"Council has been unified in that we all want Broomfield to have a town square and we know our community does too," Ward 1 Councilmember Julie Twiss said in late September, as reported by the Broomfield Enterprise. "But wanting that vision cannot mean that we stop expecting progress, performance and accountability."
With that, council voted unanimously to start the process of revoking the Town Square site development plan. The site is roughly 39 acres north of West 120th Avenue and east of Main Street, and Broomfield has been working toward a downtown there for more than a decade. Revoking the plan would throw out a set of approved drawings. The land, the financing deal and the development team's exclusive rights would all stay where they are. Anyone hoping for a town square next to the library should follow that difference closely.
What Tuesday's Agenda Item Actually Is
The city council meets Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the George Di Ciero City and County Building, One DesCombes Drive. On the posted agenda, the item is titled "Broomfield Town Square - Notice to Show Cause (Resolution No. 2026-133)." The agenda does not call it a revocation vote.
That fits what City and County Attorney Nancy Rodgers described in September. Council would first vote on continuing the revocation process, and the final vote to revoke would come later in 2026 or in early 2027. The text of the resolution was not posted with the agenda caption. Its exact wording and any hearing date will be known only once council acts.
The Permit Definition That Ran Out the Clock
Under Broomfield's municipal code, the owner of an approved site development plan has three years to get building permits for the main structures. After that, council may revoke the plan. The city's July 16 presentation dates Town Square's approval to Sept. 12, 2023, so the deadline was Sept. 12, 2026. The city's archived project page gives the approval date as Sept. 13, a one-day difference that changes nothing here.
The developers did submit plans before the deadline. In January, the team filed plans for a 1,000-square-foot boathouse with a public restroom and concessions next to the planned lake. It also submitted documents for the lake, a swim beach, the plaza, streets, sidewalks, storm and sanitary sewers, trail connections and floodway improvements.
The city says none of that met the code. Deputy City and County Manager Anna Bertanzetti said those were not "major structure" permits. City and County Manager Jennifer Hoffman explained the city's view, as quoted by the Broomfield Enterprise in April: "Horizontal development is everything at ground and below — water, sewer, infrastructure, roads — everything that you need to build on top of. Vertical developments are the buildings that go vertical." Joe Vostrejs of City Street Investors said the team had understood its completed work would meet the requirement.
The lake, the beach and the streets are the parts residents could picture first, and those are the parts that have moved through review. The plan stalled on the buildings: the apartments, the townhomes and the market hall.
Four Target Dates for the Same Site
The deadline didn't arrive all at once. The schedule slipped several times, as laid out in Rodgers' July 16 presentation and reported by the Enterprise:
- 2021 projection: first construction would begin by early 2023.
- 2023 update: the first phase would open in 2025.
- Early 2025: groundbreaking was expected by fall 2026.
- 2026 estimate: groundbreaking moved to 2027.
On Feb. 18, 2026, halfway through the third year, the developer asked for 18 more months. The city's timeline notes that construction plans had not been submitted for review at that point. The request would have pushed the permit deadline to mid-March 2028. In May, the team also asked to extend the tax-increment agreement from 2044 to 2050. The Enterprise estimated the extra six years would add about $14 million to the city's contribution. In April, city staff had identified a $22 million funding gap in the project.
On June 24, the team withdrew both requests. The Daily Camera reported that the withdrawal followed talks over affordable units priced for households at 60% of area median income. The city wanted those units spread across the three residential buildings in the approved plan. The developer proposed putting the same number in one community. According to the city's presentation, the developer said it was "recalibrating and evaluating alternative paths forward for the project under the terms of the existing agreements."
What the 2023 Plan Put Next to the Library
The concept changed several times between 2020 and 2023, so only the approved version matters now. According to Daily Camera coverage from April 2024, the plan council approved in September 2023 allowed up to 643 homes and up to 187,000 square feet of commercial space. It included apartments, townhomes, restaurants, a lake, and a market hall in the former Safeway building. The city's project page adds trails, a plaza and space for a library expansion to the first phase.
Two existing landmarks anchor the site. One is the former Safeway at 6775 W. 120th Ave., which the Enterprise reported would close on Aug. 15, 2014. The other is Broomfield Community Park. The city's parks plan describes it as home to the Broomfield Community Center, the George Di Ciero City and County Building, the library and auditorium, and the amphitheater, and says the park is planned to be integrated with Town Square. The plan maps an existing pond and lists a 4.51-acre lake as a feature. Nothing in the record says the larger lake has been built.
Who Pays for What, If It Gets Built
The financing explains why a lapsed site plan does not simply hand the land back. The 2019 Redevelopment and Reimbursement Agreement committed about $20 million in city land and up to $54 million in tax-increment financing through 2044, $74 million in all, approved by the city and the Broomfield Urban Renewal Authority. The developer then added more financing sources to sit on top of that.
| Financing source | Size | Who pays, per the city |
|---|---|---|
| City land contribution | About $20 million | City and County of Broomfield |
| Tax-increment financing | Up to $54 million through 2044 | Growth in tax revenue from the project |
| Metro District #1 | 50 mills, added to the city's 28.96 mills | Commercial and residential tenants |
| Metro District #2 | 27.41 mills, added to the city's 28.96 mills | Commercial and residential tenants |
| Business Improvement District | 15 mills | Commercial tenants |
| Public Improvement Fee | 2% on top of the 8.15% sales tax, 10.15% total | Shoppers inside the project |
When council approved the business improvement district in March 2025, the Enterprise reported it was expected to raise about $50,000 a year for infrastructure at first. The paper also explained that tax-increment financing captures growth in tax revenue without creating a new tax or raising rates. Vostrejs told a Broomfield Chamber of Commerce session that the people putting up the "$200-plus million" through bonds, bank loans and equity "want to know that the site development plan is not subject to revocation." So a revocation process affects the financing even before any final vote.
Why Revocation Wouldn't Clear the Land
Twiss and city staff said revoking the site plan would not change Broomfield's contract with the developers. Under that agreement, the team has exclusive rights to develop the land north of 120th Avenue and east of Main Street until 2044.
If the plan is revoked, Rodgers said, the developers would decide what comes next. That could mean resubmitting the same plan or submitting a new one. In practice, any future Town Square on this site, whether it matches the 2023 drawings or not, is expected to come from the same team, under the same 2019 deal and the same 2044 tax-increment period, unless the parties change that agreement. A revocation would also not undo the existing pond, the library or Community Park.
After Tuesday, three things are worth watching. First, the text of Resolution 2026-133 and any show-cause hearing date it sets. Second, the final revocation vote, expected late this year or early 2027. Third, whether the Broomfield Town Square Alliance files a new or revised site development plan under the agreements it already holds.
If you own near 120th and Main, or you're weighing a home within walking distance of Community Park, the Town Square timeline is worth checking before you list or write an offer. Audrey Michel follows the council record on this site and can walk you through what has actually been approved, what is still on paper, and how buyers are treating that difference. Call or email Audrey to talk it through.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
