In advance of publishing stories that explored the state of the 16th Street Mall on Sunday and Monday, The Denver Gazette asked all 17 Denver mayoral candidates to weigh in.
Here are the questions — and responses — from most candidates (not all had replied by the deadline). Candidates were asked to limit their answers to 150 words.
- What is your perception of the 16th Street Mall right now?
- If you believe problems exist, what solution or solutions would you offer?
Renate A. Behrens: 16th Street Mall seems like a ghost town to me. It is a very negative feeling that I cannot describe. I am not afraid of any criminal things. It is just an uneasy feeling. I guess the negativity is caused by the fact that there are (almost) no apartments for ordinary/regular people. There are no kids playing, making kids' noise, and you cannot see people go shopping for everyday necessities.
Kelly Brough: The 16th Street Mall is the backbone of our central business district and an essential element of downtown Denver. I am very supportive of the Market Street to Broadway renovation underway. However, we can’t ignore the tremendous challenges facing downtown Denver as a whole, including the mall.
The successes and struggles of downtown Denver impact the economy and vibrancy of the entire state. Downtown revitalization will be a priority for my administration, starting with safety. I will focus on filling the approximately 150 vacancies in Denver Police Department and expanding the co-responder and STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) programs. We must meaningfully address homelessness. My plan to end unsanctioned camping within my first year by focusing on housing and sheltering and taking a data-driven, regional approach has been endorsed by five metro-area mayors. I will develop strategies to support the conversion of some existing downtown office space to residential to ensure sustained activity downtown.
Lisa Calderón: The 16th Street Mall is part of a beautiful downtown that has earned a horrible reputation due to 12+ years of failed policies. We have the opportunity to continue to improve downtown, making it a cultural hub that works for everybody — not just wealthier Denverites and tourists. The current use and development of 16th Street Mall is hindered by failures to address other core issues, such as affordable housing, support for the unhoused, and multi-modal transportation. With policies that recognize the interconnected nature of solutions to these issues, we can support a 16th Street Mall that works for everyone.
As mayor, I will bring together our small businesses and art leaders to determine how to grow our downtown; create reliable funding streams for at-risk Legacy Businesses with historical and cultural ties to the community; and, promote business growth along with our arts to achieve both modernization and cultural celebration.
Leslie Herod: A city is only as strong as its downtown, and the 16th Street Mall has to be reimagined to reflect a post-COVID life. We know returning the 16th Street Mall to its full vibrancy must be a top priority for Denver’s next mayor. In the first 100 days, we will host a Downtown Summit with downtown advocates, residents, and business owners. We will incentivize local restaurants and shops in other parts of town to open second locations on the mall, and work to bring back the businesses and employees who have left. Additionally, we must increase public safety, get our unhoused neighbors into safe spaces, and make housing more affordable. By taking these steps we can make 16th Street Mall the gateway to Denver it used to be and make it a living advertisement for the great city we all know Denver is ready to be again.
Mike Johnston: One of the most important things we have to do is revive our downtown. The construction project on 16th Street Mall has destroyed this main artery, making it hard to get around and visit businesses. We can’t afford to have 16th Street under construction for two years. As mayor, I would accelerate this project. We have to incentivize and support a return to commerce downtown so our local businesses can thrive, and we can have a bustling, vibrant city center. That means addressing the issue of homelessness and move people into housing, it means having more community-based police who build relationships with business owners and residents, it means we have to incentivize child care facilities to open downtown so workers come back, and it means the city has to do more to support business owners and make sure they have access to the funding and investment they need to thrive.
Debbie Ortega: We need 16th Street Mall to be the economic engine that it once was, with thriving businesses, and a bustling presence of residents, workers, and conventioneers. It is not that place at the moment with businesses closing their doors and residents leaving the area due to increased crime and public safety concerns, challenges with affordability, and mobility and transit issues.
