry. Because employment multipliers are based upon 2007 data, the output delivered to final

demand in this instance is represented in 2007 dollars.

Direct Impact of Sales at the Community Marketplace

Determining the economic impact of the Community Marketplace requires an estimate of

total sales generated at the market. MVI utilized what it believed to be reasonable per square

foot estimates (for the restaurants and complementary retail) or weekly or daily average sales

estimates (for the farmers’ market participants) for each of the Community Marketplace

components. As discussed above, the sales of any business in the market could be appreciably

more or less than the estimates based on the skills of the business owner, changes to the

economic climate, new competition, etc. Therefore, while the economic impact analysis

employs the standard approaches, described above, the results must be read with an

understanding of the limitations of the sales projections.

The following chart shows a projection of sales, ordered by type of business:

Function Type 5th Yr Sales

Food Coop - deli Food service $300,000

Café Food service $810,000

Farmers' Market - prepared food Food service $1,053,476

Food service Total $2,163,476

Food Coop Retail $3,060,000

Farmers' Market - farmers Retail $2,457,351

Farmers' Market - crafts Retail $568,877

Market Hall vendors (3) Retail $1,190,000

Flex building Retail $1,751,112

Retail Total $9,027,340

Aggregation & distribution Wholesale $200,000

Wholesale Total $200,000

Grand Total $11,390,816

This analysis shows that gross sales by businesses within the Community Marketplace

are estimated at roughly $11.4 million once the market reaches stabilization, projected to be year

5.


Employing the RIMS II multipliers for each type of business results in the following

economic impact:

Sales

Food service $2,163,476 1.7323 $3,747,790 0.4723 $1,021,810 24.3663 52.7

Retail $9,027,340 1.6308 $14,721,786 0.4667 $4,213,060 17.9628 162.2

Wholesale $200,000 1.5629 $312,580 0.3984 $79,680 8.1184 1.6

Total $11,390,816 $18,782,156 $5,314,549 216.5

Final Demand


In total, the $11.4 million in sales generates nearly $19 million in annual output

within the region and increases earnings by $5.3 million. The Community Marketplace

generates 216 new jobs in the region. Over a ten year period, assuming sales increase 3% each

year, the aggregate impact of the Community Marketplace on the region would be $215 million.

A large portion of the products sold at the Community Marketplace will come from

regional farmers and food producers. The economic impact analysis therefore looks at the

impact these sales will have on the region.

Cost of goods (COG) analysis provides an estimate for how much each business within

the Community Marketplace will spend on food. An estimate is then made, based on MVI’s

research at other public markets, of the percentage of COG that might come from purchases from

regional farms or food producers. The chart below shows estimated gross sales for each type of

business in the Community Marketplace, their estimated food costs, and an estimate for what

percentage of their food costs might come from regional farmers. For example, the Food Co-op

is estimated to have sales of $3.4 million. The COG analysis showed that food costs would

equal 60% of sales. It is estimated that 20% of these purchases will be made from regional

farmers. Therefore, the Food Co-op is estimated to buy $367,000 of foods from the region’s

farmers and food producers. Adding the entire column, Community Marketplace vendors will

buy approximately $3.7 million worth of food from the region’s farmers and food producers.


Function Type 5th Yr Sales

Food

cost

Region

% Region $

Food Coop - deli Food service $300,000 30% 30% $275,400

Café Food service $810,000 30% 30% $72,900

Farmers' Market - prepared food Food service $1,053,476 30% 60% $214,200

Food service Total $2,163,476 $562,500

Food Coop Retail $3,060,000 60% 20% $367,200

Farmers' Market - farmers Retail $2,457,351 60% 100% $1,474,411

Farmers' Market - crafts Retail $568,877

Market Hall vendors (3) Retail $1,190,000 60% 50% $357,000

Flex building Retail $1,751,112 60% 80% $840,534

Retail Total $9,027,340 $3,039,144

Aggregation & distribution Wholesale $200,000 75% 100% $150,000

Wholesale Total $200,000 $150,000

Grand Total $11,390,816 $3,751,644

The RIMS II multipliers for these farm and food industries include:

