| LovelandPolitics.com |
| Council To Vote April 21 to Sack I-25/U.S. 34 Upgrade McWhinney Target - More Public Money, Not Jobs |
Loveland - April 13, 2009 (updated April 14, 2009)
Last February the Denver Post reported on efforts by banks to renegotiate loans with developers behind on
their payments to avoid owning the development. The story reported, "Developer Chad McWhinney is
renegotiating the terms of a loan for construction of one of the two office buildings under construction
at his Centerra development in Loveland." Concerned that the building was only 40% pre-leased, the
lender was seeking more equity and assurances that McWhinney had the resources necessary to finish the
project.
Like so many distressed homeowners, McWhinney was seeking to renegotiate the terms of their loan while
the project wasn't turning-out as they had hoped. Unlike so many distressed homeowners, McWhinney
operates a taxpayer funded Metro District where $12 million has been put aside to make required
improvements to the I-25 and US 34 interchange per an agreement with the City of Loveland.
This website broke the story on March 25 that a cash strapped McWhinney organization would attempt a
raid on the $12 million dollars set aside by McWhinney's Centerra Metro District to make interim safety
improvements to the I-25 and U.S. 34 interchange. McWhinney was required to fund the project as part of
its Master Financing Agreement (MFA) signed with Loveland in 2004. By late March the developer had
already met with most of Loveland's City Council in secret and was confident they could get the votes
necessary to amend their agreement with the city thus accessing the $12 million.
McWhinney had the City of Loveland prepare the necessary amendments to their agreement and post the
agenda item on its April 7 agenda. Now their only issue was how to sell the idea to the local media and the
public.
The Spin
After considerable internal discussions with friendly members of Loveland's City Council and management, it
was decided that jobs would need to be the theme of their public relations campaign to explain why
McWhinney is going to renege on its now 5 year-old promise to use the public debt they were given to repair
the I-25 and U.S. 34 interchange.
In order to draw attention away from the obvious fact that McWhinney's new commercial properties
compete with other local commercial properties, a mystery outside "big employer" is said to be interested in
coming to Loveland only if McWhinney gets the highway improvement money to improve its own
properties. McWhinney claimed to be on the verge of bringing a Fortune 500 agricultural research company
to the area but the reality is something different.
Propagating Propaganda
The Loveland Reporter-Herald ran a story propagating the news spin that allowing McWhinney to abandon
their obligations to improve the dangerous I-25/U.S. 34 interchange somehow will translate into more jobs
for Loveland. The newspaper's story appeared the day after the council postponed its decision and was
titled "Developer Touts New Jobs" that began, "Developer Chad McWhinney revealed what he would like to
see from the money freed from restriction..." The article also paraphrased McWhinney's comments to the
council as, "it could help land a 'Fortune 500' company that is looking to move its headquarters to one of two
sites, with Loveland being one of those in competition."
What McWhinney failed to disclose is that the competing site is located on the Southeast corner of I-25 and
U.S. 34 interchange - just a stone's throw from where McWhinney would like them to locate. In other words,
Loveland should give-up its long awaited improvements to the I-25 and U.S. 34 interchange so that
McWhinney can be subsidized to locate the company on their property versus a competitor who is just
around the corner. Because the two properties are on either side of the boundary between Loveland and
Johnstown, McWhinney coins the disingenuous argument that if their development is not further subsidized
the jobs will not come to Loveland.
While technically accurate, the argument is clearly deceptive since both locations are in Larimer County and
will provide identical economic impacts to the region including jobs for qualified Loveland residents. The
company is not being lured to the area by McWhinney as implied but instead has been in discussions with
the Northern Colorado Economic Development Council (NCEDC) regarding various options in Larimer
County. In addition, the company already employs a large number of Larimer County residents who would
simply be consolidated into the new location thus many of the jobs are already here.
Who Is McWhinney's "Fortune 500" Mystery Employer?
The mystery employer McWhinney is claiming they can bring to Loveland only after the I-25/U.S. 34 safety
improvements are de funded was described as a "Fortune 500 agricultural research firm." In fact, it is a
consolidation of two companies already located in Greeley and Loveland that is the subsidiary of a much
larger Canadian firm.
LovelandPolitics has learned the mystery employer is really UAP (United Agricultural Products) which
changed its name to Crop Production Services (CPS) on January 1, 2009. According to a 2007 article in the
Northern Colorado Business Report "UAP, which has about 250 employees in Greeley and Loveland and
about 3,400 worldwide, is the largest independent distributor of agricultural and non-crop inputs in the United
States and Canada."