I will partner with government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits to activate Downtown. This will be achieved through immediate revisions to our permitting process so it’s easier to locate new businesses and residents downtown. On public safety, I will create a Metro Task Force to stop the flow of deadly drugs and guns into our communities. I would convene a meeting with regional stakeholders to discuss coordination with various jurisdictions to enact a continuum of programming opportunities that help move people to self-sufficiency who are currently struggling on our streets.
Terrance Roberts: The 16th Street Mall is struggling from a failed housing policy that has raised prices on housing and small business leases, while displacing the very people who could be running businesses there. It's dark and desolate most nights. Denver needs to become a 24-hour world-class city to attract tourism, commerce, and sales tax revenue to revitalize the area. Making Denver a 24-hour city will also bring more safety for patrons, the unhoused, and law enforcement. We need a Public Banking System to create more Public Social Housing for workers and our unhoused, while also creating more income to give grants and forgivable loans to small businesses.
Andy Rougeot: The 16th Street Mall — and downtown more broadly — should showcase Denver as a place to visit, to build a business, build a family, and to make a home. 16th Street Mall has consistently been one of the most visited parts of our city by tourists and Denverites alike. However, rising crime and homelessness downtown in places like the 16th Street Mall damage the reputation of our great city and endanger our citizens. As Mayor, I will add four hundred police officers and increase funding for police training to make downtown safe again. I'll also fight for the future of downtown by enforcing our camping ban to get the homeless into the mental health and drug addiction services they need.
Kwame Spearman: Tattered Cover used to be my favorite spot on the 16th Street Mall, but like too many local businesses, Tattered Cover no longer calls the mall home. The mall epitomizes the state of downtown, but also reflects its potential. The construction will provide a much-needed facelift. Downtown Denver has its own unique neighborhoods. As our neighborhood mayor, I’ll create specific plans and subsequent goals to get downtown back on track. First, we need to address the homelessness problem that plagues downtown. Tents outside of our businesses breaks our hearts, but also prevent these businesses from thriving. We also need to consider adaptive reuse to get workforce housing downtown for our teachers, nurses, police officers, and booksellers. And lastly, we need greater investment in our local economy — so 16th Street Mall can have more Tattered Covers after its construction is over.
Robert Treta: Just like every public construction project, way too much money being spent. Revitalization is hard to do when there is no plan to deal with the homeless situation now and about to double. Priorities are in the wrong order. Just look at the airport. That’s probably how it will go down. Over budget, over schedule, not effective, priorities backwards. Serve the small business owners by dealing with the homeless first and foremost.
James Walsh: The 16th Street Mall is the "Front Yard" of our city, our public-facing space for those visiting and experiencing Denver. Today, due to an economic system and a pandemic that has exacerbated housing insecurity, the 16th Street Mall is a contested public space. It’s caught in a tug of war between the interests of businesses that thrive on tourist dollars, and the needs of the unhoused.
This tension cannot be alleviated with sweeps and criminalizing homelessness. Instead, getting unhoused people into housing is the only viable solution. A Universal Basic Income for those who are unhoused and experiencing poverty is vital to solving this issue. The benefits of providing resources to the neediest addresses part of the housing crisis, improves the vitality and equity of our society, and saves us money in healthcare costs, incarceration and policing. The benefits outweigh cost and it provides an immediate and tangible solution.
Thomas Wolf: My perception is subordinate to that of office tenants and tourists. They are leaving the mall in droves and not returning because it's unsafe and filthy due to encampments. Visitors who drive our city’s tourist economy are visiting less often and spending less money. We are in three years of crisis, and politicians are bragging about their policies and service while Rome burns and this crisis continues to compound. Any businessperson will say a compounding liability requires immediate attention
Once the encampments are removed, my suggestions to maintain the restored environment: Clean up alleys, require dumpsters to be covered, locked and tidy. Get rid of the garish Teletubby trash cans and install bear-proof cans used in the mountains. The free mall shuttle should circulate on 15th and 17th and the mall should be a pedestrian, bike, skate, skateboard, micro mobility corridor. This would also allow for more landscaping and greenery.