Final Demand Multiplier


Vegetables & melon 1.6462 0.3374 22.8416

Fruit farming 1.8022 0.4328 33.9119

Nursery products 1.6262 0.4500 31.8369

Cattle ranching 2.1279 0.3258 17.3139

Poultry & eggs 1.9349 0.2992 13.8880

Cheese manufacturing 2.6203 0.4029 13.5770

Bread manufacturing 1.8561 0.4739 16.0660

Coffee & tea manufacturing 2.1963 0.4176 14.3512

Wineries 1.7993 0.3201 10.4582

Other food 2.0427 0.3953 13.6057

For each type of food business in the Community Marketplace, an estimate was prepared

of how much food would be purchased in each of these food categories. This information was

then compiled into the following chart:


Sales

Vegetables $1,233,892 1.6350 $2,017,413 0.3185 $392,995 18.1703 22.4

Fruit $653,562 1.1618 $759,308 0.3665 $239,530 20.7207 13.5

Nursery $231,494 1.6821 $389,397 0.4311 $99,797 25.6020 5.9

Cattle $400,477 2.6077 $1,044,324 0.3951 $158,229 17.4823 7.0

Poultry/eggs $315,157 2.2959 $723,569 0.3488 $109,927 14.3442 4.5

Cheese $213,952 2.1937 $469,347 0.3327 $71,182 10.9702 2.3

Bread $197,880 1.7886 $353,928 0.4498 $89,006 12.9435 2.6

Coffee & tea $71,910 1.6506 $118,695 0.2676 $19,243 6.6780 0.5

Wineries $123,037 1.5987 $196,700 0.2820 $34,696 11.2458 1.4

Other food $310,282 1.7676 $548,455 0.3286 $101,959 8.4734 2.6

Total $3,751,644 $6,621,136 $1,316,564 62.8

EmploymentOutput Earnings

Final Demand

The businesses in the Community Marketplace are estimated to sell $3.7 million worth

of regionally grown and produced foods. This leads to over $6.6 million in output within the

region, $1.3 million in additional earnings, and 62.8 jobs. Over a ten year period, assuming 3%

growth in purchases each year, the total economic impact of sales to regional farmers and

food producers would be $76 million.

Direct Impact of Construction and Operations

The development program for the Community Marketplace includes construction of

about 54,000 square feet of space on the Feeders Supply site. As described above, the total

construction budget is estimated at $4.1 million. The annual operating costs of the Community

Marketplace are projected to be about $345,000 in year 5. The following chart shows the

relevant RIMS II multipliers for construction and real estate:

Value

Construction $4,070,714 1.8708 $7,615,491 0.5482 $2,231,565 14.1446 57.6

Real estate $344,932 1.3193 $455,069 0.1245 $42,944 4.4100 1.5


Final Demand

The total economic effects of constructing the Community Marketplace would represent

a one-time increase of $7.6 million by all industries affected by the construction activity.

Earnings in the region would increase $2.2 million and employment would increase by 57.6

jobs. Upon completion of the facility, the economic effects of construction on the output of the

region would come to an end.


The annual operations of the Community Marketplace will increase the region’s output

by $455,000 annually, increase earnings by $43,000 and support 1.5 additional jobs in the

regional economy. Over a ten year period, assuming 3% growth in operating costs each year, the

total economic impact of operating the market would be $5.2 million.

Total economic impact

The chart below combines each of the different types of economic impact. Aggregating

these various benefits, the Community Marketplace will create 338 jobs, increase earnings by

$8.9 million, and increase output by $33.5 in the first year. Over ten years, the economic

impact of the Community Marketplace is estimated at $304 million.