In May of 2008, Agrium Inc. of Alberta Canada (NYSE stock symbol AGU) acquired 98.5% of UAP's stock that
was previously traded on the NASDAQ. Agrium Inc. also acquired a number of ADM (Archer Daniels Midland
Company) sites throughout the Midwest. This may have led to confusion by some on Loveland City Manager
Don William's staff regarding which company McWhinney was eluding to in their private conversations with
city officials.
UAP considered three sites in Northern Colorado in late 2008 while working with the NCEDC but narrowed
their search down the two sites near I-25 just inside and outside Loveland's city boundary last January.
UAP's name was changed from UAP to CPS when the former company merged several smaller entities which
were consolidated into CPS. The only subsidiary CPS didn't rename is Loveland Products Inc. Below is an
excerpt from UAP's website information that likely provides an important clue as to why Loveland is their
intended destination already;
"In addition to consolidating under one name, the CPS logo is also changing. In the coming months, our
websites will reflect the one company name, logo and website under Crop Production Services. There
will be no change to the Loveland Products Inc. (LPI) name."
Does McWhinney Really Put Loveland First?
What makes the story so intriguing is that McWhinney has also promoted a similar story involving mystery
tenants and employers to the Broomfield, Colorado City Council. Attracting business that can bring jobs to
their 915 acres commercial development in Broomfield Colorado (located on I-25 next to E470 interchange)
called Anthem is apparently a top priority. McWhinney is developing 17.2 million square feet of new
commercial and retail space in Broomfield and is being equally coy with the local media about jobs they will
be bringing to the area. According to a Broomfield Enterprise story that was published last September, Troy
McWhinney (Chad's brother and business partner) is negotiating with an employer to bring jobs into
Broomfield. Troy was quoted as saying, "I really am serious when I say this is the best property in the
western U.S. for what we want to do."
The same publication also reported, "When [Broomfield] Councilman Brian Kenyon asked if McWhinney had
tenants lined up for the site, McWhinney said the company is in confidential negotiations with potential
clients. He offered to brief council on the parties involved, but wants to keep the information out of the
media."
Ultimate Leverage
McWhinney has attempted to link the money they want to take from the I-25 and U.S. 34 as being necessary
to sign-up a new tenant who will bring jobs to the city but are unwilling to disclose the details. Loveland's
City Council has postponed the vote for amending the MFA from their April 7 to April 21 meeting.
By keeping all the details secret the McWhinneys can maintain ultimate leverage over the city in
negotiations. If they sign the agreement for a new tenant before April 21 (CPS is scheduled to decide by
April 16) then their argument that a Council vote transferring $12 million in public monies to McWhinney
will entice CPS to come to Loveland has no merit.
Councilwoman Carol Johnson lectured Loveland residents at the April 7 council meeting that in an economic
crisis jobs take precedence over transportation projects. What she failed to disclose were her previous
attempts to obtain a job with McWhinney while also serving on the city council. Besides Johnson's obvious
pandering to a potential employer, there are a number of reasons why the jobs vs. transportation safety
argument is disingenuous.
1. McWhinney is claiming to have "reimbursable expenses" for the Metro District. This means they want
money from the $12 million set aside put into their own pocket to use as they see fit and not transferred to
any "jobs" fund.
2. While the public argument proposes transferring much of the $ 12 million for the I-25 / U.S. 34
interchange towards developing light industrial areas in Loveland, the proposed amendment does not. The
amendment proposed by McWhinney to be voted on by Loveland's City Council simply removes the
requirement in the near-term that McWhinney fund the interim safety improvements to the interchange. It
adds nothing to the agreement.
3. McWhinney has made similar commitments and promises to their Anthem project in Broomfield,
Colorado not to mention their development of the Garden Grove side of Harbour Blvd. in Orange County,
California. While the NCEDC works for one region exclusively, McWhinney's motives and loyalties are
spread across the multiple states and regions where they own commercial properties. Unfortunately, the
NCEDC cannot easily prevent McWhinney, an active participant in NCEDC confidential activities, from
steering leads McWhinney obtains through the NCEDC towards their projects in Broomfield, Colorado or
Garden Grove, California.
According to sources inside the NCEDC, CPS will make their decision on where to re-locate by April 16,
2009. Five days later on April 21, the Loveland City Council is scheduled to vote on de funding the I-25 / U.S.
34 interchange safety improvements with the excuse McWhinney needs the funds to incentivize the decision
by CPS on where to locate.
