Downtown Greeley could on the cusp of a major transformation after the city council reviewed a rough draft for the new Downtown Civic Campus on Tuesday.
The civic campus would consist of new government buildings and business, addressing the needs of three governmental entities: the city of Greeley, Greeley-Evans School District 6 and Weld County, which all need new and updated buildings.
Weld County, which operates the 19th Judicial District just south of Lincoln Park, will need more room for new judges than is available at the current complex. Weld is set to get at least two new judges by the end of 2025 and an additional two by the end of 2026.
The county has been debating whether to keep its court operations in downtown Greeley or move them and the $2.5 million they generate in revenue for downtown businesses.
In a bid to save money, the county was considering moving the court operations closer to the county’s other administrative buildings on O Street. On Monday, the county commissioners approved the facilities director hiring two firms to examine and calculate the full costs of both locations and have those estimates back in May.
“The loss of any of these three entities will be impactful to downtown,” Mayor John Gates said. “I was born and raised here, and I don’t want to see that happen.”
The civic campus plan will proceed no matter where the county ends up building its new courthouse, Councilwoman Melissa McDonald confirmed with city staff. The District 6 board is already on board with the plan, providing their approval in a release on March 13.
The master plan, as presented during the city council work session, features a new city hall, a District 6 administration building, a boutique hotel, private offices, ground-floor retail spaces and a new parking garage, which the city has already offered $10 million to construct.
The project is a collaborative effort with the private development team of Vertikal and Richmark Properties, which is responsible for much of downtown Greeley’s recent development. In addition to new construction and the redevelopment of some areas, the plan also looks to improve infrastructure, addressing lingering flood damage.
“I think this project is exactly what our downtown needs,” Councilman Tommy Butler said.
The civic campus master plan would bring more than 200 new residences the downtown area and 1,200 jobs to be retained and created.
The project is estimated to cost $573 million, according to Vertikal representative Walker Thrash. It’s estimated, however, that construction workers will generate $3.5 million in downtown retail spending every year until 2028, when the first phase of the project is estimated to be completed.
“I really love the project,” Gates said. “I think that if you look at downtown 10 years ago versus now and attribute most of that success and development to Richmark, that this is just simply the cherry on top.
“Love the project, and the most important thing to me is that city hall will be downtown where it belongs.”
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