Jobs

Earnings

(millions)

Output

(millions)

10 year impact

(millions)

Community Market sales 216.5 $5.31 $18.8 $215.3

Farmer sales 62.8 $1.32 $6.6 $75.9

Market management 1.5 $0.04 $0.5 $5.2

Construction 57.6 $2.23 $7.6 $7.6

Total 338 $8.91 $33.5 $304.1

Jobs

MVI also made a separate assessment of the number of jobs that will be created at the

Community Marketplace. For the farmers’ market, this entailed an estimate of the average

number of jobs associated with each type of vendor, which is then converted into a full time

equivalent based on the number of days of operation each week. In year 1, when the outdoor

market operates only one day per week seasonally, the number of FTEs equals 10.5. It grows to

53.7 FTEs by year 5. In total, the Community Marketplace will include 88.2 FTEs.

FTE jobs

Food Coop 15.0

Café 6.0

Distribution 1.0

Market vendors 9.0

Farmers' Market - farmers 27.2

Farmers' Market - prepared food 14.4

Farmers' Market - crafts 12.2

Market management 3.5

Total 88.2


Social Impacts

Successful public markets provide a wide range of social impacts to a community, in

addition to the economic impacts.

Downtown revitalization. The Community Marketplace will attract thousands of people to

the downtown’s Poudre River District, expanding the walkability of downtown and creating

a dynamic new gathering place. The Marketplace should increase land values and encourage

complementary development in the surrounding blocks.

Become a magnet for Fort Collins. As with similar public markets around the country, the

Community Marketplace will be a unique place that serves Fort Collins residents, attracts

people from throughout the region, and draws visitors to Northern Colorado. Adjacent

property owners and entrepreneurs can benefit from this opportunity, leading to the creation

of new businesses nearby.

Support regional agriculture and food production. The Community Marketplace will

provide a year-round marketing venue for area farmers and food producers, helping sustain

and expand the recent trend toward more direct farm retailing and innovation among small

scale food producers.

Educate consumers, students, and farmers. The Community Marketplace will offer both

formal educational programs utilizing the demonstration kitchen and classrooms, and

informal education between farmer/vendor and customer. This should help raise awareness

of the benefits of eating locally produced foods and fresh products, while creating a place for

farmer education, particularly about food trends and marketing.

Bring the people of Larimer County together: The proposed Marketplace will attract

people from all of the area’s social and ethnic groups.

Opportunities for partnerships and mentoring. The Community Marketplace offers

partnership opportunities with a number of regional organizations, including CSU, the public

schools, health organizations, and cooking educators. For CSU students and faculty, there

are opportunities in event management, sustainable construction and food systems, and

research about conscious consumerism and the local economy.


12. Conclusion

Feasibility assessment

As described at the beginning of this report, MVI has identified five key factors that are

found at successful public markets. These are used to analyze the feasibility of the proposed

Community Marketplace:

• Location. The two identified locations for the Community Marketplace on Linden Street

between Jefferson and Willow Streets provide good access for customers by car and bus

and, with slight adjustments to the Jefferson Street traffic signal, by bicycle and foot.

The Feeders Supply site has superior visibility. The sites have adequate surface parking

to meet the needs of the permanent retail, while the outdoor farmers’ market will rely on

street parking. This location helps extend the downtown core and should help the

retailers on Linden Street between Walnut and Jefferson, as well as improve the link

between downtown and the brewery district. The Community Marketplace will provide a

boost to the emerging mixed use district between Jefferson and the Poudre River.

Both properties are privately owned and the owners have expressed that they are open to

the idea of selling their properties for the Community Marketplace.

• Environment. The ability to adaptively reuse historic buildings on both sites enhances

both properties for the Community Marketplace. The Feeders Supply site allows creation

of a larger plaza and offers better visibility than the Mawson Lumber site, and permits

better access and circulation. The new buildings on both sites will need to be attractively

designed in order to support the businesses located there and create a great market

environment, as well as achieve the goals for sustainability.

• Culture of market shopping. Fort Collins residents have a strong and growing interest

in local foods, as well as to specialty supermarkets such as Whole Foods Market. Since

Fort Collins has had fairly small and weak farmers’ markets compared to some other

cities (such as Boulder), significant effort will be needed to create a great outdoor

farmers’ market in the downtown. However, the region has a rapidly growing number of

farmers and food producers interested in direct marketing and consumers who have

supported CSAs. In addition, the large number of young adults in the community and the

suburban residents are likely to support weekly events more than daily sales.

• Management. As proposed, management of the market hall will be the responsibility of

the anchor tenant and an experienced food retailer, the Fort Collins Food Co-op, so the

Community Marketplace will not have the typical layer of management that has driven

up operating costs at other public markets. An existing or new nonprofit corporation will

need to expand and professionalize operation of the outdoor farmers’ market and run the

flex building. There appears to be adequate experience in the region to create a strong

farmers’ market organization.