Last February the Denver Post reported on efforts by banks to renegotiate loans with developers behind on
their payments to avoid owning the development. The story reported, "Developer Chad McWhinney is
renegotiating the terms of a loan for construction of one of the two office buildings under construction
at his Centerra development in Loveland." Concerned that the building was only 40% pre-leased, the
lender was seeking more equity and assurances that McWhinney had the resources necessary to finish the
project.
Like so many distressed homeowners, McWhinney was seeking to renegotiate the terms of their loan while
the project wasn't turning-out as they had hoped. Unlike so many distressed homeowners, McWhinney
operates a taxpayer funded Metro District where $12 million has been put aside to make required
improvements to the I-25 and US 34 interchange per an agreement with the City of Loveland.
This website broke the story on March 25 that a cash strapped McWhinney organization would attempt a
raid on the $12 million dollars set aside by McWhinney's Centerra Metro District to make interim safety
improvements to the I-25 and U.S. 34 interchange. McWhinney was required to fund the project as part of
its Master Financing Agreement (MFA) signed with Loveland in 2004. By late March the developer had
already met with most of Loveland's City Council in secret and was confident they could get the votes
necessary to amend their agreement with the city thus accessing the $12 million.
McWhinney had the City of Loveland prepare the necessary amendments to their agreement and post the
agenda item on its April 7 agenda. Now their only issue was how to sell the idea to the local media and the
public.
The Spin
After considerable internal discussions with friendly members of Loveland's City Council and management, it
was decided that jobs would need to be the theme of their public relations campaign to explain why
McWhinney is going to renege on its now 5 year-old promise to use the public debt they were given to repair
the I-25 and U.S. 34 interchange.
In order to draw attention away from the obvious fact that McWhinney's new commercial properties
compete with other local commercial properties, a mystery outside "big employer" is said to be interested in
coming to Loveland only if McWhinney gets the highway improvement money to improve its own
properties. McWhinney claimed to be on the verge of bringing a Fortune 500 agricultural research company
to the area but the reality is something different.
Propagating Propaganda
The Loveland Reporter-Herald ran a story propagating the news spin that allowing McWhinney to abandon
their obligations to improve the dangerous I-25/U.S. 34 interchange somehow will translate into more jobs
for Loveland. The newspaper's story appeared the day after the council postponed its decision and was
titled "Developer Touts New Jobs" that began, "Developer Chad McWhinney revealed what he would like to
see from the money freed from restriction..." The article also paraphrased McWhinney's comments to the
council as, "it could help land a 'Fortune 500' company that is looking to move its headquarters to one of two
sites, with Loveland being one of those in competition."
What McWhinney failed to disclose is that the competing site is located on the Southeast corner of I-25 and
U.S. 34 interchange - just a stone's throw from where McWhinney would like them to locate. In other words,
Loveland should give-up its long awaited improvements to the I-25 and U.S. 34 interchange so that
McWhinney can be subsidized to locate the company on their property versus a competitor who is just
around the corner. Because the two properties are on either side of the boundary between Loveland and
Johnstown, McWhinney coins the disingenuous argument that if their development is not further subsidized
the jobs will not come to Loveland.
While technically accurate, the argument is clearly deceptive since both locations are in Larimer County and
will provide identical economic impacts to the region including jobs for qualified Loveland residents. The
company is not being lured to the area by McWhinney as implied but instead has been in discussions with
the Northern Colorado Economic Development Council (NCEDC) regarding various options in Larimer
County. In addition, the company already employs a large number of Larimer County residents who would
simply be consolidated into the new location thus many of the jobs are already here.
Who Is McWhinney's "Fortune 500" Mystery Employer?
The mystery employer McWhinney is claiming they can bring to Loveland only after the I-25/U.S. 34 safety
improvements are de funded was described as a "Fortune 500 agricultural research firm." In fact, it is a
consolidation of two companies already located in Greeley and Loveland that is the subsidiary of a much
larger Canadian firm.
LovelandPolitics has learned the mystery employer is really UAP (United Agricultural Products) which
changed its name to Crop Production Services (CPS) on January 1, 2009. According to a 2007 article in the
Northern Colorado Business Report "UAP, which has about 250 employees in Greeley and Loveland and
about 3,400 worldwide, is the largest independent distributor of agricultural and non-crop inputs in the United
States and Canada."
In May of 2008, Agrium Inc. of Alberta Canada (NYSE stock symbol AGU) acquired 98.5% of UAP's stock that
was previously traded on the NASDAQ. Agrium Inc. also acquired a number of ADM (Archer Daniels Midland
Company) sites throughout the Midwest. This may have led to confusion by some on Loveland City Manager
Don William's staff regarding which company McWhinney was eluding to in their private conversations with
city officials.
