Fort Collins Now
June 24, 2008, Tim Maddocks

Hair combed back, sunglasses on, hands on the wheel, Eric Nichols eased his Mercedes Benz through a right hand turn on to Mason Street from Harmony Road. “Here we are,” Nichols said, nodding toward the railroad tracks running parallel west of the street. “And this thing will be zipping right along” What Nichols, a commercial real estate broker with Realtec, was talking about is the future of the Mason Corridor. The train tracks he alluded to have a 100 foot right-of-way running alongside, and in the next few years, rapid-pace, energy efficient buses will run parallel of College Avenue from Harmony Road to Cherry Street downtown. The bus system is just part of the grand plan for the corridor that not only will drive transportation in the city for decades to come, but development—both residential and commerical—as well. The Federal Transportation Authority approved a grant for the Fort Collins' rapid transit system in December, which will provide 80 percent of the $74 million project. And while it won’t be until 2011 that the bus service starts its engines, the Fort Collins development community isn't waiting. ...

http://www.fortcollinsnow.com/article/20080624/NEWS/351563848