• Vendors. The market hall component relies on an experienced local retailer, the Food

Co-op, and only needs a few specialty food vendors to create the daily market experience.

Moving the Larimer County Farmers’ Market to this new location provides an initial core

of vendors; an improved layout, professional management, and marketing will attract


new vendors. The growing number of farmers in Northern Colorado and Southern

Wyoming who are focusing on direct marketing offer a rich trove of vendors for the

outdoor farmers’ market.

Based on these criteria, the research findings and assumptions, the proposed sites and

development concept, and the financial analysis, the Community Marketplace as envisioned can

be considered feasible. The Feeders Supply site makes a superior location for the market in

terms of cost, visibility, and layout, but either site can accommodate the market’s program.

Next steps

If the DDA decides to move forward with the Community Marketplace as conceptualized

in this report, next steps include:

1. Presentations and community input. The Community Marketplace has generated

substantial excitement within the community and many of the key informants expressed

interest in learning the results of this feasibility study. Additional ideas and input should

be sought from stakeholders, particularly farmers and food producers who might become

active participants at the market. Charrettes could be held to engage stakeholders in the

development process and solicit additional programmatic or design ideas.

2. Fundraising. Funds will need to be raised to continue the design and predevelopment

efforts, and then development financing will need to be pursued.

3. Outdoor farmers’ market. The farmers’ market can begin operation on Linden Street

before the rest of the Community Marketplace is created. Moving the Old Town farmers’

market from its current location and creating a new organization to run the market will

require the agreement and cooperation of Cooperative Extension and the participating

vendors, as well as careful planning and adoption of new rules. The move should follow

the streetscape upgrades that are planned for Linden Street, as well as improvements to

the pedestrian crossing at Jefferson Street.

4. Predevelopment. Predevelopment activities include site retention, beginning the leasing

effort and seeking letters of intent from tenants, management planning, partnership

development, and ongoing outreach and marketing, as well as oversight of the design and

fundraising process. Most important is reaching an agreement with the Fort Collins Food

Co-op to be the biggest tenant in the facility and having the Co-op agree to share its space

with and manage the independent vendors within the market hall.

5. Organization. Either the new nonprofit that will operate the Community Marketplace

needs to be established or an existing organization needs to be identified. If a new group,

the initial board members need to be identified and by-laws determined. The market

director should be retained early on so this person can play a leadership role throughout

the development process.

6. Design. The next step in the design effort is to retain an architecture and engineering

team to commence the design development phase. It is recommended that an

experienced public market or retail architect lead the design effort, in partnership with a

local architectural firm experienced in historic renovation and sustainable design. To


make the Community Marketplace a model of sustainable development, it is important to

utilize architecture and engineering firms that are very knowledgeable in this area. The

design development phase should include cost estimating so a precise construction

budget can be established.


13. Appendix A. Community Marketplace Advisory Committee Members

Josh Birks, Economic Advisor, City of Fort Collins

Lynn Christiensen, Fort Collins Food Co-operative

Hill Grimmett, Be Local Northern Colorado/Northern Colorado Food Incubator

Linda Hoffmann, Larimer County Rural Land Use Center

Gailmarie Kimmel, Local Living Economy/Be Local Northern Colorado

Jerry Kennell, Everence (formerly Mennonite Mutual Aid)

Karen McManus, Local Roots Farm & CSA (formerly Wolf Moon Farms)

