Downtown vitality

We need to continue to drive forward economic vitality that brings the resources to our community

we're going to make an appeal that we continue to invest and bring back funding for the um tax rebate program

I had a quick one around Halloween. You know, that day on Pearl Street was a total and complete mess.

the proposed 2026 board vacancy appointments for the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District

the CIP advances this value through multiple investments that support several of our downtown parking garages and public spaces

for the continuation of the downtown ambassador program providing hospitality, safety, and cleaning services within the business improvement districts

we have so many vacancies in ground floor retail right now so why not do it

this represented an opportunity for new investment in the downtown at a time when we've seen uh sales tax revenue and commercial property value softening

Having a hotel instead of a parking lot will also increase activity of foot traffic downtown benefiting our local businesses

Over the past several years, Boulder has dealt with declining commercial activity, increasing vacancies, and growing economic pressures.

But downtown should be the economic engine of Boulder. Instead, its contribution is eroding.

We need to encourage residents who can afford to to come downtown and spend a lot of money

In downtown Boulder alone, 85% of our restaurants are locally owned and operated.

i. Vacancies on The Hill Update ii. Camping at The Fox Entrance

shaping the quality of life, economic vitality, and ability to evolve.

We've heard that a lot of those businesses are minority owned and that they should be aware of the impacts but also the benefits

It's about making sure commercial corridors are healthy, that our businesses feel supported

Commercial vacancies are a challenge, but they also reflect deeper structural shifts, changing retail dynamics

So, are we putting a dent in sluggish office vacancies?

and I expect to see more Teva signs in storefronts on Pearl Street.

when I walk down Pearl Street and see empty storefronts, um I think everybody from all classes are disappointed

We will host the Boulder Creek Festival downtown here in our downtown park

our Pearl Street Refresh, but also, since there are limited liaisons, I'm also open if someone else feels passionate about it.

We are also looking for a liaison on the Pearl Street Refresh.

activation and having more vibrancy in that area

Nor is the design really fostering economic vitality in the way that we know a downtown park can

Some alternate ideas I had to promote more activity uh on Pearl Street is an alcohol common consumption zone

isn't designed in a way that is supporting downtown vitality in a way that it could in the way that we see downtown park investments do

in order to provide more vitality and help our especially our retail downtown

there's a relationship between um parking and economic vitality

a DDA can support things similar to bids and GIDs, maintenance, activation, beautification

It's next to the AgeWell Center, the library, and a short walk downtown where folks can access healthcare services and many of the amenities we all enjoy.

This will allow me to agent place in a walkable area near the Boulder, Maine Public Library and downtown Pearl Street Mall.

I also think building more housing so close to Pearl Street can help revitalize our downtown that has many businesses struggling right now.

And we are not working specifically directly with businesses. We would go to Downtown Boulder Partnership to be a liaison to them.

Does the Downtown Boulder Partnership, do they work with restaurants and some of the, persons or retail outlets on the mall?

Downtown Boulder Partnership is leading programming on Pearl Street, and any engagement related to programming

it is pushing people to come less and for shorter times

It's quite difficult to do, particularly downtown. You have issues with windows, and you have issues with utilities

What we want out of their building is the activation it brings to a community, and the vibrancy

we do need to continue to actively seek a strategy to address, vacancies, especially second floor vacancies, office vacancies

we really should be charging people who are coming into Boulder

I've had conversations with a couple of people, who are really trying to invest in local, local engagement downtown, and kind of local vibrancy downtown.

This modest increase will maintain the vibrancy of Boulder's business districts by generating additional revenue

Looking at, residential vacancy tax, looking at, accelerating efforts to address commercial vacancies

I think that's because the primary purpose is commercial area revitalization, and so that's

we have an opinion on how this could be of benefit to the business community downtown on the Hill

we want more vitality downtown we need more people there

DAB recognizes that commercial vacancies are a significant economic problem and embarrassment to Boulder

commercial vacancies are a major economic problem and embarrassment to the Boulder community.

