Voters in Denver have placed a $500 million bet on their Downtown.
Downtown voters appear likely to approve the loan extension to expand their special financing district, paving the way for Downtown projects around Union Station and Market Station, the Denver Business Journal reported.
Ballots in support of ballot measure 6A would authorize the Downtown Development Authority to take on $847 million in debt and interest. Votes for the measure were leading 654 to 153 late Tuesday, with Mayor Mike Johnston declaring victory. Eligible voters in the district include residents, landowners and lease holders, according to its website.
Johnston said the measure will allow for significant investments to revitalize the central city.
“As cities across the country struggle to bring their downtown back to pre-pandemic levels, Denver has decided to face this seemingly unsolvable challenge head-on and bet on our cultural, civic and economic core by passing 6A with more than 80 percent support,” he said in a statement.
“The funding will help bring new opportunities for Downtown and beyond — from new housing to revitalized public spaces to economic opportunity and growth.”
Passage of the measure will allow Denver to expand the financing means that enabled a $480 million renovation of its historic Union Station, which now has a 112-room Crawford Hotel, restaurants and shops.
The voter-approved debt allows the city to continue to rake in property tax revenues collected from Union Station and Market Station that now go toward paying down debt for their $480 million redevelopment. That debt is expected to be paid in December.
The expansion of the financing district’s boundaries would leverage another $500 million for more Downtown investments, according to the Business Journal.
Based on an anticipated $40 million in revenue this year and assuming a 2 percent growth rate, Denver could finance more than $500 million for projects in the new district, according to the Denver Department of Finance.
Applications for projects should likely open sometime this winter, city leaders say, pending approvals from the City Council on special district governance. The council must also approve a development plan this year that outlines the types of projects the money might fund.
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The district’s new boundaries will stretch from Union Station south to Colfax Avenue along Speer Boulevard on the west, and as far east as Grant Street. It only includes city-owned property like streets, parks and sidewalks.
City leaders, however, have said businesses within the new boundary will be able to petition the development authority to take advantage of the financing incentives.
— Dana Bartholomew