The City of Winslow had not received either of the first two monthly payments due from Atlas Global Development Group LLC on approximately 1,094 acres of former city land. The payments of $31,408.18 each came due Sept. 1 and Oct. 1 under a financing arrangement the City Council approved in February.
When asked regarding the matter City Manager David Coolidge stated, “I couldn’t find it anywhere and if I can’t find it that most likely means they did not make the payment.”
Dan Lupien, managing director of Atlas Global Development, claimed he sent the city a check in late August. Adding that the city never told him the check had not arrived and that the Tribune’s request for comment was what alerted him that the payment had not been received. Lupien then stated he had arranged with the city to send an ACH transfer covering both the September and October payments but no confirmation on the receipt of payment was received by press time.
The payments stem from the seventh amendment to a purchase and sale agreement between the city and Atlas Global. It sets the price at $1,200 an acre, or $1.3 million for approximately 1,094.13 acres. Credits and adjustments bring the amount Atlas Global owes to $1 million. Those credits depend on the company ending its own purchase agreement for a separate 287.5-acre tract that the city bought for a logistics hub.
The city is financing that balance itself. A promissory note calls for 36 equal monthly installments of $31,408 at 5% interest, beginning Sept. 1, 2026, with any remaining balance due Sept. 1, 2029. Paid on schedule, the installments total $1.1 million, including $82,738 in interest. The note approved by council says payments are to be made by wire transfer to a bank account the city designates.
Under the amendment, a single missed payment is spread in equal amounts across the remaining installments. Three consecutive missed payments constitute a default and the third installment comes due Nov. 1.
On default, the city may terminate the agreement. The land and any improvements on it would revert to the city and the city would keep the money already paid. A deed of trust naming the city as beneficiary secures the debt.
The city and Atlas Global entered the original purchase agreement Feb. 13, 2023, and amended it six times, all of which were extensions on the timeline for buying the land, between January 2024 and August 2025. The council approved the seventh amendment Feb. 24.
Navajo County Assessor records show 20 parcels passing from the city to Atlas Global with a recording date of March 10. The assessor lists those parcels at 1,051.7 acres, about 42 acres fewer than the agreement describes.
With the city land, Atlas Global holds 44 parcels totaling about 2,658 acres around Winslow, according to assessor records reviewed by the Tribune. The company has proposed I-40 Tradeport Winslow, a 1,384-acre commerce and industrial park, according to a 2024 economic study prepared for the project.