Douglas Murray, Center for Fair and Alternative Trade Studies, CSU

Kevin Oltjenbruns, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, CSU

Jim Reidhead, UniverCity Connections

Matt Robenalt, Fort Collins DDA

Joanna Stone, Fort Collins DDA

Pam Sutton, One Tribe Creative

Phil Teeter

Dawn Thilmany McFadden, Dept. of Agriculture and Resource Economics, CSU

Emily Thorn, Conscious Consumer Trust, CSU


14. Appendix B. Key Informant Interviews


15. Appendix C: Map of Potential Sites and Site Matrix

Property

Address OwnerLot Size

(acres)Lot Size Visibility Access Surface Parking Context/Adjacent Uses

Availability/

Cost

Reuse historic

buildingRevitalization impact

Farmers' Market

Capability

Open Door Mission

316 Jefferson

Street

Open Door Mission

House, Inc. 0.23 Too small

Very good

(Jefferson and

Linden) Full Turn No

Supportive mixed use district: RR tracks

to north, park to west, old warehouse

type structures to east TBD No High

Linden Street and RR

Park

Goodyear Building

221 E

Mountain Ave VANM, LLLP 0.45 Too small

Good (E Mountain

Frontage) RI/RO

Adjacent Parking

Garage

Parking garage, professional office

buildings (Bohemian, Home State Bank) ≥ $50/SF Potential

Area likely to be

revitalized by private

sector Off-site, challenging

Old Elks Lodge

140 E Oak

Street DDA 0.51 Too small

Fair (Oak &

Remington Street) Full Turn

Potential

adjacent City lot

City parking lot to south, small format

retail to north, lofts to west

Owned by

DDA No Strong retail area

Parking lot too small,

already rejected by

farmers

Whistle Clean Car

Wash

243 N College

Ave Paul Heffron 0.65 Too small

Very good (N

College) RI/RO No

City building to north, transit center to

west, 'Adult' accessories to south TBD No Medium None

Armadillo Restaurant 354 Walnut Walnut 354, LLC 0.79 Too small

Good (Mountain,

Walnut &

Chestnut) Full Turn

Parking Garage

acrross street

Professional office building to south,

small format retail surrounding ≥ $50/SF Potential

Area likely to be



Northern Colorado

Feeders

359 Linden

Street

Northern Colorado

Feeders Supply 1.04

On small

side, but

will work

Good (Linden and

Willow) Full Turn

Tight but w/

street parking

Supportive mixed use district:

redevelopment to south, older facilities

(ed. center, rest.) surrounding ≤ $25/SF Yes

High - help launch

River District, link to

Brewery District


Park

Former Steele's

Market

309 W

Mountain Ave

Bohemian Mountain,

LLC 1.72 Good

Good (W

Mountain

Frontage) RI/RO Sufficient

Church and school to north, tall office

building to south ≥ $30/SF No

Area likely to be



Wells Fargo/Sports

Authority

425 S. College

Ave Wells Fargo Bank 1.74 Good

Very good

(Mulberry &

College) Full Turn Sufficient

Wells Fargo to north, very busy

intersection ≥ $40/SF No

Area likely to be



Mawson Lumber Site

350 Linden

Street

The Fulver-Moore

Foundation/Mawson

Lumber 2.85 Good

Fair (Linden and

Lincoln) Full Turn Sufficient

Vacant land to north, RR to south,

property extends from Linden to Lincoln ≤ $25/SF Yes, Depot

High - help launch

River District, link to

Brewery District


Park

Block 23 Block 23 North College Lofts, LLC 3.67

Too big,

would need

to divide

Very good (College

& Mason Corridor) Full Turn Sufficient

Entire City block, lofts to west, City

building to south ≥ $50/SF Potential High On site

Trolley Depot

Cherry &

Howes City of Fort Collins

Fair (Cherry &

Howes) Full Turn Sufficient

Penny Flats loft project surrounding,

redev project to north ≤ $30/SF Yes High Adjacent streets


16. Appendix D: Demand Analysis

Sales Analysis - 2009Fort Collins, CO

Total

Population 55,092 96,670 175,793 327,555

Market categories (000s) Potential Sales (000s) Potential Sales (000s) Potential Sales (000s) Sales Total % of total

Baked goods $10,768 5.0% $538,400 $20,917 1.7% $348,600 $38,084 0.83% $317,400 $69,769 $1,204,400 12.6%

Dairy $13,228 4.0% $529,100 $25,170 1.3% $335,600 $46,020 0.67% $306,800 $84,418 $1,171,500 12.2%

Meat $14,023 5.0% $701,200 $27,534 1.7% $458,900 $50,551 0.83% $421,300 $92,108 $1,581,400 16.5%

Poultry $6,468 5.0% $323,400 $12,214 1.7% $203,600 $22,058 0.83% $183,800 $40,740 $710,800 7.4%

