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What's the Downtown GID?#

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GID’s are originated by petition of a majority of registered electors of a city who own real property in the proposed district.  GID’s have been used to construct public improvements in established neighborhoods and to build and operate parking districts and have been used to build public infrastructure on land intended for commercial or residential development.

A municipality’s governing body (for Fort Collins, the City Council) sits as ex-officio board of directors for the district. The City of Fort Collins Municipal Code, Chapter 22, authorizes the specific administrative rules and requirements for General Improvement Districts.

The City of Fort Collins Downtown GID is a tax district formed by property owners in 1976 for the purpose of funding parking, pedestrian, and street beautification improvements. See the map in the Resources section of this page for the specific Downtown GID boundaries.

The GID receives revenues primarily from a mill levy set by City Council members acting as the Governing Board. The mill levy has remained at 4.94 mils since 1992. The GID receives other revenues from a share of vehicle registration tax, and interest on the fund balance.

The GID is managed by City staff, and City Council sits as the governing Board. Examples of past projects include College Avenue corner plazas, medians and street trees; Oak Street Plaza with its fountains; Linden Street streetscape; recent sidewalk replacements; and on a smaller scale, the sidewalk bike dismount signs and decals.

View Downtown GID Map

General Improvement District (GID) 2023 and 2024 Year in Review#

2023 and 2024 continued to be successful years for the GID. Along with our regular contributions to the holiday lights, we made significant sidewalk repairs and replacements, addressing safety concerns as well as visual improvements. Oak Street Plaza finished a multiyear project and had needed drainage installed. There were also several forestry projects completed including tree and grate replacements.

View the 2023-2024 Annual Report

Photo of ramp that was improved by the GID

Photo of sidewalk that was improved by GID

GID 2023 Projects#

  • Paving and Sidewalks – $75,000 for customary upgrades and repair and maintenance to pavers and sidewalks in the GID. This includes:
    • Review of Oak Street between Mason St. and Oak St. Plaza (sidewalk and forestry repairs) – the GID team did a walk about on Oak Street in May 2022. Work anticipated in 2023.
    • Review of south side of Jefferson Street between Pine and Linden (see pictures) – the GID team did a walk about on Jefferson Street in September 2022 after a business owner expressed concerns about the condition of the sidewalk and the tree elements. Work anticipated in 2023.
  • Parks and Forestry – $50,000 for priority projects including tree replacement on medians along College Ave., new waterfall/water feature at the North and South medians at College and Mountain Ave, and pressure washing the median half walls to maintain structural integrity. Includes the purchase of café tables and chairs for Linden Street (February 2023)
  • Downtown Holiday Lights – $90,000 for downtown holiday lights (cost shared with DDA).
  • Capital Improvement Plan update – the GID will present to the Board a new capital improvement plan in the first half or 2023. The GID has worked with City departments, the DDA and business stakeholders to put together the priority capital projects for the next five years.