Plans for improving a stretch of 14th Street downtown are likely to be scaled back because property owners aren’t willing to pony up two-thirds of the $30 million price tag.
Voters approved a $10 million bond issue to fund part of the project, and property owners are likely to contribute another $10 million through property assessments.
A dispute surrounding the remaining third of the money has arisen, however, with property owners claiming the city agreed to fund that as well.
Buzz Geller, a property owner and co-chairman of the committee working on the plan, said the city, which owns 40 percent of the frontage along the corridor — including the Colorado Convention Center and Denver Performing Arts Complex — agreed to contribute $10 million on top of the bond money.
“We were all under the assumption that the people who own frontage on 14th Street would be the people who would pay for it,” Geller said.
City officials contend they never committed funding beyond the bond money.
“We’ve always had a $10 million commitment, which was the bond,” said Bill Vidal, the city’s manager of public works. “We never committed to more.”
Voters approved the bond money as part of a larger bond issue in November.
Property owner Stephen Oxman supports the project but has a number of concerns about its financing.
“The city gets to vote for the formation of the district, but they have no financial responsibility whatsoever,” he said. “They have a bond issue, but it’s not coming out of their pocket. They have no maintenance obligation, and they’re 40 percent owner of these properties.”
Property owners still favor the plan but aren’t willing to fill the $10 million gap to make it happen.
“I think there’s a general thought that $20 million is a little steep for the property owners,” said Richard Marshall, a property owner and co-chairman of the committee working on the plan. “Hopefully, there’s another source of funding. If not, the plan will get scaled back in some fashion.”
The original plan called for widening the sidewalk on the north side of the street to 22 feet between Colfax Avenue and Larimer Street. On-street parking would be available on the north side. On the south side, the sidewalk would be 16 feet wide. The street itself would have three lanes of traffic and a bike lane.
Adjustments could include putting parking on the south side or having parking on both sides and reducing the street to two lanes and a bike lane, said John Desmond, vice president of urban planning and environment for Downtown Denver Partnership Inc.
It’s also possible that the improvements would span eight blocks instead of 10, Vidal said. The other two blocks could be completed later.
“It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve built in phases,” he said.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
