Bennito L. Kelty
Audio By Carbonatix
A couple hundred Denver voters living near Broadway voted in favor of forming the city’s sixth general improvement district (GID), as more residents and business owners ask for additional, public-facing services to keep their neighborhoods clean, safe and attractive.
In a special election on November 4, eligible voters approved the formation of the South Broadway GID by a tally of 181 to 80, according to numbers from Jamie Giellis, the former mayoral candidate and special district guru hired to help with the formation of the newest GIDs.
More than 1,200 voters were eligible to vote because they live or own property within the proposed GID’s boundaries, which cover a block on either side of a two-mile strip of Broadway that runs from Sixth Avenue to Interstate 25.
The South Broadway GID is expected to bring 24/7 security, seven-day-a-week street cleaning and new and coordinated branding, a coalition of residents and business owners from the area told Denver City Council in June. The GID will replace three pedestrian mall maintenance districts that residents were already paying into.
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Broadway voters also agreed to add a property tax of nearly nine mills on assessed property values, which is expected to give the GID a first-year budget of $1.2 million. That tally shook out differently, with 137 for the tax and 129 against. Another ballot question over whether to allow the GID to take on debt garnered 157 votes for and 103 against, according to Giellis.
About half of the first-year budget is expected to go towards safety and security, while cleaning, landscaping and maintenance take most of the rest.
The GID hopes to buck the trend of businesses like Mutiny Information Cafe, Fellow Traveler and Fancy Tiger Crafts moving from this area south to Englewood in search of a place where small shops can survive.
The GID formation was spearheaded by residents and business owners who will transition into a role on a new advisory board. Luke Johnson, president of the Broadway Merchant Association, a community organization, led that coalition effort; he will serve on the board along with the owners of the Wizard’s Chest, HQ Denver, Water Works and the William Feinberg Companies.
The board will also have members from the Lincoln Broadway and Baker registered neighborhood organizations. The GID extends into five neighborhoods: La Alma/Lincoln Park, Baker, Speer, Capitol Hill and Civic Center (or the Golden Triangle).
In a November 5 press release, Denver City Councilmember Flor Alvidrez, who will have a rep on the GID board, said the effort was “community-led,” and that “the vision for a cleaner, safer and more thriving Broadway came directly from the people who live, work and create here.”
Unlike a business improvement district (a BID), a GID is funded with property taxes on both businesses and residents. The city has a dozen BIDs, which only tax and service businesses.
Before last year, Denver had just four GIDs: RiNo, Denver 14th Street, Sun Valley and Gateway Village. With the exception of Gateway Village, which is near Montbello High School, the GIDs are all in central Denver
In November 2024, residents of the area near Coors Field approved the formation of the Ballpark GID. It has had a visible presence since the beginning of 2025, mostly through the work of the maroon-shirted “ambassadors” who patrol the neighborhood, pick up trash and move along homeless loiterers.
Cherry Creek residents killed the idea of GID for their neighborhood in October because many opposed higher property taxes. The idea of a Cherry Creek GID had support from Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer and a small coalition of business owners that hired Giellis to help with that effort; the neighborhood already has two BIDs.
In Aurora, a small number of eligible voters around East Colfax approved the formation of a Downtown Development Authority. Last year, Denver voters around Union Station renewed that area’s DDA, which is expanding its boundaries and is expected to raise $570 million for projects like buying the Pavilions.
Aurora’s DDA is based on a smaller one in Englewood that formed to attract businesses to its part of South Broadway…very successfully, judging from Denver’s support for the new South Broadway GID.
