Commercial Locksmith in Fort Collins, CO

Old Town's landmark buildings

The Old Town Landmark District, designated by Ordinance No. 170 in 1979, covers the city's early commercial core. Its landmarks include the Linden Hotel, the Northern Hotel and the Avery Block, and Old Town has been on the National Register since 1978. In an older commercial block, the storefront, a rear service door and a street door to upper floors often carry different hardware, so say which doors the job covers.

Properties in the district follow the adopted Old Town Historic District Design Standards, and owners of locally designated properties must complete landmark design review for most exterior projects under Chapter 14 of the Municipal Code. For lock work, that splits a job in two:

• Interior work, such as office doors, storage rooms, back-of-house doors and a master key system.
• Storefront and street-facing entries, such as a replacement door or an access keypad visible from the sidewalk, which can need exterior design review. Check with the city's historic preservation staff before ordering hardware for these.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Keys, staff and tenant turnover

Every departure, new hire and change of tenant moves keys around. A few habits help:

• Keep a key log. Record who holds which key, collect keys on a person's last day, and rekey the cylinders any unreturned key opens.
• Plan a master key system. One master key can open every door while each staff key opens only its own areas, so one department can be rekeyed without changing every lock.
• Ask at move-in. A business taking over a suite should ask whether the locks were changed and who else holds keys, including the landlord and building maintenance.

What to include for a commercial job

Name the building or block, say whether it sits in the Old Town Landmark District, the door types involved (glass storefront, steel, wood), the number of doors and keys, and whether you own or lease the space. Rekeying works inside the existing cylinder, so it leaves a street-facing door looking as it did; the cylinders a former employee held fall under lock rekeying. The commercial locksmith page describes the service, and the Fort Collins page notes Old Town's design standards too.