Greeley restaurant owner Brian Seifried had more to celebrate Tuesday than just National Chicken Wing Day.
Seifried, who owns multiple Wing Shack locations in Northern Colorado, also considered the day worthy of celebration because of an important decision by Weld County. The county commissioners a day earlier voted to keep county judicial operations in downtown Greeley.
The verdict was equally important to local government officials and downtown business owners such as Seifried, who also owns Luna’s Tacos & Tequila on 9th Street. Seifried was a proponent of the judicial center staying downtown as part of the area’s continued development and revitalization.
“With my investments in Luna’s and Sammy’s, and my love for Greeley and its character and soul, I think it’s a day where we can all take a deep breath and celebrate that the cultural core of the community will remain vibrant and regain its vibrancy,” Seifried said.
“It would’ve been a huge kick in the stomach to take the core out of downtown Greeley,” he continued. “I was shocked it was even contemplated.”
The unanimous decision among the five-person county board wrapped up a 26-month process including community-wide evaluation and discussion among those in the county, the city and local businesses.
The county considered relocating the judicial center to O Street based on costs. This option was met with opposition because of the economic impact on the downtown, which has deep ties to the history of the city and remains a subject of constant debate over its future and direction.
Members of the Richardson family, owners of the Richmark Companies in Greeley, earlier this year presented the commissioners with a plan for land swaps among the county, the city and Greeley-Evans School District 6 that could be an effective solution to maintaining a downtown workforce.
In the end, the commissioners chose to stay downtown with the West Block option for an initial projected cost of $490 million.
The West Block project will entail building a new judicial center on the west side of 10th Avenue in the current location of the First United Methodist Church, 917 10th St. The plan also calls for a construction of a new administration building on what’s known as the Centennial Block — the current location of the Centennial Building within the judicial complex.
Weld County public information officer Jennifer Finch said in an email late Tuesday afternoon that First United Methodist Church would be demolished to allow for construction of the judicial center based on the commissioners’ decision and the selected plan.
Finch said the church is one of the parties with whom the county is in negotiations to finalize the decision. The church is aware of this scenario, and a pastor from the church spoke in favor of the project and the location, Finch added.
A representative from the church did not reply Tuesday afternoon to an inquiry from the Greeley Tribune.
First United Methodist Church Greeley, 917 10th Ave. in Greeley, in a March 2024 photo. (Trevor Reid/Editor)Downtown business owner Bob Hutson estimated he was among 75 community members who attended the Monday meeting.
Hutson and his wife, Aimee, own Aunt Helen’s Coffee House on 8th Avenue. They previously operated an Aunt Helen’s express location on 9th Avenue with Points West Bank, at the corner of 10th Street in the former Woody’s Newsstand location — right across 9th Avenue from the current judicial center.
The express Aunt Helen’s location closed last year, Bob Hutson said.
Like Seifried, Hutson celebrated the commissioners’ decision.
“Congratulations are in order,” Hutson said. “There was a lot of clapping with the results of the voting.”
University of Northern Colorado President Andy Feinstein, left, and Greeley Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Bianca Fisher, center, celebrated the Weld County commissioners' decision to keep the judicial center in downtown Greeley at a meeting Monday morning at the county Administration Building, 1150 O St. (Courtesy/Weld County Government)University of Northern Colorado President Andy Feinstein, who is starting his eighth year as president, called the decision “one of the greatest days in Greeley’s history.” He also attended the meeting in person.
“This is a massive transformation of the downtown, and it’s not just the work that went into the decision of the county commissioners,” Feinstein said. “I believe what will fall in step with this is the commitment of downtown Greeley and the city in creating the synergy — not only on the government perspective and the work on the private side, but the commercial side.
“It’s going to be a complete reimagining of the downtown, and it will not only benefit the citizens of Greeley, but it will have an impact on the quality of life of UNC students, faculty and staff.”
Feinstein said he attended the meeting because of his involvement with the city of Greeley and a belief in university leaders supporting their home community and its growth. He’s on the boards of the Greeley Downtown Development Authority and the Greeley Area Chamber of Commerce.
Hutson was pleased with the commissioners and the process they followed in reaching the decision. Since May 2023, and the start of the study to look into a county facilities master plan for the first time, Weld County hired different consulting firms to analyze the options for a judicial center.
Hutson said he and Aimee had a lot of conversations with others about what the county might decide and what might happen downtown. He estimated a move to O Street might have pulled about 30% of the workforce population out of Greeley along with those who come downtown because of the courthouse and related operations.
“We were uneasy and not sure how things were going to swing,” Hutson said. “We were assured by the commissioners through the process that they were doing their due diligence. I think the commissioners were true to their word.
“It’s nice to see the political process play out and the community was heard. They made a smart and responsible decision for the community.”
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