This commentary is by members of the Downtown Development Authority Planning Group, a diverse group of business owners, nonprofit and community leaders, property owners, residents and community stakeholders who have participated in the city’s DDA planning process.
Over the past year, we have had the privilege of serving on a volunteer Planning Group asked to determine whether a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) could help address Boulder’s long-term economic challenges. Our responsibility was to ask difficult questions, evaluate the facts and decide whether this tool was the right fit for Boulder. That meant reviewing financial projections, studying Colorado law governing DDAs, examining successful DDAs across the state and comparing the long-term implications of establishing a DDA versus maintaining the status quo.
The proposal before City Council is not the result of a rushed process or a single study. The concept of a Downtown Development Authority has been discussed in Boulder for years as community leaders have explored ways to strengthen the long-term economic vitality of downtown and University Hill.
The details of this proposal are important and can be found at BoulderDDA.com. They deserve thoughtful review and discussion. But every detail ultimately leads back to one fundamental question:
What happens if we choose to do nothing?
Downtown Boulder and University Hill together are two of the city’s most important economic engines. Their success extends far beyond their boundaries. When these districts thrive, they create jobs, attract private investment, strengthen local businesses and generate tax revenues that help support services relied upon by residents throughout Boulder. Today’s data tells us these districts are losing momentum, reducing private investment, slowing economic activity and weakening the tax base that supports services throughout Boulder.
Since before the pandemic, inflation-adjusted revenues reveal a different trajectory for Downtown Boulder and University Hill than for the city as a whole. While the city’s General Fund property tax revenues have grown by approximately 10%, downtown property values have declined by nearly 20%. Inflation-adjusted sales tax revenues have also lagged behind the rest of the city, highlighting that Downtown Boulder and University Hill continue to face economic challenges that are different from those affecting other parts of the city.
These trends are not unique to Boulder. Remote work has fundamentally changed office demand. Consumer behavior continues to evolve. Competition among communities has intensified. Across Colorado and the country, cities are investing in their downtowns because they recognize that maintaining a healthy economic center requires intentional action. There is no macroeconomic trend suggesting these conditions will improve on their own.
Doing nothing is not preserving today’s Downtown Boulder and University Hill. It means accepting continued erosion of the tax base, private investment and economic activity that benefit the entire community.
To better understand the long-term implications, the Planning Group reviewed conservative 30-year financial projections using two different scenarios.
The first assumes current trends continue, with property values declining by approximately 1.5% annually and the underlying tax base gradually shrinking, resulting in lower revenues over time for the city, Boulder County, schools and the Library District.
The second assumes just 1% annual growth in property values driven by redevelopment, private investment and renewed economic activity. That seemingly small difference completely changes the long-term outlook. Instead of a shrinking tax base, the community benefits from a growing one. Even under this conservative scenario, schools, Boulder County, the City of Boulder and the Library District all receive more revenue than they would under the “do nothing” scenario, while the DDA generates dedicated resources to help create that growth in the first place.
The same pattern appears in projected sales tax revenues. If today’s trends simply continue, future growth is largely driven by inflation alone. Under the DDA scenario, modest real economic growth produces substantially greater long-term revenues while strengthening Downtown Boulder and University Hill for the benefit of all community members.
The projections demonstrate that even a 1% annual increase in long-term growth changes the trajectory for our community, with benefits for the DDA, the city, Boulder County, BVSD and the Library District. That’s why we believe the cost of doing nothing deserves just as much consideration as the cost of taking action.
The question isn’t whether a DDA captures future growth. The question is whether Boulder creates that future growth in the first place.
Economic development isn’t about redistributing today’s economy. It’s about creating tomorrow’s economy.
Across Colorado, DDAs have helped communities redevelop aging districts, attract private investment and revitalize their downtowns. Those successes demonstrate why a Downtown Development Authority has become one of the state’s most effective economic development tools. Boulder’s proposed Plan of Development applies those same proven principles to the unique needs of Downtown Boulder and University Hill.
That proposed Plan of Development focuses on encouraging redevelopment, strengthening connections between downtown and University Hill, investing in transportation and public spaces and creating the conditions necessary for long-term economic resilience.
Boulder has never been defined by standing still. Our community has always succeeded because previous generations were willing to invest in the future. The question before us is not whether change is coming. It already has. It is whether we will shape that future intentionally, or simply allow today’s trends to define the future of our community.
Downtown Development Authority Planning Group Members:
- Jon Banis, Japango
- Tami Door, Downtown Boulder Partnership
- Eli Feldman, Conscience Bay Company
- Charlene Hoffman
- Justin Kalvin, Sundown Saloon
- Deborah Malden, Create Boulder
- Katie Olson, Art Source International & Boulder Connectors
- Danica Powell, Trestle Strategy Group
- Dakota Soifer, Cafe Aion
- Terri Takata-Smith, Downtown Boulder Partnership & Boulder Connectors
- John Tayer, Boulder Chamber
- Molly Winter, Downtown Boulder Community Initiatives Board, Boulder Connectors and Boulder resident
