The Denver City Council on Monday approved spending another $1.5 million to reenergize the 16th Street Mall this summer.
Back in 2024, the city approved a $400,000 contract to start filling vacant storefronts and improve street connections, even as much of the street was shuttered for construction. On Monday night, City Council brought that total to $1.9 million.
The Downtown Denver Partnership will get the money to put on events and play areas on the Mall — some temporary, some permanent. These “activations” will also be supplemented by private money. Denver Arts and Venues will work with the group on adding more public art.
Meanwhile, money left over from the $100,000 rebranding of 16th Street Mall (or whatever they decide to call it) will pay to spruce up vacant storefronts.
Much of the spending will happen from Memorial Day through Labor Day, potentially including concerts, festivals, and performances. But the Mall won’t be totally done by then. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure expects the project to be completed this fall.
Not everybody’s excited about the spending.
“In the budget year we’re in and we’re going into, I don’t feel like this is a use of funds I can vote yes on,” Councilmember Sarah Parady said.
Her constituents have been talking about issues like shelter, rental assistance and health care, and she’s concerned about prioritizing the 16th Street Mall.
In contrast, Councilmember Chris Hinds said his constituents were excited about the 16th Street Mall
“We are the economic engine of the Rocky Mountain region, and downtown fuels that engine,” he said.
He talked about how city services like snowplowing and road maintenance are funded by the downtown economy.
Councilmember Darrell Watson said Denver should “triple-down” on downtown revitalization.
“The strength of downtown increases the strength of each of our districts and the strength, quite frankly, of the state,” he said.
Councilmember Flor Alvidrez voted against the approval because of the city’s recent approval of other downtown spending.
The measure passed 10-3, with councilmembers Parady, Alvidrez and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez voting against it.
The city has invested $175 million in rebuilding the Mall itself, but the costs have been far greater.
The project started in spring 2022 — two years into the pandemic. In the following three years, the Mall has been stressed by the fallout of COVID and ongoing construction. Businesses have closed, office workers never returned from their companies’ COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, and waves of panic over crimes, shootings, stabbings and homelessness have pummeled the city center’s reputation.
As a result, downtown sales tax dollars have plummeted from 13 percent of the city’s total revenue to 8 percent, hurting the city’s budget.
The city has lost $45 million in annual revenue as a result.
Mayor Mike Johnston says the revitalization of the 16th Street Mall and downtown is essential for the city’s budget – especially in light of potential federal funding cuts.
“We're really focused on the fundamentals here in Denver, where we can help reopen downtown and the 16th Street Mall, get historic investment in downtown to bring businesses back there and to grow businesses there,” he told Denverite in an interview last week. “About 25 percent of the city's jobs are there, and so that is a real place for stimulus.
In a statement, the Downtown Denver Partnership said the money will “allow us to meaningfully usher this new chapter in with vibrant activations including events, art, music and more that reflect the spirit of our city, inviting Denverites and the world to experience this reimagined, world-class public space.”
