The Weld County commissioners met with residents at the Greeley Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday to discuss whether the future of the Weld County Justice Center and its 500 employees will stay downtown or move to O Street with the other county buildings.
With the county continuing to grow and its population estimated to rise 53% by 2044, Weld County needs to make room for several new judges over the coming years. Next year, the county is expected to need room for two additional judges, and the current judicial center in downtown Greeley only has room for one additional judge.
The commissioners met with Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning firm, on Feb. 19 following the completion of a 20-year master facilities plan that provided a thorough on-site review of all the county’s buildings. Gensler informed the county that, given the state of the judicial center and other factors, it would cost an estimated $463 million in building costs alone, $163 million more than rebuilding the center 2 miles north on O Street.
“This is one of those monumental decisions we’ll have to make,” County Commissioner Chairwoman Perry Buck said.
On Monday, Greeley-based Richmark Development offered an alternative solution. Richmark approached the commissioners with an estimate between $209.5 million and $234.9 million, nearly $200 million less than what Gensler had given to the county.
According to Richmark, the price disparity is due to the previous estimate not considering the proper zoning. In commercial zoning areas, there is a maximum building height. However, downtown Greeley has a general improvement overlay, which negates that maximum and could allow for a cheaper, vertical design instead of a larger, sprawling one that would require the purchase of additional land.
“We believe it’s prudent for the people of Weld County that we look into all of these options of what this would look like,” County Commissioner Kevin Ross said.
The city of Greeley and downtown Greeley have been deeply invested in ensuring the center remains downtown. If it were to move north, that would mean pulling 500 employees out of downtown, as well as the traffic generated by the courts, which fuel downtown businesses with about $2.5 million per year with their purchases and dining dollars.
The city has recently offered $10 million to construct a new parking garage as part of the campus — $420,302 of that coming directly from donations from downtown businesses. An anonymous donor has also pledged $1 million, and the Downtown Development Authority offered $1 million.
The downtown campus would bring together Greeley-Evans School District 6 and the city of Greeley, which all need to construct new buildings this year. The school district needs a new administration building, and the city wants to build a new city hall. Richmark is proposing that all three of these governmental entities build together downtown.
“I’ve heard people say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but to have three governmental agencies in the same area facing the same problem is a once-in-a-multiple-lifetime opportunity,” Richmark President of Real Estate Development and Operations Adam Fraiser said.
Residents in attendance supported the downtown campus proposition but were curious about what would happen to businesses already in the area and whether they would have to shut down. Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Bianca Fisher reassured residents that existing businesses would be prioritized to ensure they would be taken care of if the county decides to proceed in this direction.
The county has scheduled three informational meetings regarding the judicial center and encourages residents to attend. The meetings are as follows:
6-8 p.m. Monday, March 10 at the Weld County Administration Building, 1150 O St., Greeley 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 at the Southwest Service Center, 4209 Weld County Road 24 1/2, Longmont 6-8 p.m. Monday, March 24 at the Weld County Administration BuildingRoss emphasized during the informational meeting on Friday that the county has not decided on the issue yet and is still waiting for additional information and feedback from county residents before making one. Ross said they anticipate finalizing their decision before June.
— BizWest contributed to this report.
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