UAP considered three sites in Northern Colorado in late 2008 while working with the NCEDC but narrowed
their search down the two sites near I-25 just inside and outside Loveland's city boundary last January.
UAP's name was changed from UAP to CPS when the former company merged several smaller entities which
were consolidated into CPS. The only subsidiary CPS didn't rename is Loveland Products Inc. Below is an
excerpt from UAP's website information that likely provides an important clue as to why Loveland is their
intended destination already;
"In addition to consolidating under one name, the CPS logo is also changing. In the coming months, our
websites will reflect the one company name, logo and website under Crop Production Services. There
will be no change to the Loveland Products Inc. (LPI) name."
Does McWhinney Really Put Loveland First?
What makes the story so intriguing is that McWhinney has also promoted a similar story involving mystery
tenants and employers to the Broomfield, Colorado City Council. Attracting business that can bring jobs to
their 915 acres commercial development in Broomfield Colorado (located on I-25 next to E470 interchange)
called Anthem is apparently a top priority. McWhinney is developing 17.2 million square feet of new
commercial and retail space in Broomfield and is being equally coy with the local media about jobs they will
be bringing to the area. According to a Broomfield Enterprise story that was published last September, Troy
McWhinney (Chad's brother and business partner) is negotiating with an employer to bring jobs into
Broomfield. Troy was quoted as saying, "I really am serious when I say this is the best property in the
western U.S. for what we want to do."
The same publication also reported, "When [Broomfield] Councilman Brian Kenyon asked if McWhinney had
tenants lined up for the site, McWhinney said the company is in confidential negotiations with potential
clients. He offered to brief council on the parties involved, but wants to keep the information out of the
media."
Ultimate Leverage
McWhinney has attempted to link the money they want to take from the I-25 and U.S. 34 as being necessary
to sign-up a new tenant who will bring jobs to the city but are unwilling to disclose the details. Loveland's
City Council has postponed the vote for amending the MFA from their April 7 to April 21 meeting.
By keeping all the details secret the McWhinneys can maintain ultimate leverage over the city in
negotiations. If they sign the agreement for a new tenant before April 21 (CPS is scheduled to decide by
April 16) then their argument that a Council vote transferring $12 million in public monies to McWhinney
will entice CPS to come to Loveland has no merit.
Councilwoman Carol Johnson lectured Loveland residents at the April 7 council meeting that in an economic
crisis jobs take precedence over transportation projects. What she failed to disclose were her previous
attempts to obtain a job with McWhinney while also serving on the city council. Besides Johnson's obvious
pandering to a potential employer, there are a number of reasons why the jobs vs. transportation safety
argument is disingenuous.
1. McWhinney is claiming to have "reimbursable expenses" for the Metro District. This means they want
money from the $12 million set aside put into their own pocket to use as they see fit and not transferred to
any "jobs" fund.
2. While the public argument proposes transferring much of the $ 12 million for the I-25 / U.S. 34
interchange towards developing light industrial areas in Loveland, the proposed amendment does not. The
amendment proposed by McWhinney to be voted on by Loveland's City Council simply removes the
requirement in the near-term that McWhinney fund the interim safety improvements to the interchange. It
adds nothing to the agreement.
3. McWhinney has made similar commitments and promises to their Anthem project in Broomfield,
Colorado not to mention their development of the Garden Grove side of Harbour Blvd. in Orange County,
California. While the NCEDC works for one region exclusively, McWhinney's motives and loyalties are
spread across the multiple states and regions where they own commercial properties. Unfortunately, the
NCEDC cannot easily prevent McWhinney, an active participant in NCEDC confidential activities, from
steering leads McWhinney obtains through the NCEDC towards their projects in Broomfield, Colorado or
Garden Grove, California.
According to sources inside the NCEDC, CPS will make their decision on where to re-locate by April 16,
2009. Five days later on April 21, the Loveland City Council is scheduled to vote on de funding the I-25 / U.S.
34 interchange safety improvements with the excuse McWhinney needs the funds to incentivize the decision
by CPS on where to locate.
| "I really am serious when I say this is the best property in the western U.S. for what we want to do." Troy McWhinney - Sept. 2008 Describing McWhinney's promise to fill over 900 acres they acquired for commercial development in Broomfield's Anthem project. Does this make Centerra's unoccupied retail and industrial spaces second best? Will the money they save by not funding improvements to the I-25/US 34 go towards projects in Broomfield? |
| The "International West" Resort area of Garden Grove California where McWhinney proposes bring new jobs through their developments in exchange for city incentives and financing |
