LovelandPolitics
| Loveland's Independent News Source |
Loveland, November 15, 2015
Loveland developers Chad and Troy McWhinney recently purchased a Gulfstream G150 private
business jet under the name of MAIRO LLC registered in Denver, Colorado. The aircraft's tail
number is N-253DE. The McWhinneys also retain FAA registration of their 2007 Cessna business
jet registered under the name of LENY ACQUISITIONS LLC.
The 11 passenger personal jet aircraft was registered in late September under the contact name of
Denver commercial real estate attorney Marc Diamant of the Denver law firm Brownstein Hyatt
Farber Schreck. The McWhinney's have not disclosed what they paid for the used aircraft but a
new Gulfstream G150 sells for just under $14 million.
Chad and Troy McWhinney reportedly sold interests in apartment buildings they developed in
Loveland after receiving a "tax holiday" by the Loveland City Council in June of 2009 (see
LovelandPolitics story and video of that meeting). The McWhinney brothers attended the 2009
meeting and pleaded with the City of Loveland that absent significant waivers in city Capital
Expansion Fees (CEF's) the project could not be profitable. Six years later, they have begun selling
the project and are rumored to have pocketed near $50 million in profits from the sales of their
Loveland and Ft. Collins multi-family developments.
The City of Loveland failed to provide a similar tax holiday for Longmont developer Don Macy who
requested equitable treatment following the massive temporary tax holiday timed to benefit
McWhinney's 600 unit multi-family apartment buildings in Loveland near Lowe's home
improvement store. In addition to city subsidies, the McWhinney brothers benefited from loan
guarantees by HUD providing exceptionally low interest rates due to the federal loan guarantees
which Chad McWhinney disclosed to Loveland's City Council during the June 2009 meeting. The
McWhinney brothers also developed multi-family housing in Ft. Collins.
Loveland has collected Capital Expansion Fees (CEF's) for more than 30 years to ensure new
development pays for the additional burdens it creates on public safety, recreation, streets, parks
and utilities but can only be used for capital improvements. While the 97% diversion of property
taxes and 40% of sales taxes back to McWhinney's Centerra Metro Districts have been widely
reported, another provision of the 2004 agreement between the City of Loveland and McWhinney
also waived $7 million in CEF's for new developments in Centerra.
McWhinney requested the partial fee waiver in 2009 to build apartments (something cities
normally do not try to attract) after they had exhausted their original $7 million waiver.
LovelandPolitics is unaware of any other developer receiving either waivers or significant
discounts from CEF's to build apartments in Loveland. At the time it was approved, then
Councilman Kent Solt argued the residents of McWhinney's apartments will still require all the
same city services as other residents thus the money will need to come from existing residents to
offset the significant and unusual subsidy.
McWhinney failed to fund an expansion of the overpass of Highway 34 crossing I-25 as anticipated
in the 2004 MFA (Master Financing Agreement). According to the original plan, McWhinney's
Metro District was supposed to set aside monies from the estimated $600 million in diverted taxes
to fund the estimated $50 million bridge expansion project. Instead, McWhinney only funded the
cosmetic improvements for less than $12 million and later sought relief from Loveland's Council to
amend their agreement by re-defining "regional improvement" thus providing access to those
funds for the anticipated Bass Pro shopping center.
McWhinney Keeps Bass Pro City Incentive
Despite losing the promised Bass Pro Shops retail building for their heavily subsidized location in
Loveland, McWhinney kept the more than $1 million special subsidy provided by Loveland's City
Council provided to lure the retailer. LovelandPolitics was informed McWhinney argued paying
back those monies provided to them for Bass Pro Shops would constitute an unfair "hardship"
their company could ill afford and still pay their employees. LovelandPolitics first reported the
failure of the Bass Pro Shops deal which wasn't acknowledged by McWhinney or reported by other
media until months following the LovelandPolitics story.
