Denver's BRT Construction Rolls Down A Challenged Colfax
Orange cones line East Colfax Avenue as construction crews work on a long-awaited bus rapid transit system, a project set to transform the corridor with faster, more reliable transportation.
Businesses along the corridor are looking forward to improvements in traffic flow and the beautification that comes with city projects, but today they're working through a time of challenges.
Several shops and restaurants along Colfax have shuttered in recent months, with rising rents, safety concerns and a lack of critical services often cited as the reason. Business owners worry that reduced foot traffic and disruptions caused by BRT construction could force even more closures before the project is completed.
Problems along the stretch of Colfax roughly between Grant and Josephine streets have been widely reported over the past year. Chuey Fu’s, Fox Run Cafe and Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs have all announced recent closures.
Organic food retailer Natural Grocers made national news in October when it loudly announced plans to shutter its location at Colfax Avenue and Washington Street, blaming safety concerns and massive theft.
The Denver Police Department confirmed to Bisnow that the retailer declined to sign a trespass agreement with the DPD until July 2024 — three months before it announced its closure. A trespass agreement allows the police to enforce trespass ordinances.
“The Denver Police Department also provided safety recommendations to deter crime in the area,” the department told Bisnow.
Colfax Ave Business Improvement District Executive Director Frank Locantore told Bisnow his organization had encouraged the retailer to sign such an agreement well before that.
Meanwhile, other businesses are opening their doors in the same area.
About a dozen new businesses have moved in over the past 12 months, including Chivis Tacos, Colfax and Cream, and 99ers, Denver’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports.
“Natural Grocers is within a one-block radius of Cheba Hut, Bourbon Grill and a liquor store, which are all crushing it,” Locantore said.
Still, some residents and brokers attempting to lease retail spaces along the corridor see a stretch of Denver defined by disorder and other criminal elements preventing new tenants from seriously considering opening businesses in the area. And like the rest of the city, a housing affordability crisis has eroded the historic base of residents who used to patronize the area’s businesses.
“A BID is not an affordable housing developer or a police enforcement agency or mental health provider, and these are all things we need,” Locantore, who has led CBID for a decade, told Bisnow. “We need to have a thoughtful and strategic approach to address the underlying societal issues.”
Charles Nusbaum, managing director at Denver-based commercial real estate firm Antonoff & Co. Brokerage Inc., lives in the area and has also struggled to lease properties in or near the BID. He said he is concerned for both his family and business.
He found a space he said was perfect for a smoke and vape shop, but the owners balked at the location, saying they were looking for something on the higher end because they “felt too unsafe” on East Colfax.
“I have people that say, ‘I can’t go there,’ or that it doesn’t look good, doesn’t feel safe or simply that it’s going to be a construction nightmare,” Nusbaum said.
The irony is that a big piece of any construction nightmare on Colfax is the project the city promises will soon be a major improvement to the thoroughfare: the bus rapid transit system being built along the middle of Colfax that will stretch from approximately Civic Center Station to Denver Union Station and east to the city of Aurora.
Chris Donato, a longtime Colorado restaurateur who opened LGBTQ-focused restaurant and entertainment venue Champagne Tiger in 2024 at the former location of Tom’s Diner, said business has been booming. But he knows the construction project will present business obstacles.
“I hope that people are paying attention and are aware of the challenges that come with investing in Colfax,” Donato said, pointing to the woes faced by businesses on the 16th Street Mall, thanks to a long-lasting renovation project and pandemic struggles. “And hopefully all the businesses there today will still be there when construction is done.”
He hopes the city will make funds available to businesses, saying that every small business he knows along the corridor has already seen “an immediate drop in business.” But his long view is optimistic.
“With the BRT project underway, I believe in the long-term positive impact of it. It will be easier to get around with more lights, more trees,” Donato said.
The BID’s challenges extend beyond the BRT. Data provided by CBID shows that 18% of vacant storefronts on Colfax are in the BID, including 33 of 183 business storefronts.
One potential solution, Locantore said, is for a Denver government agency to step up and “act as quarterback to the other city agencies requiring permits and inspections” so that it’s easier for businesses to open and operate. He pointed to Denver Economic Development Opportunity as a strong partner for CBID and its businesses.
Colfax has long been a microcosm of Denver’s challenges and its character. For Locantore, the ultimate goal remains clear.
“The real solution to this is 100% occupancy,” he said, highlighting the importance of filling vacant storefronts to create a thriving community.
“Nature doesn’t like a void,” he added. “And if it’s not being filled by a churro stand or a thrift store, it’s being filled by something else.”