DENVER — If you drive up and down Welton Street in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, it is hard to miss the string of vacant businesses.
Many windows are covered up, and signs read “closed” on the front doors.
“There's a lot of places that open, and then some of them close,” said Eurlonda Smith, who lives just around the corner. “They can't seem to keep enough business coming through in order to keep the payments coming through to stay where they are.”
Last week, Denver7 | Your Voice sat with community members who repeatedly told us they are worried about the lack of economic development in Five Points.
“I can count on one hand how many black-owned businesses are still just specifically in this area,” said Derron Turner, sitting in Welton Street Cafe.
Another man told us, “I think the city has to crack down on the owners of the area to lease out these spaces and get businesses in here.”
- What is Denver7 | Your Voice? Read about the new project here
This week, we took those frustrations straight to Denver City Councilman Darrell Watson (District 9), who represents the neighborhood.
When asked why businesses are having a hard time staying open in the neighborhood, Watson said, “Across the city, we're seeing lower sales tax. We're seeing less funds come into smaller businesses like restaurants, the types of businesses that are along the Welton Street corridor."
Watson said about $600,000 has been invested in Five Points businesses from the city’s Business Impact Opportunity (BIO) Fund. He went on to say there has been “a generation of lack of investment from the city into these businesses.”
“The history of Denver has… had a racist past in which the investments within Black, specifically Black-focused communities. Black communities have not been invested in as other parts of the city," said Watson.
Some of Five Points' most well-known businesses remain empty, including the neighboring storefronts that were once Coffee at the Point and a market next door.
“We believe we're very close at having an announcement of having two storefronts moving into that empty building that has been there for about four or five years,” said the councilman. “We'll call you as soon as we have more information, but we feel very confident (that) we have two small businesses that will be moving in very soon.”
As for the iconic Rossonian Hotel, Watson insists that the building is also heading in the right direction.
“We believe confidently we have the right property owner, the right developers to reopen the Rossonian. In the last discussion we had, they were providing timing for their permitting process to resubmit a permit request to the city, and so once again, some good, good information should be coming very soon," Watson said.
In these Denver7 | Your Voice stories, we want to hear from you about what matters most in your community. We hope to hear what makes our communities special, the challenges facing them, and everything in between. Have an idea or want to share your thoughts? Fill out the contact form below.
