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Greeley staff, consultant outline economic-development strategic-plan timeline and early findings
Summary
City economic-development staff and consultants presented an update on the city’s strategic plan work, saying stakeholder outreach is ongoing, completion is targeted for late March, and initial findings show population growth, a younger workforce, lagging educational attainment and opportunities for industry diversification.
City economic development staff and a consultant team gave an informational update Jan. 7 on a strategic plan intended to guide Greeley’s economic growth and diversification over the next three to five years.
John Hall, the city’s economic development director, told the council the plan will identify priorities and implementation steps to guide investments and programs. He said staff are about four months behind the original schedule because of project‑work demands and a desire for more robust outreach; staff now target completion in late March. The work includes data analysis, stakeholder interviews, two public workshops, and an online business survey that has been translated into Spanish.
Consultant Sam Eisenbeiser of Barry Dunn summarized findings from the quantitative analysis and early outreach. The analysis shows continued population growth in Greeley and Weld County, a younger and more diverse population than the state average, and housing that remains more affordable than nearby markets though prices and rents are increasing. The workforce has lower educational attainment relative to the region: about 27% of the city’s workforce has a bachelor’s degree or higher, a factor the consultants said could limit attraction of high‑wage technical and professional employers.
The presentation outlined industry competitiveness with the regional economy (Weld County) as the frame for sector analysis. Leading local/regional subsectors include animal production and food manufacturing; mature but contracting sectors include oil and gas extraction and certain crop production; growth and emerging sectors cited include fabricated metal manufacturing, regional retail, chemical manufacturing and transportation equipment manufacturing. Consultants described the commercial real‑estate market as “evolving” with some softening indicators but overall stability; multifamily permitting peaked in 2022 at over 1,600 units.
City staff emphasized the strategic plan will recommend prioritized actions and an implementation schedule with estimated resources. Councillors asked about data currency; staff said some state employment data sources were disrupted after Colorado revised its unemployment insurance reporting system and that staff rely on alternate and subscription sources as needed. Council members also urged that outreach include recently opened small businesses and prospective entrepreneurs, and asked consultants to provide a list of stakeholders contacted and a post‑outreach summary of participating companies.
Ending
Staff said outreach would continue through January, that council members would be offered individual briefings, and that a final plan with measurable metrics and prioritized actions should be ready for council review in late March.
