Erie presents I‑25 Gateway update: $30.6M sewer buildout, URA financing and Hines land contract in progress
Loading...
Summary
Planning and public works staff updated council on the 1,200‑acre I‑25 Erie Gateway vision, identified roughly $30.6 million in sanitary infrastructure needs (lift station and trunk line), outlined a phased URA/TIF approach that could yield up to $180 million over 25 years, and said a draft land contract with Hines and a PD are moving toward Planning Commission and council consideration.
Town Planning & Development Director Sarah Romela and Public Works staff briefed the board on the I‑25 Erie Gateway during a March 18 study session, updating council on ownership, infrastructure needs, financing strategies and next procedural steps.
Romela summarized the corridor footprint as about 1,200 acres and said the town owns approximately 255 acres on the town’s southern portion while about 600 acres on the north end are held by Reeder/CTG. She noted privately owned parcels in the southwest are in Weld County and have been approached about annexation but many owners elected to wait.
On infrastructure, Public Works consultant and staff described sanitary sewer planning that includes three primary corridors and a recommended lift station. Staff said consultant analysis favored a lift station over a 40–50‑foot deep gravity sewer because of long‑term maintenance and access challenges. "Comparing long term maintenance costs...they recommended that the deep sewer would be significantly more challenging long term to maintain than a lift station," a staff presenter said. The full build‑out estimate cited for the trunk line and lift station was about $30,600,000; staff said portions of that program are already in the town’s five‑year capital plan and that sanitary enterprise funds are expected to absorb the cost, with potential supplemental add‑on fees for benefiting properties (one figure cited was roughly $1,200 per unit as a surcharge for projects benefiting from the new trunk line).
On transportation, staff noted the town has a grant‑funded interchange study to evaluate a potential Weld County Road 10 interchange but cautioned that CDOT has expressed resistance to new interchanges in that spacing; transportation staff said the study aims to show whether future network costs justify a different spacing approach to influence CDOT. Councilors raised federal spacing and greenhouse‑gas policy constraints that may limit CDOT capacity additions and emphasized pursuing transit‑oriented alternatives where feasible.
Financing the work is centered on phased Urban Renewal Authority (URA) use and tax‑increment financing. Julian Jacqueline (economic development) explained phase‑1 URA adoption in August 2024 was designed to capture early increment from Summerfield and other nearby development to seed infrastructure investments; staff said negotiated revenue‑sharing agreements with nine taxing entities could make up to $180 million available over a 25‑year TIF life if development occurs as projected. Staff cautioned that TIF only generates revenue if development materializes and that prematurely activating TIF plan areas risks reducing the period of capture.
On development partnerships, staff said Hines was selected through an RFQ process and that the town signed a non‑public LOI with terms including phased conveyance of the 255 town‑owned acres, pricing tied to land‑use categories, a minimum 20% affordable housing requirement across the project consistent with town code definitions, and an anticipated land‑contract draft now under negotiation; staff expected a land contract to come to council for consideration in mid‑summer. Romela said the town’s PD (planned development) application will go to Planning Commission in April and to council in May for the town‑owned property.
Council and staff identified next steps: finalize infrastructure designs and cost estimates, continue revenue‑sharing and URA phasing work, complete PD and land contract negotiations, and return to council with the draft agreement and funding scenarios.