We're missing out on sales revenue, on creating enjoyable experiences, and bringing people together in our most downtown heart of community spaces.

There was a request for a retail and restaurant vacancy report.

We've continued to work on clean and safe within our uh commercial areas.

that there might be a cons a concern about competition

how do we ensure that we're maintaining the economic vitality in both places

now this town is totally revitalized. Like, people go downtown to eat and drink

making some suggestions on paring back the retail requirements

you know, suggestions of economic vitality in Boulder through good, appropriate design

what downtowns were like without people and activation

they were thinking about vibrancy and activation in our commercial areas

so this one is like, hey, let's get people outside downtown.

So when there's, like, a vacancy or two, it has an outsized impact, That area.

downtown kind of extends much larger than Pearl Street, so it's kind of that whole area

exploring those new tools to support uh healthy commercial areas uh across the city

addressing commercial vacancies, uh broadening small business support, and expanding our tools

like events and activities, that continue to drive that type of general economic activity

looking for ways specifically to address commercial vacancies and help support small businesses

some businesses downtown that would be like, oh, you know, we should go check that out

it seems like it's a direct competition with downtown

demonstrated a lot more local economic activity around the holiday season

Right, I don't want them to think they're getting stuck, like

Pearl Street Mall is one feature of downtown Boulder, one part of the Cajet District.

Is there vacancy, or is everything 100% occupied currently?

In cases of prolonged vacancy, spaces may be converted to residential uses to maintain vibrancy and activity in the area

yeah, you can walk down Pearl Street at 9, 10 o'clock, and it's just dead most of the time these days.

there's just very limited options for people to go out and stay out late, and there's not this culture of

improving safety and longevity of the structures used by downtown visitors, residents, and businesses

continuation of the downtown ambassador program providing hospitality, safety, and cleaning services within the business improvement district

We had, the On the Rise Fest, which brought live music and entertainment to the district.

they have a goal of turning it into a monthly event to support downtown businesses

the vacancy rates um because of that transition away from people working in offices, right?

I've heard maybe commercial buildings are already kind of hurting like empty office spaces downtowns things like that

Street storefronts closing in downtown has to do with just businesses closing in natural cycle

I actually don't know how relatively problematic some of the storefront is doing relative to the rest of Boulder

So that's been really successful this year, and, as usual, all of the models that you see in these ads are people who actually live or work downtown.

We also have been working behind the scenes with our restaurant.

it maintains existing business access and does not impact business parking.

City staff began coordinating with Downtown Boulder Partnership within the first hours of the attack to support communication and coordination

Yeah, there are only a couple of art galleries left downtown. Most of them won't represent local artists because of this dynamic

So briefly, the reason that representing artists downtown is really challenging. It's not only about the affordable, the affordability affordability issues.

I'm here today to talk to you about. Why, arts is important downtown are other venue

how do we future vision our downtown core if the neighborhoods are supporting more of the community need versus downtown

so what we're trying to do now is kind of enhance our business, and also to give these local residents a place to go within walking distance

I guess I'm just thinking of economic vitality, and activating and bringing people

the initiative was tied to just the high number of longer term vacancies, which is not something

that was a collaboration between Dvp and community vitality.

We're going to be doing some realignments for that economic vitality, one, that big one and the capital improvement program.

If you look at the economic vitality, we spent a lot more than we anticipated, but due to cost savings

So downtown retail vacancies um post pandemic uh continue to increase.

we ensure that this doesn't um negatively impact our downtown Pearl Street Mall

can be a tur turbo booster on the economic engine that is the Pearl Street Mall and the Hill

We're working on making it less so because there's just a lot of attention on conditions downtown.

with the exception of the Pearl Street Mall, which, for the design codes, they contribute so much to the economic vitality

They may slip with the office vacancies that you have downtown with the struggles you know that the hill just perpetually has.

So they are the our partners and operating and activating the Pearl Street Mall parks and recreation operates that site as an urban park.

