A new business district could bring 24/7 security, graffiti removal and year-round event support to South Broadway — if property owners vote to foot the bill.
The Broadway General Improvement District would replace three aging maintenance districts and cover the stretch of Broadway from Sixth Avenue to Interstate 25, including the west side of Lincoln Street, which runs parallel to Broadway.
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If approved, the GID could generate more than $1M annually, with nearly $560K earmarked for round-the-clock private security and coordination with the Denver Police Department, and another approximately $300K for cleaning and maintenance, according to a city presentation reported by 9News.
“There’s just been an increasing need, as the city has gotten bigger, to keep this area clean and safe,” Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez told 9News, citing the closure of longtime bookstore Mutiny Information Cafe as a wake-up call. “Although we have lost a couple of businesses, the goal is to save the ones that are still here.”
Mutiny moved about 4 miles south to the Englewood section of South Broadway in September, saying it had been “priced out” of the Denver section of the corridor.
Meanwhile, the 5,700 SF home of 30-year Broadway restaurant staple The Hornet is being advertised for lease and the business itself for sale, according to The Denver Post. The entire 13K SF building, home to The Hornet, Lucky Noodles, 18 offices and 21 parking spots, sold for less than its $3.95M listing price in May.
Under the GID plan, owners would pay an additional $2,400 annually for a $1M commercial property. Residential owners would pay the same rate.
Ninety-two percent of the tax revenue would come from businesses and commercial properties, and the remainder would come from residences, according to the Broadway Merchants Association, which is spearheading the GID's creation.
Nearly $56K will go to “branding, marketing and programming,” including event support for the merchant association’s annual Halloween parade and the Underground Music Showcase festival, according to the formal plan put before the council.
The organizers behind UMS just announced that its 2025 event, held on its 25th anniversary, will be its last in its current form.
The city council will hold a public hearing Aug. 4. If approved, the GID will head to the November ballot for a vote.
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