Prepared foods $6,441 4.0% $257,600 $11,866 1.3% $158,200 $21,284 0.67% $141,900 $39,591 $557,700 5.8%

Produce - fresh $11,185 5.0% $559,300 $21,450 1.7% $357,500 $39,014 0.83% $325,100 $71,649 $1,241,900 13.0%

Seafood - fresh $872 5.0% $43,600 $1,842 1.7% $30,700 $3,390 0.83% $28,300 $6,104 $102,600 1.1%

Specialty food $12,059 5.0% $603,000 $23,769 1.7% $396,200 $43,307 0.83% $360,900 $79,135 $1,360,100 14.2%

Sweets $4,927 3.0% $147,800 $10,025 1.0% $100,300 $18,472 0.50% $92,400 $33,424 $340,500 3.6%

Coffee/Tea $3,452 4.0% $138,100 $6,621 1.3% $88,300 $12,053 0.67% $80,400 $22,126 $306,800 3.2%

Wine/Beer $14,305 3.0% $429,200 $29,965 1.0% $299,700 $52,834 0.50% $264,200 $97,104 $993,100 10.4%

Total/Average/Total $97,728 4.4% $4,270,700 $191,373 1.5% $2,777,600 $347,067 0.73% $2,522,500 $636,168 $9,570,800 100.0%

Notes 1.50%

Claritas estimates for 2009 Consumer Spending Patterns

Assumes no growth in food expenditures when public market is in place

2.5 mile ring 2.5-6 m band 6-20 m band

Estimated sales $9,570,800

Tourist sales 20.0% $1,914,160

Total sales $11,484,960


17. Appendix E: Landmark Preservation Commission Comments

[Comments provided by the Landmark Preservation Commission to the Fort Collins DDA in

October 2010]

Marketplace Feasibility Study: Union Pacific Freight Depot, 350 Linden Street, and Northern

Colorado Feeder’s Supply, 359 Linden Street

1. Neither building is designated as a Fort Collins Landmark; both were surveyed in 1996

and determined, by the Landmark Preservation Commission, to be eligible for individual

designation as Landmarks.

2. Both were designated on the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 1978, as

an element of the Old Town Fort Collins Historic District; both also have been

determined by the Colorado Historical Society to be eligible for individual designation on

the National Register.

3. By virtue of their National Register status, both buildings are also automatically listed on

the Colorado Register of Historic Properties.

4. If the project involves any federal or state permitting (i.e., due to their proximity to active

railroads) or funding, the work will need to go through the Section 106 Review and

Compliance process, administered by the Colorado Historical Society.

5. Both properties (and the additions on the Feeder’s Supply Building) are more than 50

years old, and any alterations or demolition would need to go through the City’s

Demo/Alt Review Process (City Code 14-72).

6. According to the 1996 survey, the Feeder’s Supply Building’s present configuration is

apparently very similar to its 1917 layout, as depicted on the 1917 Sanborn map. Due to

the age, use, and high level of integrity, the rear additions are likely historically

significant. The last notable alteration occurred in 1925, when an original iron-clad

wagon shed was torn down and replaced with a one story structure built perpendicular to

the existing coal storage room.

7. Land Use Code (LUC) Section 3.4.7 would apply to any development affecting either

property, or on adjacent/nearby properties.

8. Additions and new construction have the potential to adversely affect the building’s

National Register status. New construction will need to be very carefully designed to be

sensitive to the historic structures and comply with LUC Section 3.4.7.

9. To minimize issues, an experienced historic preservation design firm, retaining a Historic

Architect meeting the federal standards, and approved by the Colorado Historical

Society, should be retained.

10. The two properties’ sites, including historically open spaces and storage areas, are

instrumental in consideration of historic integrity. Infill construction will need to be

designed to reflect the historic character of the open spaces and storage areas, while still

adapting these areas to new use.

11. The Landmark Preservation Commission should be involved in the preliminary site

planning and design considerations as soon as possible, even before a final site is

selected. The Commission should also have input into the selection of the design firm.

fort collins community marketplace feasibility · pdf filefort collins community marketplace...

Documents