A group of property owners is working with the Downtown Denver Partnership to create a district that would fund up to $30 million of improvements along 14th Street.
The proposed General Improvement District would be funded by $10 million in bond proceeds from part of the city wide bond initiative passed in November, according to a letter of intent presented Tuesday to Mayor John Hickenlooper. Another $10 million to $20 million would be paid for through the sale of bonds to be repaid through GID assessments.
“It’s worth it, with what’s going on on 14th Street,” said Buzz Geller, a property owner and co-chair of the committee working on the plan. “It’s money well spent.”
The area being studied for the GID includes all improved and unimproved commercial, residential and public properties fronting 14th Street between West Colfax Avenue and Market Street. Specific boundaries have not been determined.
Since 2001, there has been more than $800 million in public investment in the proposed district. Private investment between 2001 and the end of this year is expected to be about $700 million.
More than 40 percent of the property in the district fronting 14th Street is “exempt,” or public.
The committee is still determining how to fairly levy assessments for public and private property.
“Even an exempt piece of property still derives benefits from having streetscaping done,” Geller said. “Just because they’re exempt doesn’t mean they don’t want to participate.”
The vision for the corridor includes:
• Creating an “Ambassador Street” that serves as both a front door to the city and downtown’s cultural spine linking Larimer Square, the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Colorado Convention Center, private projects and properties, and the cultural attractions around Civic Center.
• Creating an expanded pedestrian space on the northeast side of 14th Street and encouraging outdoor seating and ground-floor retail uses.
• Creating urban green spaces along the corridor.
Walter Isenberg, the president and chief executive of Sage Hospitality, which owns the Curtis Hotel along 14th Street, said he favors the concept of the proposal.
“It depends,” he said, “on how much it costs and what the scope of the work is.”
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson @denverpost.com
