Denver Voters Approve $570M To Revitalize Downtown

Downtown Denver voters on Tuesday approved ballot measure 6A, permitting the city to borrow $570M to expand the scope of the Denver Downtown Development Authority and revitalize the city's central business district in the pandemic's wake.

About 2,500 voters who reside, own property or lease commercial space near Union Station were asked to greenlight the DDDA cash injection, which doesn't raise taxes and can't exceed $847M including interest. How exactly that money will be used is still in question, though the broad themes are laid out in an amended Denver Downtown Development Authority development plan.

The Downtown Denver Partnership, the DDDA and Mayor Michael Johnston’s office are the primary backers of this initiative, and it saw no formal opposition.

The major funding tool that will be used to revitalize the CBD as proposed in 6A is an extension of tax increment financing, DDP CEO Kourtny Garrett said. TIF is a method used by cities to finance development projects by capturing the increase in tax revenues, or increment, that results from rising property values and economic activity within a designated area. TIF was used to finance the Union Station redevelopment.

Denver City Council created the Denver Union Station Project Authority and approved the DDDA’s creation in 2008, establishing a $500M TIF area on the Regional Transportation District’s Union Station site and about 40 acres surrounding it.

That debt was paid off 15 years early, Garrett said, and the city faced a decision: It could either shut down the major funding mechanism that had reactivated the Union Station area or expand it so it could be used to fund improvements across the central business district. Ballot Measure 6A expands the area served by the DDDA so it “comprises the area generally bounded by Speer Boulevard, Colfax Avenue, Grant Street, 20th Street, and the Denver Union Station Light Rail lines.”

“Union Station was so wildly successful,” Garrett said. “So we’re at this moment in time when we need to determine whether we dissolve what made it successful or create another catalyst.”

In fact, due to the nature of the TIF, which essentially diverts increased tax revenue from the city’s general fund and reinvests it into the CBD, the city may not have to borrow as much as the voters approved, she said. 

And while there are no specific proposals for how the money will be used in the development plan, a general outline was developed through a community survey and other planning methods:

• Public realm and urban environment: Create more green space and tree canopy as well as “welcoming public spaces.” This could include improving parks.
• Mixed-use development and ground-floor activation: This could be the most challenging, with broad plans to move retail and other public spaces into the 21% of inactive ground-floor spaces in the CBD.
• Mobility and transportation: Improve street design to encourage multimodal transportation such as biking, scooting, public transit and walking.
• Connectivity and integration: Connect downtown to other neighborhoods in a safer way for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Equity and inclusivity: Ensure diversity in housing as well as access to amenities and basic services.