A deactivated landfill in Castle Rock took a critical step toward becoming the town’s next major project site last week when the Town Council approved a public financing agreement that will support its redevelopment.
, is expected to bring 900,000 square feet in new construction to 65 acres northwest of the Interstate 25-Plum Creek Parkway interchange in the next seven to 10 years. Once completed, the $300 million effort is slated to include a 250-room, full-service hotel, 250,000 square feet or more of new retail space and around 480,000 square feet of offices.
The first phase of the project will be a $12 million remediation of the old landfill on the site, which has long been a barrier to its development. That task is just part of $65 million in public infrastructure improvements the developer and the site’s future tenants are expected to pay over the coming years. P3 came to Town Council last week to get final approval on a series of financial tools it says are necessary to make the project work. Despite concerns about how more retail development will fit in town, the Council eventually approved the finance agreement 5-2.
The agreement authorizes the specially formed Miller’s Landing Business Improvement District to sell tax-exempt bonds to finance the landfill and public improvements work. The special taxing district can then levy a 2.4 percent “public improvement fee” on retail transactions — essentially a sales tax — and collect a 50-mill levy on property on the site to help repay those bonds, according to town documents. It equates to a share back of 60 percent of the sales and 100 percent of the property tax generated from new uses there for a specified time. The 2.4 percent fee will expire after it generates $56 million, 25 years has passed, or the bonds are paid off, whichever comes first, according to the town.
The deal was struck through a joint effort of the town staff, P3 and
Before the vote, some Council members voiced concerns about the amount of retail the project will eventually bring. The agreement caps retails square footage there at 100,000 square feet until a hotel and convention space is built but then the total retail space could rise to 250,000 square feet. Dan Guimond, with the town’s contract , said while the town has deep needs for Class A office space and a hotel, the local retail market is saturated. And thatap before
Mark Neel, co-owner of Castle Rock Bike & Ski, urged the Council during public comment period to table the financial agreement so the deal could be reconsidered.
“Clearly the retail environment in this country is changing. Online sales are skyrocketing while brick-and-mortar stores are shuttering,” he said. “We don’t have to look far to see that. The space that Sports Authority was set to lease in the Promenade remains empty today in the ”
P3 plans to develop the land and build infrastructure before selling parcels to end users. Scott Springer, P3’s managing partner, told the Council last week that his firm will rely on real estate recruitment firms with national reach to attract top office and retail tenants. He said the goal is to “recruit office and retail clients from other markets, outside the region.”