FoCo in 15 Minutes | $1.5B Apple Investment, Bass Pro Opens, Drone Hub & New Midtown Restaurant

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This is Living in Fort Collins, the podcast, and we are talking about things that have happened in Fort Collins, things that are happening, things to do. No city council meeting this week for basically, I think, a third week straight. They'll get going again here this week, so we'll have that rundown for you next week. But the Broadcom and Apple deal, massive for Fort Collins, $30 billion, 1.5 of which is going to be centered in Fort Collins. An expansion of its micro semiconductor chips, FBAR filters, I mean, this is seriously huge for Fort Collins. You talk about two of the largest companies in the world and them investing $1.5 billion into the future of Fort Collins.

HP, Hewlett-Packard, been around since 1978 at that Harmony and Ziegler corridor. We've got Nvidia, Intel, AMD there, HPE, HP, Inc. I mean, that corridor, and we still have about 2,000 acres left yet to be developed in the area. I think if you're a homeowner in Fort Collins, you got to be absolutely thrilled. This just solidifies the foundation that is Fort Collins and employment. Huge news that was announced July 8th. Not going to be bringing tons of new jobs, but average salary at Broadcom is $108,000, employing nearly 1,600 people. So it's a massive employer in the area, and we're going to see great construction jobs, long-term sales tax base increases.

So there's not enough to talk highly about what this means to Fort Collins and really the region in general. Speaking about the region, Bass Pro near I-25 and US-34 by the Ranch Sports Complex and Blue Arena going to be opening up July 22nd. 130,000 square foot Bass Pro Shop. Construction took 19 months. There's going to be a 3,000 gallon trout stream and a 12,000 gallon aquarium with 100 plus fish. Now this project, the city is estimating, is going to bring in half a million visitors a year, $40 million in annual sales, and will employ at least 150 jobs with an average salary of $54,000. We're going to have a grand opening on July 22nd at 5 p.m. with live music, ribbon cutting ceremony, and 15% off most sales that night go to local conservation groups.

Exciting for people in the area, outdoorsmen, fishermen, Bass Pro Shops, I mean it literally looks like a gateway. They build this huge arch tower archway into the store. It's massive, great location, Crossroads Boulevard and I-25, that entire area along with the I-25 corridor all the way up to US-34. Super exciting. BizWest unveils its inaugural startups to watch and 10 of them came from northern Colorado. Fort Collins honorees include CSU Atlas, a $160 million laser research facility, a clean energy microgrid company called Husk Power Systems, and HR tech firm, Journey Franchising. Pretty exciting.

My buddy is, well, acquaintance buddy, whatever you want to call him, the founder of Journey, so excited to see him absolutely kick butt. Loveland landed three space tech companies, SIS Lunar Industries and Opteras, plus an ad tech firm, Impello Biosciences. They are going to be celebrated July 23rd at the Forge Event Center in Loveland. The Caldwell opening up at the Buxton Hotel in Fort Collins. I'm not sure if you guys have driven by it, seen it. You know, honestly, when I first heard about it, I was like, oh, that's kind of cool. And then when I started seeing the renovations, I was like, well, that sucks.

You know, it just looks like they're painting. But the reality is is apparently the Buxton Hotel, which I believe was it a Best Western or whatever. I think it was a Best Western, took over Best Western, completely renovating it. I've had a few different friends involved in some form or fashion with the project or walkthroughs and getting kind of behind the scenes tours. And they've said nothing but great things about this project and really nothing but great things about the operator and what she is doing and what her plans are. So CSU kind of seeing a really cool hotel right next to it for people to visit.

But the Buxton is going to be a Southern-inspired restaurant and bar. And it celebrated its grand opening just this past Monday. And there's going to be kind of a Southern hospitality, oven-roasted chicken biscuits with hot honey butter, sounds amazing, brisket melts, and whiskey lacquered half chicken. It's going to be open daily for breakfast, happy hour, and dinner. Plus, weekend brunch. It seats 98 inside and about 120 with the pool terrace. They're pouring craft beers from Colorado and are going to be partnering with Mishawaka for live music. Something cool to be doing right by CSU. Speaking about CSU, they're transforming the Chrisman Airfield into a drone research hub.

