Greeley council reviews Cascadia West Greeley predevelopment deal, public sharply divided

City of Greeley staff presented a predevelopment services agreement and an interim financing plan for the proposed West Greeley “Cascadia” entertainment district at the April 15 Greeley City Council meeting, asking council to authorize predevelopment work and short-term borrowing while extensive public comment both praised and criticized the project.

The proposal under discussion would authorize a predevelopment services and financing agreement with the developer (identified in staff documents as Troco, Inc., doing business as the Water Valley Company) to advance design and permit work for a mixed-use entertainment district that city staff says could include an 8,600-seat arena, a three-sheet youth ice center, a roughly 350-room hotel and a roughly 100,000-square-foot indoor water park. Staff told council it is seeking authorization to issue interim certificates of participation (COPs) of up to $115 million to fund predevelopment costs and to adopt a reimbursement resolution that would allow project costs to be reimbursed later from permanent financing. Staff also described additional planned financings: development district bonds for site infrastructure (a general improvement district, or GID), and project revenue bonds backed by the arena/operator that staff and consultants described as the likely long-term takeout for the interim COPs.

Why it matters: The scale and proposed financing structure would obligate the city to underwrite early design, permitting and site work for a privately developed entertainment district and to use a mix of interim COPs, GID bonds and later project bonds backed by project revenues and other credit supports the presentation described. Council and the public treated the package as both an economic development opportunity and a potential long-term financial risk to taxpayers and city credit.

What staff proposed and what it would cost - Predevelopment scope: concept refinement, schematic and construction documents for the arena, ice center, hotel, water park and supporting…