Greeley's $1.1B Catalyst project faces halt after voters repeal zoning - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Greeley's $1.1B Catalyst project faces halt after voters repeal zoning
Miles Blumhardt- A Greeley ballot measure to repeal zoning for the $1.1 billion Catalyst/Cascadia project is likely to pass.
- Passage of the measure reverts the property's zoning, delaying or halting the development for at least a year.
- The fate of the Colorado Eagles hockey team's planned move to a new arena within the project is now uncertain.
The future of Greeley's ambitious $1.1 billion Catalyst/Cascadia project appears to have taken a big hit after a ballot measure to repeal the project's zoning is likely to pass, which will delay or halt the public-private entertainment and mixed-use development project.
Passage of Ballot Issue 1A was leading 54% to 46% with 11,342 yes votes and 9,506 no votes at 10 p.m. Feb. 24, the city's final unofficial update of the special election and with the vast majority of votes counted.
Greeley Demands Better, the group supporting passage of Ballot Issue 1A, claimed victory for what it called "free speech and community advocacy" and a decisive win for fiscal responsibility and transparency in a news release Feb. 24.
"This is a historic win for every Greeley family that refused to let city leaders mortgage our future on a billion-dollar gamble," Brandon Wark, co-chair of Greeley Demands Better, stated in the news release. "I’m proud to be a Greeley resident and in doing my part to build awareness of this risky deal."
Greeley Mayor Dale Hall told KFKA radio the morning of Feb. 25 the city will have to take a look at its options now that the voters have spoken.
"That’s the question of the day and it’ll be the question for the next few days of what is next?" Hall said. "We will have to come back and look at all the different options and possibilities and go from there. I don’t think it (the ballot issue) was understood as well as it could have been but it is what it is and we have to deal with it.”
A "no" vote of the measure upheld a previous ordinance of planned unit development zoning approved by Greeley City Council for the property located north of U.S. Highway 34 and east of West County Road 17, where construction started in September.
A "yes" vote on the measure would repeal the PUD zoning ordinance and revert portions of the property to holding agriculture zoning, limiting development of the property until future zoning actions are approved.
If the measure officially passes, Greeley City Council could not vote to rezone the property for planned unit development for one year from any date of a repeal.
The project is a public-private partnership between the city of Greeley and Windsor-based developer Martin Lind, CEO of Water Valley Company, who owns the project's 834 acres.
It includes a 100-acre entertainment district, including a planned new arena for the Colorado Eagles, hotel and water park, which the city would manage. The rest of the 734 acres is planned for surrounding commercial and residential community.
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Lind signed a 40-year lease in September for the Eagles to move from Blue Arena at The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland 4 miles to the east to the new arena for the AHL's 2028-29 season. The future of that move now is up in the air.
Hall said in the KFKA interview the timetable for the project was predicated on the Eagles needing to move in time for the 2028-29 season.
"If there was more lead time, I completely agree that would have slowed the process down," Hall said, noting City Council will look at next steps at a March 3 meeting.
The Coloradoan left a message for Lind the night of Feb. 24 and again the morning of Feb. 25 but did not receive a response by the time this story was published.
He previously told the Coloradoan passage of Ballot Issue 1A would be "a parade of horribles," noting time and money already spent on the project by the city of Greeley and his company. He also previously told the Coloradoan the project will ultimately land somewhere in Northern Colorado.
Lind led a similar project with Larimer County at The Ranch before that fell through in 2024.
"The mushroom cloud of sales tax that comes out of a project like this will end up in a zip code in Northern Colorado," Lind said.
Companies owned by Lind filed a lawsuit Feb. 23, suing the city of Greeley in an effort to nullify the city’s special election, claiming "irreparable harm," according to the Greeley Tribune.
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
| Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7005 tcla...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org |