A setback in the retail oasis

I would like to thank one of my readers, J.C., for reminding me to check today’s business section in the Rocky. Poor Thornton took a hit on a Northglenn story. The subject was the Mayor’s proposed retail development near the proposed theater. The Thornton City Council was attributed with the taking of a vote in an executive session. That, of course, is illegal. The City in the story is ours and our Council would not vote in executive session. But, this is a side issue to the content of the story.
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The development agreement with Opus Northwest/Goldberg Properties was terminated by the Council. The City Manager had to be tickled by the decision. I first heard from him that he was considering having the City develop the property a year ago last July. In the story he accurately states that the type of retail the development group was considering did not fit the “type” desired by the Mayor and majority of the Council.
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If you have been reading the Sentinel since the campaign on the recreation center project and or the flyers put out by the Mayor and Mayor Pro tem, you know that the Mayor and majority do not want a typical retail development. The desire to create a "destination" and an oasis from normal retail has been and remains their goal.
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The City has over $5.9 million tied up in the potential retail parcel of which $1.6 came from your Water Fund. It was been repeatedly called a safe and sound investment. Let’s hope that the retail oasis will not be a gigantic loss. We already know that a large portion of the property will produce no return on the investment for twenty years because of the one dollar a year land lease to the theater.