CHEYENNE — Laramie County Commissioner Chair Brian Lovett sees future population growth in Cheyenne as not an issue of if, but when. As part of this growth, Lovett believes it’s inevitable that the county government will have to grow with it someday.
“It continues to grow over time as the number of citizens increase,” he said.
This summer, Laramie County bought the building at 2020 Carey Ave., known as the Wyoming Financial Center, in downtown Cheyenne for $5.5 million. The building now houses a few local businesses and is the tallest building in Wyoming at 148 feet.
The Financial Center is located across the street from the Laramie County Governmental Complex.
When considering the purchase, Lovett said that “the best time to buy the ranch next door is when it’s for sale.”
He mentioned a prior instance when the county could have bought a small office building downtown but passed on that opportunity, a decision Lovett said many regretted.
“When something comes up for sale next door, you kind of have to jump on it,” Lovett said.
Lovett said the county is already reaching its limit for available space for its departments and specifically courtrooms.
“You look at the activity in the courts, and it continues to increase,” Lovett said.
Laramie County GOP Chair Dallas Tyrrell isn’t buying these arguments. He believes the Laramie County purchase was part of a preemptive measure to grow government no matter what.
“I don’t think there’s a solid claim for what they say they bought the building for,” Tyrrell said. “It’s not clear at all what they plan to use it for.”
And even if the government legitimately does need to grow, Tyrrell also expressed skepticism that it was necessary to buy a nine-story building to solve this need.
“It’s a huge building, I don’t know what type of growth they’re expecting.”
How It Went Down
The county purchased the building from Voss Family Limited Partnership in July after it was originally listed at nearly $10 million. Laramie County offered $8.8 million before an inspection revealed the poor condition that the 73,920-square foot, 1979-built structure had fallen into.
Lovett said the county then proposed $5 million, before it and the seller agreed on the $5.5 million final price.
“We recognized early on that we’ll have to put millions into the building to get it up to where it should’ve been,” he said.
The commissioners used reserve money to pay for the building, a purchase they approved unanimously. Lovett said this money came as a result of conservative budgeting, sales and ad valorem tax revenues, and the influx of American Rescue Plan Act dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Those funds have rolled into reserves and been invested in government operations,” he said.
Last week, the commissioners approved a $417,795 order to replace the building’s roof.
The State Loan and Investment Board had briefly considered buying the building to house state officials while the Herschler Building and State Capitol underwent a massive renovation project in 2018. But the Board ended up not going through with the purchase because of the condition of the building.
In 2023, the county spent $10.1 million to build a new senior activities center, which is currently under construction. This project was funded with sixth-penny sales tax revenues. It also purchased land and the building associated with the old senior center for around $200,000.
Laramie County bought the building at 2020 Carey Ave., known as the Wyoming Financial Center, in downtown Cheyenne for $5.5 million. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) 
Laramie County bought the building at 2020 Carey Ave., known as the Wyoming Financial Center, in downtown Cheyenne for $5.5 million. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Landlord For Now
Lovett said he doesn’t anticipate the county using the building for any of its operations anytime soon and plans to continue leasing the office spaces inside that include U.S. Bank and Holland & Hart law office. He said the county plans to lease these spaces at above-market rates, which was a concern expressed by some local real estate agents and commercial property owners that the county might undercut the market.
But he also noted how the Laramie County Courthouse received a major expansion in 2018. He sees the Carey Ave. building as the site of a possible expansion down the road.
“We continue to increase our footprint over time,” he said.
He also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of demolishing the building someday and building anew on the vacant lot to create a campus-type setup for the county government.
“That’s still a bargain for a city block next door to the courthouse so it’s part of our campus,” he said.
Lovett said the primary county expansion he would anticipate occurring in the future would be for its court system. As a result, he envisions potentially moving county services like the clerk’s and treasurer’s office over to the Financial Center someday to allow more space for courtrooms in the main existing building.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
