DENVER — There’s nowhere in Denver like South Broadway. On Friday, Denver7 listened to community members who shared their thoughts on the neighborhood and a proposal to make it cleaner and safer.
Denver City Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, who represents the area as part of District 7, describes it as “a very local, small business feel, eclectic part of the city.”
Mazzy Madeira, who works at Broadway pizza shop Pie Hole and plays in local bands Dry Ice and Lu Lagoon, appreciates the neighborhood being “a little bit crusty.”
“I think that it's the crustiness that really makes a city and gives it character,” she told Denver7.
Katie Wells, who works at Broadway clothing store Sewn, calls the Broadway neighborhood “equal parts heartbreaking, uplifting, inspiring, artistic, creative, disappointing sometimes.”
After 25 years, the neighborhood’s Underground Music Showcase had its swan song last month.
Denver7 has listened to Broadway business owners concerned about crime, open-air drug use, or just keeping their doors open.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
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“A lot of stuff has moved or relocated or just shut down,” said Brenna McLaughlin, who has lived steps from South Broadway for five years.
Saturday marks the end of a 29-year run for The Hornet. A Facebook post from the beloved restaurant’s owner did not give a reason, other than “many things have changed and become more complicated over the years at 1st & Broadway.”
Alvidrez called the Hornet “a staple for as long as I've been alive, and we need to continue that in some way, shape or form.”
This week, the Denver City Council voted unanimously to send a potential solution to the ballot this fall.
Residents and property owners near the roughly two-mile stretch of Broadway between 6th Avenue and Interstate 25 will decide whether to form a general improvement district (GID), which would collect extra property taxes to pay for services like private security, better cleaning and landscaping, and marketing for neighborhood events.
According to the district's financial plan, it would impose an 8.960 mill equivalent rate in 2026. Commercial properties worth $1 million would pay roughly $2,400 more in taxes per year, and residential properties worth $1 million would pay around $550 extra per year.
If approved, the district is projected to raise about $1.1 million next year, with half going to security.
- You can read the Broadway General Improvement District proposal below:
“It's been a challenge, especially competing with downtown and all the funding that's going downtown,” Alvidrez said. “I think what people are trying to do here with security is just get that firsthand person here quicker… We have had a lot of overdose deaths on Broadway… Public health means we're not leaving human feces and urine all over our streets, and that we're able to keep a clean, safe space for everyone.”
“It would be nice for places to have that longevity here,” McLaughlin said.
When asked about the potential GID plan, McLaughlin was unsure about the need for a private security presence but added, “I think the cleaning part would help.”
Some worry there are bigger problems to tackle in the neighborhood, like rising rents.
“We're currently next to two giant spaces that are just painted black and covered with billboards and posters and looking ratty,” Wells said. “We've known several people who've rented there before and were pushed out because rent got high. So it's disappointing and frustrating.”
Many do not want to see the neighborhood lose its trademark grit.
“I think if they're using that money to then just try to push out all the people that are living here, whether it's in homes or on the streets, I think that's really unfortunate,” Madeira said.
Now, in November, voters will decide if the improvements on the table are worth the extra price.
