FAQs
- Residential neighborhoods (Cascadia)
- Retail, dining and office space
- Community infrastructure and utilities
- A proposed entertainment district (“Catalyst”) that included:
- A multi-purpose arena
- Three sheets of ice
- A hotel and conference center
- An indoor waterpark
- Expanding entertainment and recreation amenities
- Supporting tourism and visitor activity
- Encouraging commercial and retail growth
- Diversifying sales tax generation
- Preparing infrastructure for future development in West Greeley
- Financial obligations and funding structures
- Zoning and infrastructure considerations
- Design and phasing
- General Improvement District (GID) structure
- Legal and contractual considerations
- Potential future scenarios and options
- Certificates of Participation (COPs)
- Future bond financing
- General Improvement District (GID) revenue
- Tourism-related revenue sources such as sales and lodging tax
- Whether the project could proceed as originally planned
- Project timing and approvals
- Future financing assumptions
- Overall project structure
- Is there enough demand from people for these projects?
- Can the main parts of the project make money and work well?
- Will this project bring benefits to the community while keeping the City’s finances safe?
What is the West Greeley project?
The West Greeley project is a long-term growth planning initiative intended to guide coordinated development, infrastructure, and economic investment within the city’s western growth boundary.
The broader concept included:
The project was originally proposed as part of a broader strategy to support economic development, tourism, recreation and long-term growth in West Greeley.
Why was this project proposed?
Greeley continues to grow, and the project was proposed as part of a long-term effort to help guide that growth in a thoughtful way while creating opportunities for jobs, housing, businesses, and recreation.
Project goals included:
The City also explored other development opportunities and concepts over time as part of broader growth and economic development planning efforts across downtown and on the east side of the city as well as transportation initiatives.
What is the West Greeley Citizen Oversight Committee?
The West Greeley Citizen Oversight Committee is a group of nine Greeley residents appointed by City Council following a public application and interview process.
The committee was created to provide additional transparency, public involvement and independent review as the City evaluates next steps for the project.
The committee is reviewing:
Committee meetings are open to the public and include opportunities for public comment. The committee will ultimately provide observations and recommendations to City Council as part of the broader decision-making process.
What was the project’s proposed financing structure?
The original financing structure relied on several components working together, including:
COPs were used to pay for early project work, including design, engineering, utility work and site preparation, with the expectation that future financing would repay those costs.
What are Certificates of Participation (COPs)?
COPs are how the City paid for pre-development work for the Catalyst project, such as design, engineering, utilities and site preparation, before long-term financing was in place. Investors provided money upfront, and the City agreed to repay them over time through annual lease payments. The City authorized $115 million in COPs and has drawn about $100 million. This is a binding obligation. The City must repay it whether or not the Catalyst project moves forward.
Why did the zoning repeal affect financing and bond ratings?
Large financing packages rely heavily on certainty and predictability.
When voters repealed the zoning ordinance, it introduced uncertainty around:
Because investors and rating agencies evaluate risk carefully, the repeal made the original financing timeline and structure more difficult to move forward under existing assumptions.
The City and Oversight Committee are now evaluating what options remain viable moving forward.
What studies were done for the West Greeley/Catalyst project, and what questions were they trying to answer?
The City hired experts to do a series of studies about the West Greeley Catalyst project. The project includes an arena, an ice center, a resort hotel and waterpark, and a mixed-use area around it. These studies were designed to answer three main questions:
Costs, Obligations, and Financing
- about 1,095 to 1,300 permanent jobs,
- about $4.8 million a year in new City sales tax revenue,
- about $19 million a year in visitor spending in the surrounding area, and
- about 1.8 million square feet of retail and office demand through 2045.
How much has the City spent on the Catalyst project so far?
As of summer 2026, nearly $100 million has been committed to the West Greeley area, including the Catalyst project. This covers feasibility studies, engineering and design, infrastructure work, site preparation, and forecasted capitalized interest. Most of it was funded through Certificates of Participation (COPs): $115 million was authorized, and about $100 million has been drawn. Many of the infrastructure improvements will benefit development in West Greeley in addition to the Cascadia and Catalyst parcels.
What does the City still owe if Catalyst doesn't move forward?
The City would still repay the COPs. A City repayment analysis estimates about $100 million repaid over 20 years, for a total of roughly $143 million to $165 million with interest. That is about $4 million to $7 million a year in the early years.
Those payments would come from existing City funds. That could mean less money for other priorities unless a new revenue source is identified.
What is a "moral obligation," and could the general fund end up paying?
A moral obligation means the City is not legally required to cover a revenue shortfall on project bonds. However, if it chose not to, Greeley's credit rating would likely suffer. That would make borrowing more expensive for every City department.
Because the consequences are serious, governments almost always honor moral obligations. That makes them real in practice, even though they are not legally required. Any such payment would have to be approved by City Council through the annual budget.
What is a General Improvement District (GID), and who pays for it?
A GID is a special taxing district covering only a defined area, not the whole city. Property owners inside the district pay an assessment that helps pay for public improvements that serve that area. Greeley residents outside the district do not pay it.
The West Greeley GID was expected to repay $35 million of early costs. That repayment is now deferred, and the district's estimated capacity is about $85 million.
Why were there so many studies? Was the City shopping for a favorable answer?
No single study can answer every question a project this size raises. Demand, operations, housing, retail, economic impact and financing each need a different kind of expert. The City also compared competing models on purpose, and in 2024 it chose to plan around the more conservative numbers. An outside critique, the Newmark review, is posted alongside the City's own studies.
What economic benefits do the studies project?
The independent studies project that the full West Greeley area would support:
Most of this spending would come from visitors, not Greeley residents. These figures describe the benefits if the project is built. They do not answer whether the financing works, which is covered separately above.
Why did work on the Boyd water line continue while the project was paused?
The Boyd line relocation serves growth on Greeley's west side, not only the Catalyst project. Stopping partway would have added cost and left the work unfinished. The line will continue to serve the area regardless of what happens with the Catalyst project.