Loveland developers Chad and Troy McWhinney recently purchased a Gulfstream G150 private
business jet under the name of MAIRO LLC registered in Denver, Colorado. The aircraft's tail
number is N-253DE. The McWhinneys also retain FAA registration of their 2007 Cessna business
jet registered under the name of LENY ACQUISITIONS LLC.
The 11 passenger personal jet aircraft was registered in late September under the contact name of
Denver commercial real estate attorney Marc Diamant of the Denver law firm Brownstein Hyatt
Farber Schreck. The McWhinney's have not disclosed what they paid for the used aircraft but a
new Gulfstream G150 sells for just under $14 million.
Chad and Troy McWhinney reportedly sold interests in apartment buildings they developed in
Loveland after receiving a "tax holiday" by the Loveland City Council in June of 2009 (see
LovelandPolitics story and video of that meeting). The McWhinney brothers attended the 2009
meeting and pleaded with the City of Loveland that absent significant waivers in city Capital
Expansion Fees (CEF's) the project could not be profitable. Six years later, they have begun selling
the project and are rumored to have pocketed near $50 million in profits from the sales of their
Loveland and Ft. Collins multi-family developments.
The City of Loveland failed to provide a similar tax holiday for Longmont developer Don Macy who
requested equitable treatment following the massive temporary tax holiday timed to benefit
McWhinney's 600 unit multi-family apartment buildings in Loveland near Lowe's home
improvement store. In addition to city subsidies, the McWhinney brothers benefited from loan
guarantees by HUD providing exceptionally low interest rates due to the federal loan guarantees
which Chad McWhinney disclosed to Loveland's City Council during the June 2009 meeting. The
McWhinney brothers also developed multi-family housing in Ft. Collins.
Loveland has collected Capital Expansion Fees (CEF's) for more than 30 years to ensure new
development pays for the additional burdens it creates on public safety, recreation, streets, parks
and utilities but can only be used for capital improvements. While the 97% diversion of property
taxes and 40% of sales taxes back to McWhinney's Centerra Metro Districts have been widely
reported, another provision of the 2004 agreement between the City of Loveland and McWhinney
also waived $7 million in CEF's for new developments in Centerra.
McWhinney requested the partial fee waiver in 2009 to build apartments (something cities
normally do not try to attract) after they had exhausted their original $7 million waiver.
LovelandPolitics is unaware of any other developer receiving either waivers or significant
discounts from CEF's to build apartments in Loveland. At the time it was approved, then
Councilman Kent Solt argued the residents of McWhinney's apartments will still require all the
same city services as other residents thus the money will need to come from existing residents to
offset the significant and unusual subsidy.
McWhinney failed to fund an expansion of the overpass of Highway 34 crossing I-25 as anticipated
in the 2004 MFA (Master Financing Agreement). According to the original plan, McWhinney's
Metro District was supposed to set aside monies from the estimated $600 million in diverted taxes
to fund the estimated $50 million bridge expansion project. Instead, McWhinney only funded the
cosmetic improvements for less than $12 million and later sought relief from Loveland's Council to
amend their agreement by re-defining "regional improvement" thus providing access to those
funds for the anticipated Bass Pro shopping center.
McWhinney Keeps Bass Pro City Incentive
Despite losing the promised Bass Pro Shops retail building for their heavily subsidized location in
Loveland, McWhinney kept the more than $1 million special subsidy provided by Loveland's City
Council provided to lure the retailer. LovelandPolitics was informed McWhinney argued paying
back those monies provided to them for Bass Pro Shops would constitute an unfair "hardship"
their company could ill afford and still pay their employees. LovelandPolitics first reported the
failure of the Bass Pro Shops deal which wasn't acknowledged by McWhinney or reported by other
media until months following the LovelandPolitics story.
| McWhinney Buys $14 Million Private Jet following sale of apartments developed with city and federal subsidies |
| Interior of a Gulfstream G150 |
| CLICK TO ENLARGE City document recording the original "regional improvements" to mitigate traffic McWhinney later abandoned |