What Urban Renewal Authority does

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a municipal government entity — an instrumentality of the City of Fort Collins, Colorado — that eliminates blight by catalyzing private redevelopment projects that would not otherwise occur, accelerating investment timing, and enhancing project outcomes to conform with or exceed City comprehensive plan objectives. Operating under Colorado Urban Renewal Law, the URA deploys Tax Increment Financing (TIF) as its core mechanism: incremental property and/or sales tax revenues generated above a pre-redevelopment base are captured by the URA for up to 25 years to fund site remediation, public infrastructure, and developer gap financing. It serves three primary constituencies: (1) private developers facing financing gaps due to extraordinary site conditions; (2) the Fort Collins community benefiting from blight remediation and neighborhood revitalization; and (3) partner taxing entities (City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Poudre School District, Poudre River Public Library) that share in post-redevelopment tax revenue.

URA operates across four Tax Increment Districts in three plan areas — North College (2004), Prospect South (2011), Foothills (2013), and College & Drake (2020) — and has executed 15+ named redevelopment projects with disclosed total project values exceeding $140 million, including the $46.5 million Aspen Heights student housing project, the $40 million North College Marketplace anchored by King Soopers, and the $44 million Summit on College student housing. The portfolio spans real estate development (student housing, retail, mixed-use, theater), industrial, and tech/bioscience (Rocky Mountain Innosphere LEED-Gold incubator). Direct project participation by URA has ranged from approximately $100K to $8 million per project on a "but-for" basis.

The authority is governed by a Board of Commissioners composed of the Fort Collins City Council plus representatives from Larimer County, the Poudre School District, the Poudre River Public Library, and a mayoral appointee. Execution is led by a four-person executive staff (Executive Director Josh Birks, Redevelopment Manager Andy Smith, Program Coordinator Chris Sheafor, and Lead Specialist Susan Beck-Ferkiss) supported by outside counsel. Its go-to-market motion is event-driven: developers apply for TIF funding, URA conducts blight studies, runs County Impact Reports and Tax Entity Negotiations, and routes projects through Planning & Zoning before Board approval. Outreach occurs through public board meetings, community workshops, press releases, and the renewfortcollins.com website. Recent moves include the July 2025 direct acquisition of 1636 North College Avenue, signaling a shift beyond financing into direct property development.

Name

Urban Renewal Authority

Legal name

Urban Renewal Authority

Website

https://renewfortcollins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority is a municipal government entity that uses Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to fund private redevelopment projects in blighted areas, serving private developers, the local community, and partner taxing entities across four TIF districts in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Urban Renewal Financing

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (92512)

SIC

Non-Operating Establishments (9995)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Renewal, Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reuse (BPAIANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE), Land Administration & Cadastral Services (Public Land Records, Parcel Management) (BPAIANAH)

Keywords

• Tax increment financing
• Urban redevelopment
• Blight remediation
• Municipal financing
• Community investment plans

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tax Increment Financing (TIF): The URA utilizes tax increment financing to fill the gap between total redevelopment project costs and private financing capacity. The level of property/sales tax collected before redevelopment is used as a base. The difference between the base and new tax revenues generated by the redevelopment project (the 'increment') is allocated to the URA for up to 25 years to fund improvements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority is a municipal government authority that eliminates urban blight by catalyzing redevelopment projects through Tax Increment Financing (TIF). It captures incremental property and sales tax revenue generated within designated urban renewal plan areas and reinvests it for up to 25 years to fund infrastructure improvements and bridge financing gaps that make private market-rate redevelopment impractical. The URA coordinates with the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Poudre School District, and Poudre River Public Library to govern four TIF districts across three plan areas and finance qualifying developer-led projects.

Product overview

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority is a municipal government agency that eliminates blight by catalyzing urban redevelopment projects and accelerating investments through tax increment financing. Rather than offering software products, the URA provides a portfolio of real estate development projects and community investment plans. These include individual redevelopment sites (such as Aspen Heights student housing, Rocky Mountain Innosphere tech incubator, and Foothills Mall), community investment plans (North College and Prospect South), and urban renewal plans (Drake & College). Each project receives TIF funding to offset redevelopment costs and infrastructure improvements in blighted areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Program

Quantifiable outcome

• North College Marketplace projected to generate over $15 million in property tax income through 2029
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Economic Planning SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Conducted analysis of the North College plan area in 2018 to assess development potential and make recommendations on maximizing URA investment.
• Institute for the Built Environment (IBE)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnered with URA staff to conduct public workshops on how the URA could best invest in the North College community. IBE produced a report summarizing findings presented to the Board.
• The Family Center/La Familia (TFC/LF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnered with URA staff and IBE to conduct community engagement workshops for the North College Community Investment Plan.
• City of Fort CollinscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe URA operates as an instrumentality of the City of Fort Collins. City Council acts as the URA Board. The URA uses City resources and coordinates with various City departments for urban renewal activities.
• Larimer CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLarimer County is a taxing entity partner in the URA. The County provides a representative on the URA Board and receives tax increment benefits from redevelopment projects.
• Poudre School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoudre School District is a taxing entity partner represented on the URA Board and receives tax increment benefits from redevelopment projects.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Loveland Urban Renewal Authority: Neighboring Northern Colorado urban renewal authority also operating under Colorado Urban Renewal Law. Comparable mechanism but smaller scale and located in adjacent Larimer County region.

Direct peers

• Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA): Colorado's largest municipal urban renewal authority, also operating under Colorado Urban Renewal Law with TIF authority across multiple plan areas. Directly comparable in legal framework, governance model, and TIF mechanism to Fort Collins URA, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• Aurora Urban Renewal Authority: Municipal urban renewal authority in Aurora, Colorado, administering TIF districts and plan areas under the same Colorado Urban Renewal Law. Comparable structure, TIF mechanism, and blight-determination process to Fort Collins URA.
• Westminster Urban Renewal Authority: Colorado municipal urban renewal authority administering TIF districts for redevelopment. Comparable legal framework and operating model to Fort Collins URA.
• Boulder Urban Renewal Authority: Boulder's urban renewal authority managing TIF-funded redevelopment across designated plan areas under Colorado law. Directly comparable governance model and TIF financing approach, though Boulder has had more politically contested URA history.
• Lakewood Reinvestment Authority: Municipal reinvestment authority in Lakewood, Colorado administering TIF districts and urban renewal plans. Operates under the same Colorado Urban Renewal Law framework as Fort Collins URA.

Others

• Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA): Statewide Colorado financing authority that has partnered with Fort Collins URA on projects like Rocky Mountain Innosphere. Comparable in deploying gap financing for development, but operating at state level with broader mandate including affordable housing finance.
• Larimer County Economic Development: County-level partner and taxing entity for Fort Collins URA, involved in economic development and redevelopment coordination. Comparable in working on community development and blight remediation but with broader county-wide mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Renewal Authority