Public Statement on Property Acquisition Negotiations

The City of Golden is releasing this public statement to inform the Golden community and general public as to the City’s progress on negotiations related to land acquisition in east downtown Golden, commonly known as Goosetown.

On April 11, 2019, City Council approved a purchase agreement with MillerCoors USA for the acquisition of approximately 7.2 acres at 311 10th Street in downtown Golden. The agreed upon purchase price for the property is $12.25 million.

Since that time, the City has been conducting due diligence evaluations and inspections of the property for the potential future use of a civic and cultural center for the community. It has been anticipated that the current 160,000 square foot office building on the site would be renovated to become the home of Golden city government as well as that of other public and not-for-profit cultural entities, including the Golden History Museum. To that end, in June, City Council approved Ordinance 2112, which authorized the City to issue Certificates of Participation not to exceed $24 million to fund the acquisition and renovation costs.

In early July, the City received final inspection reports from its consultants that revealed two issues related to the planned transaction. First, to clear the title for transfer of the property, the City needs to resolve permanent easements currently held by Coors on the property, which, if left unresolved, would limit the City’s future use of the property. Second, the City received an inspection report from its consultant team that indicated a number of maintenance and design issues with the existing office building that will increase the overall cost to renovate the building for use as a future civic and cultural center. As currently anticipated, these improvements and renovations would exceed the $24 million approved by City Council in June.

City staff, pursuant to City Council guidance and direction, continues to negotiate these final elements of the deal with MillerCoors USA. The City has until August 9, 2019, to resolve these remaining items. Should the City not be able to resolve these items prior to that deadline, the purchase agreement will expire.

If the final elements of the transaction are able to be successfully negotiated, it is anticipated that in order to achieve the vision of creating a vibrant civic and cultural center, significantly more dollars would be necessary beyond $24 million. As such, the City would launch an extensive community

engagement effort to gather input from the community on determining the size and scope of the project, whether renovating the existing building or building a new structure is more appropriate, how much the community is comfortable in spending on this project, and what sources of revenue might be necessary to pay for the costs of the project. Additionally, community input will be essential on determining future uses of the remaining City-owned property in the Clear Creek corridor.

City Council has held a number of executive sessions in recent weeks to discuss specific points of negotiation of the deal. As Council continues to scrutinize and evaluate the final terms of this transaction, it is committed to making a decision on the property acquisition that considers the City’s short and long-term financial interests as well as the future civic and cultural needs of our community. This opportunity continues to represent a bold and visionary prospect for the City’s future and the input of our citizens will ultimately be important on what a future civic and cultural center could look like, should the acquisition of this property be successful.

As new information is available, it will be posted here at GuidingGolden.com. If members of the public have initial comments they would like to share with City Council on this matter, they can be posted here on GuidingGolden.com under the "Tell Us What You Think" tab, or emailed directly to CityCouncil@cityofgolden.net.