Economy & Economic Development  January 9, 2008

Greeley City Council approves incentives for Leprino

GREELEY — Greeley City Council approved a tax-increment financing district for the area around the Great Western Sugar factory in east Greeley Tuesday night, and for good measure threw in a water incentive for the world’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese to build a plant on the site.

Leprino Foods Co. of Denver has expressed interest in building its latest factory in Greeley. The city has been working on the special taxing district to help the company redevelop the sugar factory site, which is currently owned by the Western Sugar Co-op, for the past six months.

The company has said other sites, one in Kansas and another location in Northern Colorado, are still under consideration. But Leprino President Larry Jensen said the council action steers the decision toward Greeley.

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“We thought last night’s action by the council was very positive,” Jensen said. “I think it’s a big plus. We’re a few details away, but we’re getting there. The whole thing has a pretty good feel to it.”

The water incentive would allow Leprino to pay significantly less for what is used in the highly water-intensive cheese-making process by buying the rights directly from the city. If the company were to purchase Colorado Big Thompson water from the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, it would cost $12,700 per acre foot; Greeley would charge $4,500 per acre foot through its water bank.

A similar water incentive was used in the past to convince ConAgra Foods — now JBS Swift — to remain in Greeley rather than move its operations out of state in July 2000.

The incentive would only take effect once the redevelopment agreement is signed. Leprino and city officials have indicated that a final decision will be made within the next month or two.

Leprino is the world’s largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese, supplying companies including Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s. It has nine plants in the United States, including one in Fort Morgan, and two in the United Kingdom.

Company officials have estimated that the new factory could bring 400-plus jobs to the area. Dairy industry experts say it could use between 5 million and 6 million pounds of milk from the region’s farms each day.

GREELEY — Greeley City Council approved a tax-increment financing district for the area around the Great Western Sugar factory in east Greeley Tuesday night, and for good measure threw in a water incentive for the world’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese to build a plant on the site.

Leprino Foods Co. of Denver has expressed interest in building its latest factory in Greeley. The city has been working on the special taxing district to help the company redevelop the sugar factory site, which is currently owned by the Western Sugar Co-op, for the past six months.

The company has…

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