A New York-based data center developer has acquired the former Carestream property in Weld County for $15.6 million.
The site, which includes 438 acres and two large buildings, was previously owned by an LLC controlled by Windsor developer Martin Lind. The buyer, an LLC linked to Global AI, plans to build an AI-powered data center, partnering with Nvidia and Saudi company Uman.
The property's significant power generation capabilities and potential for annexation to Greeley or Windsor are key considerations. Data centers are controversial due to their energy and water usage, but they also offer economic benefits, with Xcel Energy estimating a $22 billion cost to meet demand.
GlobalAi designs, builds and operates high-performance, sovereign-ready artificial-intelligence environments. According to its website, “the company delivers scalable GPU infrastructure, single-tenant architectures and secure compute clusters optimized for advanced AI workloads. Its data centers use off-prem, air-gapped configurations and advanced liquid-cooling systems, purpose-built for AI model training, inference, and deployment across enterprises and governments.”
Although the purchase price was $15.6 million, Lind told BizWest on Wednesday that “it was a complex transaction. There were other buildings in the transaction that were kind of related but unrelated.”
Lind said he originally had been working with Denver-based Western Colorado Energy LLC and Greenwood Village-based Imperial Holdings Inc. to buy the property, but that “they were the company that originally found GlobalAI and introduced the Carestream property to them. They stepped aside to let Global buy it. They ended up being a party to the contract but assigned it to GlobalAI.”
Carestream, one of the last vestiges of Eastman Kodak Co. in Northern Colorado, closed the Weld County facility last year, laying off 210 workers and putting the property on the market.
Lind said he wanted to sell the former Carestream property quickly because “the risk and cost to hold that thing were enormous.
‘We saw this as a chance to bring the property back to life, to get this out to the world to see what its true value was,” he said, “and this is the company that can do it.”
Controversy has erupted around the nation in recent months about the amount of power needed to run AI-based data centers, but Lind said “there’s existing power there that was enough for a couple million square feet for Kodak, so the infrastructure is firmly in place out there.”
Lind admitted that AI data centers consume voracious amounts of power, but added that they also “pay enormous property taxes and pay high salaries. If you go 40 miles north into Wyoming, they’re building them left and right up there.”
GlobalAI will provide those benefits as long as politics doesn’t get in the way, Lind said.
“Provided the state of Colorado recognizes the needs of this company, there will be a substantial investment in this region from GlobalAI,” he said. “It’s just the navigation of the political spectrum that needs to happen.”
Lind credited the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda for getting more such companies to invest in the United States.
“This property hasn’t had significant investment since the 1970s or ‘80s,” Lind said. “We believe it’s going to come back with a vengeance now.”
GlobalAI in November announced a strategic partnership with Humain, an AI company based in Saudi Arabia that was established under a “Public Investment Fund” to drive the kingdom’s AI strategy. The pact is designed to help the two companies develop large-scale AI data centers and capacity in the United States.
“We are entering a decisive inflection point in AI,” Sami Issa, co-founder and CEO of Global AI, said in a November press release. “Our partnership with HUMAIN reflects a shared commitment to harnessing the first wave of non-biological intelligence. Together, we are building the foundation for nations to lead, innovate, and define their AI future. This historic collaboration positions us at the forefront of the global AI revolution.”
Rich Werner, president and CEO of Upstate Colorado Economic Development, noted intense interest in data-center projects around the country and regionally.
“While we’re working on several different projects in this industry, and we continue to see a lot of activity and interest in Northern Colorado in this space, the reality is, these projects need to be supported by the appropriate infrastructure,” Werner said. “There are different business models and scalability involved that is creating more opportunity in this sector.
“Every site has its own set of unique capabilities and challenges, and it’s about finding the right fit for the right project,” he added.
Greeley eyes Carestream annexation
The Greeley Planning Commission in May recommended approval of a new Three Mile Plan, which would set the stage for potential annexation of the Carestream property.
Colorado law requires communities to have a Three Mile Plan in place before they can annex property. A Three Mile Plan outlines potential future annexations and service provisions within a three-mile radius of existing municipal boundaries.
Greeley’s new Three Mile Plan was opposed by Windsor, which nearly completely surrounds the Carestream property except for a 20-foot gap — or tether — toward its south end. That gap — essentially an easement — was required by Kodak when it sold hundreds of acres to an entity controlled by the Denver-based Broe Group, developers of the Great Western Industrial Park.
The gap prevented Kodak — and eventually Carestream — from being completely surrounded by Windsor. An enclave that is surrounded by a municipality can be annexed without the consent of the property owner. Instead, the gap enables the property owner — now GlobalAI — to keep the property unincorporated or to annex to either Windsor or Greeley, which could use the gap to conduct a flagpole annexation.
“This property is the conduit to get Broe’s property annexed,” Lind said Wednesday. “It’s up to GlobalAI which city they annex to. Either way, it’ll be a huge boom for Weld County and the school district.
Broe has filed a petition to annex 335 acres of the more than 3,000-acre Great Western Industrial Park to Greeley.
— Christopher Wood contributed to this report.
