By now, everyone understands how important it is to keep Woodward Inc. in Fort Collins for job-retention reasons. But the location of a new headquarters for Woodward could spell redevelopment for a still-struggling area of downtown and deliver a boost to the local real estate market.

The Link-N-Greens golf course is located near the intersection of Mulberry and Lemay, just a short trip up Riverside Avenue from the gateway to the North College area, a section of town long in need of redevelopment.

Efforts have been made, and are ongoing, to bring the North College area up to speed with the rest of downtown and the rest of Fort Collins as a whole, but these things take time.

To help matters along, the section of College Avenue north of Old Town has been designated as an Urban Renewal Area by the city, meaning that redevelopment efforts in the area can make use of tax-increment financing, a powerful incentive.

King Soopers Marketplace opened in June 2011 with hopes of serving as a catalyst for the area, and the store has done well, but bringing Woodward and its possible 1,000 employees closer to the area is an altogether different — and bigger — matter.

Employers like Woodward are