Finance Committee Votes To Amend Skywalk Proposal

The Cheyenne City Council voted Monday to amend a lease agreement for a proposed skywalk in the downtown area.

The city has applied for a grant of $562,000 and a loan of $187,000 from the Wyoming Business Council's Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Program to build the skywalk. The walkway would link a proposed new Hilton Hotel at 17th and Pioneer with the Jack R. Spiker Parking Facility in downtown Cheyenne.

At Monday's meeting City Attorney Dan White told the Finance Committee that state officials have recommended that the city make a strong statement in support of both the loan and grant application. The resolution approved by the committee also specifies that the city's agreement to lease the walkway to the hotel would run for at least 20 years and that the payments in the lease would at least be  enough to pay off the state loan.

White told the committee that the Spirit Group, which wants to build the hotel, has asked that the lease would actually run through at least through July 31, 2035. The committee voted 2-0 in support of the amended agreement, which now goes before the full city council for consideration.