DENVER — After years of concerns from business owners and residents about safety and crime along South Broadway, the Broadway General Improvement District is expected to kick off Thursday.
“When I first started here, the general area was relatively clean, but in the last nine years the trajectory has been downwards. A lot more trash, seeing a lot of open-air drug use, and finding needles when I’m trying to walk my dog in grassy areas,” Import Mechanics service manager Brad Deen said.
This new district was approved by voters back in November and is funded through a new property tax increase.
That increase means an extra $2,400 a year for a million-dollar commercial building and about $560 a year for a $1 million home.
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The district expects to have about $1.2 million to spend in 2026 on improvements like community events, cleaning, maintenance services, beautification efforts and 24/7 safety patrol.
Denver7 has followed issues about crime and safety from both residents and business owners along the two-mile stretch of South Broadway between 6th Ave. and Interstate 25 for years.
Some business owners along South Broadway said they hope the new district brings meaningful change.
“What I’m really hoping to see is just constant cleanliness, being able to hopefully at some point have some capital improvement projects and just bring more people down here to see what the neighborhood is actually about,” Deen said.
Brad Deen with Import Mechanics along South Broadway told Denver7 the past three years is where he started to notice there needed to be some sort of change in the neighborhood.
“It’s gotten to the point where every morning I would come in and have to spend 20 minutes cleaning up trash before our customers get here, so they don't have to step over trash,” Deen said.
A celebration will be held later Thursday at 4 p.m. to kick off the street team. District leaders will outline what residents and business owners can expect to see in the coming months.
