The 2700 block of Larimer Street in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood is home to street art, brick and mortar retail shops and the Volunteers of America of Colorado (VOAC). But changes are in the works.
Artwork near the 2700 block of Larimer Street in Denver. (Alex Edwards, The Denver Gazette).
Edens, a national commercial property business, owns much of the block in the area and wants to redevelop the site where VOAC hosts their commissary. The proposal will finance affordable housing and new commercial opportunities, but the method of funding the redevelopment has drawn concern and criticism from one city council member.
Current plans call for tax increment financing in the forms of both sales and property taxes. That means increased tax revenue on both sales and property values above a baseline determined on current levels would go toward paying for redevelopment, rather than into government coffers. Anything below the baseline still goes to the city, but future tax increases would not.
This tax increment financing has been used elsewhere, but District 9 councilwoman Candi CdeBaca doesn't think it is the best way to finance the redevelopment.
"I don't think we should be paying for private development with public dollars, and essentially paying for the displacement of poor people," she said. "We allow business districts and commercial districts to set up an extra tax levy privilege in order for dollars to go back into their pockets. If we flipped that, (we could) use that money in a reparations fashion."
CdeBaca was similarly opposed to an earlier proposal in the Sun Valley neighborhood that cleared council 11-1.
Edens' redevelopment proposal calls for the construction of several new buildings bringing a total of 390 new housing units to the block. Thirty-nine of these will be affordable units, restricted to residents who make 50% of the area mean income. Roughly 100,000 square feet of commercial space will also be made available by the reconstruction. A below ground parking lot is also included in the plans, which adds 565 parking spaces.
Business owners, like Jevon Taylor who operates Green Spaces, look to the redevelopment with optimism.
"I think Edens' intentions are really good," he said. "They're looking to create a balance between large retailers like Patagonia, Arc'teryx, Burton and then mix them with small businesses as well."
Jevon Taylor and his dog Benny nearby Green Spaces in the River North area of Denver. Taylor has operated his business for several years and is approaching a proposed redevelopment nearby with optimism. (Alex Edwards, The Denver Gazette).
These big, brand name stores help drive business to other nearby locations, such as Green Spaces, he said. Taylor has been in touch frequently with Edens' local representative Tom Kiler, who is working him populate retail spaces at Green Spaces Market.
Taylor said he has been impressed with how well the corporation has achieved that balance. So far, the area has avoided becoming another Cherry Creek, full of big retailers and little to no local businesses, he said.
"This is something that is community focused, community driven and like I said it brings that balance," he said. "Sometimes people want a lot of small businesses in the area, but don't realize the power of having big retailers and how small businesses can feed off of that."
Noah Guajardo, who works at Joe's Liquor Store that store has operated out of their Five Points location for 40 years, said his store is one of the staples in the area.
While he wasn't opposed to the idea of the redevelopment, he said the change would be noticeable.
"It just kind of stings, I guess," he said. "Stings that it's all going to be different."
Guajardo highlighted the vibe of the area, praising the weekend crowds that businesses like the Larimer Lounge and American Bonded drive during the weekends. However, he had some concern that new residents who move into the proposed apartments may not even shop in the area.
Regardless, Guajardo says Joes Liquor store has operated in the area long enough to preserve some of the vibrancy in the area.
"We were one of the original places from Five Points," he said. "So we still hold on to that mojo."
As part of their proposed redevelopment, Edens says it will focus on recruiting Black, Indigenous, and people of color and veteran owned businesses as well as other small outlets.
CdeBaca has some reservations on this, however.
"I used to live in D.C. for a while and I used to live in a neighborhood very similar to northeast Denver, and (Edens) developed Union Market in northeast D.C.," she said. "With that development, they promised the same exact things ... and they did not honor their commitments."
CdeBaca said she wants to see more community developers become involved in projects like this, but recognized there aren't many options on that front. She also was critical of what she believes to be they city's over reliance on private firms to drive redevelopment.
"The city could be doing so much more to do our own social housing and public housing development," she said. "It does not need to be the way that it is, where we rely almost entirely on private development."
CdeBaca said she would like to see the "public" part of a "public-private" partnership become more prominent.
The bills concerning redevelopment and the tax increment areas on 27th and Larimer Street first appeared before City Council on Monday. Both were approved, published and are appearing before council on Nov. 21 for final consideration.
