CSU Board of Governors approves sale of Hughes land to Fort Collins for $12.5 million
Colorado State University's Board of Governors formally approved the sale of the former Hughes property to the city of Fort Collins for $12.5 million in its meeting Friday.
In a closed-door executive session, the board members discussed terms and conditions for the 161-acre property sale. The motion approved allows the sale to move forward based on those terms and for system Chancellor Tony Frank to negotiate and sign any necessary documents to process the sale. This approval was the next step in the memorandum of understanding and moves the university closer to the sale.
When the sale was initially announced back in August, CSU was supposed to finalize details with Cottonwood Land and Farms to secure an east Fort Collins property for affordable housing — what the university originally hoped to build on Hughes — before going forward with the sale of the land.
But the city announced on Nov. 15 that they were instead planning to move forward with an accelerated sale while CSU and Cottonwood continued work on the planned affordable housing site.
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At a Nov. 23 work session, Fort Collins City Council members discussed the sale and payment methods, favoring a hybrid financing approach that is expected to involve a $4 million cash payment, paid half-and-half from the city’s Natural Areas and General funds.
The city plans to finance another $11.5 million over 10 years using certificates of participation, a type of tax-exempt bond. The financing will also cover a city golf course irrigation project. The city plans to repay the financed portion using the Natural Areas and General funds. Staff noted during the work session that the exact split of the funding sources could change after the land use for the site is finalized.
City staff plan to hire a third-party consultant to oversee a public engagement process to determine how to use the land. That process would require less staff time and prevent the impression that the city is having undue influence on the process, according to council members. Staff expect the engagement process to last through 2022 and potentially into 2023.
City Natural Areas and Parks staff will temporarily manage the land if the purchase is finalized before the city finishes the public engagement process.
Potential land uses within the Public Open Lands category could include natural areas, recreation and returning the land to stewardship by the Indigenous population. PATHS, the group that got the Hughes proposal on the 2021 ballot, is advocating for most of the land to be preserved as a natural area. They also would like to see about 5 acres of the site leased to the Northern Colorado Wildlife Center.
The Intertribal Alliance for Hughes Land Back is advocating for the city to return the land to Indigenous people following the sale.
City spokesperson Amanda King previously told the Coloradoan that the city "would absolutely engage our Native American and Indigenous community members in that public engagement process."
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Molly Bohannon covers education for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Jacy Marmaduke covers government accountability for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @jacymarmaduke. Support their work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.