Now, more than ever, for the reasons we've known all along, we've known that downtown parks can spur economic vitality.

Commission were not receiving applications at this time because there was no vacancies.

Now, two boards, the Shiitakwa Association and the Downtown Management

Is by not nominating does this board become unable to serve its function if it has two vacancies?

which have ground floor vacancies, and which have chosen to put their functional primary entrances on the backside.

for any neighborhood or commercial district, empty storefronts are an adverse impact

But I I just am concerned about now how very narrow. Those retail spaces have become, both on the north and south.

how this competes with restaurants we already have downtown that are already struggling.

what this team is thinking for this space really fits with a lot of our economic vitality goals, activations of more spaces in the downtown.

addressing current economic challenges including High commercial vacancy rates and the affordability of commercial space

I'm here to provide an update on the economic development plan and program enhancements the Project's designed to develop strategies to support economic Vitality

I'm here to provide an update on the economic development plan and program enhancements the Project's designed to develop strategies to support economic Vitality

What I have heard is that the businesses that are adjacent and on that area are off the bricks for a reason

collaborate with downtown stakeholders to create the next generation of public spaces downtown

a collaborative effort between the city and downtown stakeholders could have successfully addressed any challenges

I believe that expanding the human prioritized areas in and around Pearl Street would be a great place to start

and then there's always the issue of the hill, and how it relates to downtown and the connection between the 2.

all through December there are events to celebrate our small businesses downtown

We're gonna begin discussing the 50th anniversary of the Pro Street Mall that comes to us in 2027.

We do not have a 1st floor vacancy problem in downtown boulder.

do you think that the vacancy rate is the biggest contributor to that?

I think this is a really great idea for adding and activating our downtown space

as you probably have heard cus renewing their investment in the Ambassador program, which is great

there's low vacancy rates in the office buildings there's restaurants still trying to reopen

what the city wants is economic Vitality a vibrant downtown and it's bringing in people to downtown

that extension of Sterling Court essentially all the way south and then across the Goose Creek Greenway to Pearl Street that would be a new road

some of those conversations will uh come up so like they might say um like would we be able to tell that it's because of the decisions

our economic Vitality um group does sort of maintain a a list of businesses that leave um the city

downtown revenue downtown is increasing. 10% may over last year, whereas Pearl Street has gone down

District revitalization Investments efforts is about advancing all of those District priorities

we know we need to sustain the momentum and further support commercial areas across the city

If we look at the types of businesses and brands that are that are available on Pearl Street.

The vision for community vitalities, district Revitalization and investment efforts is to advance the district priorities

So really a a special time of vitality in our community way back when

enhanced cultural vibrancy with within the downtown districts including University Hill and the downtown Pearl Street Mall area

they'll spend much of their lives outside of their units patronizing our downtown restaurants and coffee shops

how do we get people moving throughout and supporting more broadly the city in our commercial areas

we've got a vacancy rate that's probably similar to East Pearl

anything to make downtown, or the districts that we manage more attractive in hopes that more people get to enjoy these spaces

that museum is leaving the downtown do recognize that there is right a gap

all I can do in central Boulder is go out to eat

So there already is a mechanism by which the business community can help fund it because of the economic impacts

We know the importance of the connectivity between the hill and downtown.

I've gone down to like 13th Street for some downtown boulder partnership stuff, and it's just really low, like low attendance.

It's also something that Chamber has identified as one of our top priorities.

And with our, with our office vacancy and some of our commercial listings.

that sounds like downtown pretty well, despite some of the worrisome trends we see in our office vacancy.

We have a lot of parking in downtown, how we make it really easy for people to park in downtown

there is a whole lot of work happening around supporting the vibrancy of the hill

We really want those folks being able to connect to our downtown area. So there already is work in progress.

civic area sounds super fun and meaningful, and I'd love to get to know Bernie and work with him more.

