FoCo in 15 Minutes | Train Crash, Mountain Lion Alert, CSU Sign Bill & Fort Collins Growth Slows

Welcome to Fort Collins Lifestyles, your weekly insider look at life, real estate, and community across Northern Colorado.

This week in Fort Collins & Northern Colorado:
🚆 Train Strikes Vehicle in Old Town — A train hit an unoccupied car on the tracks near Old Town Fort Collins on Jan. 20, shutting down key intersections along North College, North Mason, Cherry Street, and Vine Drive for several hours before traffic fully cleared. No injuries were reported.
🐾 Horsetooth Mountain Lion Closure — Horsetooth Mountain Open Space temporarily closed trailheads after a hiker reported an aggressive mountain lion encounter. Officials note winter conditions push lions to lower elevations, increasing sightings this time of year.
🎣 Bass Pro Shops Loveland Nears Opening — Bass Pro is hiring roughly 180 employees ahead of its first Northern Colorado location near I-25 and Crossroads Blvd. The 129,000-sq-ft store is expected to open in 2026, with a hiring event scheduled Feb. 3–4.
🎓 Bill Would Force CSU to Follow City Codes — State Sen. Cathy Kipp plans legislation requiring CSU to comply with local sign and noise ordinances when impacts extend off campus, a move sparked by neighborhood complaints and debated concerns over state-land authority and economic impact.
🎶 Old Lyric Site Finally Redeveloping — Construction is underway at 300 E. Mountain Ave. on a two-story mixed-use expansion tied to the Armory music venue, reviving a long-vacant Old Town lot once home to the Lyric theater.
✈️ 7 New DIA Routes Announced for 2026 — Denver International Airport adds nonstop flights to destinations including Santa Rosa, Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Chattanooga, Bangor, and more beginning spring through summer 2026.

• Quarter-cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax formally appropriated for 2026–2035, continuing voter-approved transportation projects
• Early allocations signal priorities for affordable housing capital and a community bike park
• Work session focused on long-term Fort Collins MSA trends ahead of Council’s strategic retreat
• Net migration into the Fort Collins MSA is down 26% from pre-2020 levels
• Greeley projected to surpass Fort Collins in population by 2026, with a potential 100,000-person gap by 2050
• Housing affordability pressures now show Fort Collins rents and prices exceeding Denver in recent data
• Slower growth raises questions around school enrollment, workforce sustainability, city revenues, and infrastructure planning

📲 Thinking about buying, selling, or investing in Northern Colorado?
Let’s connect — I help clients make confident, well-informed real estate decisions with both data and boots-on-the-ground insight.

Patrick Soukup
📞 Call/Text: 970-893-3533
📧 Email: patrick@soukuprealestate.com
🌐 Website: soukuprealestate.com