First Fort Collins Common Consumption Area Goes into Effect Late April – The Exchange

First Fort Collins Common Consumption Area Goes into Effect Late April

Visitors of The Exchange in Old Town can spend time in the public plaza with alcoholic beverages in hand by late April. The Liquor Licensing Authority granted The Exchange a common consumption permit on April 4th after the Fort Collins City Council approved the establishment of an entertainment district on March 5th. Developer, owner, and property manager Brinkman will implement security measures to police the open container area when gates are open from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. daily. The first day of common consumption will be late April.

The rules and regulations of the common consumption area require all alcoholic beverages be in disposable containers that showcase the business names of the location that served the drink. Beverage servers will verify ages of patrons and provide wristbands to individuals 21 years of age and older with a check mark for each drink served. During the operating hours of the common consumption area, each business is required to have a server complete hourly checks of the area to ensure only patrons with wristbands are consuming alcoholic beverages.

The Exchange redevelopment includes a mix of boutique fitness, indoor miniature golf, restaurant, retail, office and brewery space. The tenants represent a blend of local businesses and successful concepts from elsewhere in Colorado. Tenants include artisan donuts by FoCo DoCo, urban winery Infinite Monkey Theorem, street tacos by Vatos Tacos and Tequila, floral pop-up shop by bloom, and a new chicken and waffles concept by Chick’nCone. Old Town Churn Ice Cream by Little Man Ice Cream out of Denver anchors the outdoor plaza with a 30-foot-tall churn as their storefront.

The 23,840-square foot building on the north end of the development is home to existing tenants CopperMuse Distillery, FoCo Da Vinci Body, Club Pilates, and Norris Design. The Pizza Press, a build-your-own-pizza and craft beer restaurant occupies the development’s south-facing building, along with Crooked Stave Brewery.

On top of the diverse tenants, there’s a free book library, self-service bike repair station, fire pits, and public artwork embedded throughout the outdoor areas. With so much activity happening within the individual businesses that surround the central plaza, it seems fitting to allow patrons to enjoy food and drinks from their place of choice and convene in the central plaza. The long-term vision for the plaza is to have year-round family-friendly events.

Developer and owner Kevin Brinkman described the entertainment district and common consumption area as an avenue to “increase the vibrancy of this block and extend Old Town further north.” Tenants of The Exchange spoke in favor of the initiative during council meetings leading up to the Liquor Licensing hearing noting that this would allow for more of a family-friendly atmosphere in the plaza.

The Exchange marks the 10th entertainment district in the state of Colorado and the first in Fort Collins.