I will have much more to say about this later today, but wanted to get the news out as soon as possible.
During this morning’s board meeting, Weld County Commissioners made a decision months in the making — to direct staff to finalize negotiations with the City of Greeley and Richmark to locate the new Weld County judicial center in downtown Greeley.
A resolution unanimously approved by all five commissioners, directed staff to finalize necessary agreements and documents to enable construction of a judicial center on what is called the West Bock (where the Methodist church is located) and to finalize all agreements and documents necessary to construct a new county administration building on what is called the Centennial Block (the current location of the Centennial Building).
Productive negotiations with the City of Greeley and Richmark have resulted in an option that not only works well for all entities but also produces the lowest estimated cost for Weld County taxpayers.
While the deal is not yet finalized, commissioners are hopeful the remaining items left to be negotiated will be completed very soon.
All three options presented to the commissioners today were close in projected cost (with $8 million difference), but the West Block downtown option, with an initial cost projection of approximately $490 million, allows the county to utilize land it already has to phase the project over time at the lowest projected cost to residents.
With direction given to staff to complete the deal, the county, which is currently in its 2026 budget process, will continue to explore options for funding this project utilizing dollars the county currently has set aside for future capital and infrastructure projects.
How We Got Here:
May 2023: Weld County hired M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc. to produce the county’s first-ever facilities master plan to take a full inventory and provide analysis of county building conditions, maintenance requirements, and growth needs.
October 2024: Gensler submitted the facilities master plan, which included needs for a new judicial center for court expansion and a new administration building.
December 2024: A change order was made to the Gensler contract to provide analysis on siting a judicial center in downtown Greeley, on county-owned land.
February 2025: Richmark Companies presented commissioners with options for land swaps between the City of Greeley, Richmark and the county, which could prove beneficial for all entities looking to expand their presence in downtown Greeley.
March 2025: Commissioners hired PCL Construction Services, Inc. and Jeff Darnell of Level5 Collaborative to conduct in-depth analysis of downtown locations and to negotiate with other downtown landowners including the City of Greeley, District 6 and Richmark.
April/May 2025: Board conducted four public listening sessions regarding the location of a new judicial center: downtown Greeley or on land owned by the county off of O St.
You can watch the recording of todays meeting HERE.
