Plans for the downtown area have not surfaced recently. But what is interesting is the division in which downtown is perceived by its stakeholders.
When speaking to local business owners, I was given a variety of answers to the question, “Is downtown Greeley a good place for business?” As I’ve heard many times before, many owners reply similar to, “Yes, the cheap rent helps.” Others claim they couldn’t have picked a better location. A list of businesses in the area can be found at the Greeley City Chamber of Commerce website.
Not long after speaking with Downtown Development Authority director Pam Bricker, I spoke with a local owner who said he didn’t think the efforts made thus far will ultimately help businesses in the area. However, The Greeley Tribune published an article in February about post-Christmas-shopping sales revenue of $10 million — $1 million of which “could be used for city maintenance projects,” according to the article.
The most frustrating thing is trying to write a story with a specific angle about what happens downtown and end up either empty-handed or conflicting viewpoints that contradict the angle. It isn’t that I’m not salivating at the prospect of a controversial scoop, but it is extremely difficult to mold a story to its syllabus when business owners and downtown authority don’t see eye-to-eye.
