The River North Art District’s Business Improvement District is set to continue for another 10 years, keeping higher taxes in place to pay for improvements and services in the area, despite concerns from property and business owners about the program’s effectiveness.
The vote was unanimous from the seven members present — two were unable to attend.
The vote took place in quintessential modern RiNo digs — a conference room inside a shared office building home to property managers, architecture firms and other companies in the west end of the district.
At an earlier community meeting last week, some community members had raised concerns about the BID. While most wanted to extend the BID, many called for changes to the district’s mission and funding model.
RiNo, which overlaps the Globeville, Elyria- Swansea, Five Points and Cole neighborhoods, is one of several parts of the city with a business improvement district. Local property owners pay higher taxes to fund collective services, like marketing, infrastructure, beautification and other forms of support for local businesses.
The RiNo BID charges commercial property owners four mills (0.4 percent of their assessed value) to fund it. In 2025, that’s estimated to amount to $3.1 million.
Board members voted to approve a renewal, but recognized the need to change.
Board members acknowledged concerns about the amount of taxes and said they might consider reducing the mill levy, although many were doubtful that the board could achieve its goals with a smaller budget.
“I support renewing at the full 4 mills to preserve flexibility, but this must be paired with an annual review of the BID’s budget, including the proposed 2025 budget, to ensure the mill rate is kept as low as possible while delivering at a high level on its priorities,” BID board member Danny Newman said before the vote.
Board members admitted the BID must win back the trust of the district’s property owners.
After the vote, board members heard more about how the BID could improve. Respondents to a district survey wanted to increase cleanliness, safety and security, and for the district to be smarter with its budget.
The message was similar to the one at the in-person meeting last week — that the business improvement district wasn’t helping businesses enough.
“What we're hearing from the community is, it's a focus on business over art in terms of allocation of dollars next year,” said Spencer Fronk, a member of the board.
“Infrastructure improvement over art,” is the new priority, he explained.
The BID is spending several hundred thousand dollars to support local artists in its 2025 budget. In addition to sending $295,000 to Keep RiNo Wild, the arts education nonprofit run by RiNo Art District, it also helps subsidize affordable housing for working artists and art installations in the district.
The BID board said it would convene in early 2025 to discuss next steps and take a look at how it can refocus its budget.
With the renewal approved by the board, Denver City Council will have to vote to finalize the renewal, as well as any amendments the board chooses to make to the upcoming year’s budget.