I love it. I fly a drone myself. I do have my series part, whatever, 107 I think it is, license. So I am a pilot, y'all. I don't know if you knew that. But the reality is drones, drone technology, the use of drones, I really think we are on the front end of this. And so CSU putting some major investment dollars and time into this is going to be pretty fantastic for the future. They're turning a nearly 400 acre historic Chrisman Airfield in northwest Fort Collins into a major hub for drone research, education, and industry collaboration. They have got a newly paved runway, upgraded lighting are already in place, expanded testing lanes, and specialized facilities for sensors and subsurface imaging are on the way.

This is one of Colorado's longest continuously operating, dating back to 1920s airfields. It's played a key role in wildfire responses, search and rescue, federal research missions, and it's approaching its 100th anniversary. Speaking about 100th anniversaries, not necessarily, but really we are coming to the end of an era for the Larimer County Landfill beginning their transition August 3rd. So in about three weeks, Larimer County is going to be opening up its new $40 million north landfill near Wellington, and it's going to be starting to wind down its current landfill south of Fort Collins after 60 years of operation.

Starting August 3rd, residents near Fort Collins and Loveland, we can take our ways to the Central Diversion and Transfer Station, I believe located right by the old landfill, and they will take all the trash and they will haul it to the new Wellington landfill. Commercial haulers and Wellington area residents are going to go directly to the new landfill. This new 300-acre landfill is built to last roughly 100 years and was funded with $50 million the county saved over two decades. No new resident taxes are required. Now, some things to do this week. Besides steering clear of the sun, I got absolutely roasted this last weekend on Horsetooth.

We were out there paddle boarding. I usually am pretty good about putting on sunscreen, but my legs were up. I had two kids, one in the front, one in the back of the boat, so I had to kind of keep my legs up and exposed, and they got absolutely torched. But the reservoir was packed. In fact, they were at capacity. We got lucky. They let us in. They let like eight extra cars in right when we pulled up. So it's that time of the year. Reservoirs are going to be busy, especially with Boyd Lake being closed to boating. Horsetooth is going to see a lot of overflow, as is Carter Lake. The rivers, they're going to be busy.

Pools. But some other things to do this week. Tomorrow, Wednesday, movie night on the course playing at the Sandlot at Collindale Golf Course. I think that's pretty cool. They're going to be playing on the golf course at the driving range. Foco Fondo gravel ride and festival, Thursday through Sunday. That's a pretty cool deal. One of my buddies is going to be doing that. I think there's like an entry level, medium level, and like advanced course. But New Belgium, partnership, and Fat Tire. I mean, I just think this is really pretty fun. It's a festival, a three-day festival. So go enjoy that. Support people who are doing that ride.

Downtown summer sales this Thursday through Sunday, downtown Fort Collins. We've got a four-day shopping tradition dating all the way back to the 1970s. So you're going to walk around downtown. You're going to see kind of sidewalk sales. There's going to be things out on the sidewalks that you can see, shop, deals. If you're looking for something to do, definitely something that could be fun. The Brickies Creation Festival, kind of inspired by Lego, free and family friendly. A building competition, exhibits, games, photo booths, art stations, soapbox derby. And this is perfect for the kids and family to go look at, enjoy some Lego building extravaganza.

I think Fort Collins missed the mark here personally. We should have, whether it be at the Exchange or downtown, an old town Fort Collins, should have had some watch parties for USA. I think, you know, I talked with somebody the other day who's relocating here from Los Angeles. He went to high school here in Fort Collins and I said something about being kind of a small city. He's like, well, I don't know if Fort Collins is a small city anymore. I'm like, well, you know, it's not a small town. It's not a town anymore and it's not a large city. So maybe it's kind of right in the middle. But if we're gonna portray us being that way, we should be doing some pretty cool events like this.

Windsor is gonna have a World Cup finals watch party at the Boardwalk Park in Windsor. And I'm like, man, that is just awesome. I get that USA is not in it. We've got a semi-final today and tomorrow, but good job Windsor. I think Fort Collins missed the boat there. Now, if you're looking for something fun to do just about 45 minutes away, Cheyenne Frontier Days starts this Friday and goes through the following Sunday, July 17th through July 26th. The daddy of them all, the world's largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration kicks off this weekend. So I think I'm gonna talk to my family. We're probably gonna go there for one day of carnival, you know, carnival food, watch some rodeo, probably not gonna stay for a concert, but just 45 minutes away.

It's nice that the Greeley Stampede just ended. So you know, always something to do here in the area. This is Living in Fort Collins, the podcast. I appreciate you guys listening. Make sure to leave a rating and review and we will catch you guys next week.