2011 Community ‘Good News’

  • The community’s business incubator – Rocky Mountain Innosphere – opened new building
  • Hewlett-Packard made a major investment in 50,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art server efficiency research facility
  • OtterBox named ‘Great Place to Work’ by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • CSU College of Business MBA program made Princeton Review list
  • Fort Collins rated 15th in nation for economic vibrancy among college towns in The Atlantic
  • Vestas received 56 turbine order from a Michigan project
  • CSU Engines Lab prepares for $16M expansion
  • Fort Collins ranked as ‘America’s SafestDrivingCity’ by Allstate Insurance
  • CSU welcomed largest ever freshman class – 4,504
  • Poudre Valley Health System’s CEO Rulon Stacey listed among the ‘100 Most Influential People in Healthcare’ by Modern Healthcare Magazine
  • OtterBox ranked 70th on Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies
  • OtterBox opened new headquarters building on Meldrum next to Fort Collins Area Chamber
  • CSU Engines Lab was listed as one of the nation’s top 25 academic laboratories by Popular Science Magazine
  • CSU grew research spending by 10 percent to over $330.8 million
  • National Science Foundation ranked CSU second in nation among public research universities without a medical school
  • Woodward acquired Integral Drive Systems, a manufacturer of innovative power electronic systems used predominately in utility-scale wind turbines and photovoltaic plants
  • Odell Brewing expanded to Idaho, the 10th state where its products are distributed
  • Bohemian Foundation launched Bridges Out of Poverty
  • Advanced Energy landed $20million order from centrotherm photovoltaics firm
  • Fort Collins won the 2011 Governor’s Arts Award
  • Fort Collins-Loveland area ranked 3rd in nation in Healthways Wellbeing Index based on a survey of six categories including life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities
  • CSU College of Business entrepreneurship faculty ranked third in nation as the most prolific contributors to academic research publications according to a study done by the M.J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University
  • Aerospace and Clean Energy Manufacturing and InnovationCenter (ACEPark) moved forward in Loveland
  • Amy Prieto, CSU chemistry professor and founder of Prieto Battery was named the 2011 ExxonMobil Sold State Chemistry Faculty Fellow. Prieto Battery is developing methods for making nanoscale materials that have applications in solar cells, lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen storage
  • VanDyne SuperTurbo, a Woodward spinoff that specializes in the design, development and production of engine turbo chargers for the automotive and heavy-equipment markets moved its headquarters to Old Town Fort Collins from the CSU engines lab
  • Tolmar, a Fort Collins-based pharmaceutical company, expanded its research and development facilities by 21,000 sq. ft.
  • In-Situ, a Fort Collins-based firm that designs, manufactures, distributes, installs and rents equipment for monitoring the quality and quantity of groundwater and surface water, bought Waterra UK
  • Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked 3rd in nation on Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities index, which ranks 200 large and 179 small U.S. metro areas according to the most important economic criteria related to growth and prosperity: jobs, wages, and technology performance
  • Colorado ranked 3rd in nation for investment in technology and science assets, according to Milken Institute
  • Fort Collins-Loveland has 2nd lowest unemployment rate in Colorado at 6.1 percent in October as compared to 7.7 and 8.5 for the state and nation, respectively
  • Limagrain, a French seed company, expanded in Fort Collins. In 2010 it selected Fort Collins as its North American headquarters. The firm specializes in field, vegetable and cereal seeds development
  • CSU College of Engineering built a new $69 million Engineering II building that is 122,000 square feet and has classrooms, design studios, teaching laboratories and a 130-person auditorium
  • PVHS is installing a $3.1million linear accelerator for radiation oncology treatment at its Harmony Medical Campus
  • U.S. News & World Report cited Fort Collins as one of the Top 10 Cities Adopting Smart Grid Technology
  • Wired Magazine listed Fort Collins as an ‘Emerging Epicenter’ for innovation and high-tech job growth in green technology citing VanDyne SuperTurbo, Woodward, and the CSU Engines Lab
  • Colorado General Assembly passes legislation to extend ‘angel investor tax credit’ statute
  • CSU reenergized it athletic program by hiring a new Athletic Director and football head coach
  • LincolnCenter reopened after an $8 million renovation added 17,000 square feet, modernized conference rooms, improved the grounds and plaza, expanded the lobby spaces and added restrooms among other improvements
  • Improvements started on North College Avenue to improve the sidewalks, drainage, streetscapes, etc.
  • Work was largely completed on the new Fort CollinsMuseum & DiscoveryScienceCenter at Cherry and NorthCollege
  • The Fort Collins Area Chamber’s Moving Fort Collins Forward! campaign raised $335,000 in new revenue for improved and expanded member and community services

12-20-11