Wayland, does that something sound like something? It'd be interesting to you.

but the West End has the most number of visits per square foot

We worked with you all and with our boards to advocate City Council for economic vitality and development

when it comes to the economic vitality, the a big component to that is the commercial vacancies

the high commercial vacancy rates that we're seeing about 15 to 30% uh across Boulder in the downtown area

the new local is now the very last Gallery downtown that is exclusively supporting and representing local artists

we've been downtown for about a year and a half relentlessly cranking out creative um programming for downtown

it adds having housing opportunities around the downtown will add to the Vitality of

Yeah, no. That's downtown boulder partnership. Okay, this is

Obviously, as we work with the business community would look for opportunities to improve foot traffic in the area and revenue.

a big component of the reason for doing this work is related to economic Vitality activation of space

they're definitely not hitting that same level of attendance

We started to see a vacuum kind of set up here with a drain on some of the smaller offices that have been out in this part of Pearl Street

economic development strategy, including policy and code changes related to office vacancy, business recruiting incentives

I'm wondering if I could fold it in to the downtown situation.

things like office, vacancy, business recruitment, related code changes, incentives us, social streets, community events

some might be safety for all people, economic vitality, vibrant, downtown, safer streets

there is significant concern about the future of office and empty office buildings, and what it's doing to the vitality of various downtowns

the 2 topics that we're going to be discussing are public safety and downtown vibrancy

one of the priorities that we're really identifying and working on is how to activate

Sorry about or vacancies. Yeah. I'd say that was reopen.

the Boulder Police Department had responded to calls from community members and business owners in the downtown Boulder business area on 60 occasions

when we were looking over some of the data with the downtown ambassadors today

thanking me for another successful Pro uh prosecution of Anthony but that thank you to me just highlighted that he was once again caught up in the criminal justice system

those will be considered along with some of the recommendations that were recently put forward by the downtown Boulder partnership in the Downtown Vision plan

today the built environment is of course regulated by our zoning districts of which we have five distinct downtown zones

all things downtown is not a project it is uh a maybe a project of projects

we've done a number of activations in the downtown area social streets as well as other events

to help us with those those unique things that create that sense of place

I, we also had a very successful holiday season downtown

we're now at a 30 to 35% vacancy rate in our offices downtown

it would be interesting to know how people feel at night in the downtown commercial areas

We are also planning for the fifteenth anniversary of the Pearl Street Mall investments.

We use our Arpa dollars versus commercial area activations in the downtown, in partnership with the Boulder social streets

as well as um down South by cuu campus so thinking about all of these key adjacent sites we do have a major connection with the Arboretum path

those are in partnership with staff and fire department and in community vitality downtown Boulder partnership

about 12 different planning processes that are either already underway in the downtown or need to be underway in the downtown

The downtown holder partnership is our avid. C. 501 c. 6. Organization.

It's the downtown boulder in 2019 was 12.4

instead of 4 blocks of Pearl Street. I want a whole district, you know, a square mile

they said recently they've been seeing a lot more people drinking on Pearl Street.

You can see that the materials that we've chosen try to fit within the developments criterion standards that we see predominantly going up within the downtown area.

That also incorporates the essence of the downtown Boulder character that we see all over the downtown area.

we lean on the downtown Boulder partnership and the business improvement district for the annual operations

that our ability to do a pilot and then stop doing a pilot is is limited

this is not an expansion of the program 103,000 that the downtown management commission um recommended

redesign of key spaces to better serve users and business owners with a focus on activating the space

also note Financial strategy committee did receive a request from downtown their

I hope more, more people get to some of these things because the actual Pearl Street was packed.

as it stands today, there's a 14% commercial vacancy rate. and the business mix is depicted on the right hand side here.

Dda, for short. is a strategy used to revitalize commercial districts and can provide for a variety of funding options

Pearl Street is A is is an exception to the rule, and in in terms of pedestrian malls

absences are the vacancies along the Pearl Street Mall. No, the possibly planning board or the downtown Management Commission

a more creative more engaged more enthusiastic and a more economically vibrant downtown for Boulder

And then, lastly, economic vitality and resilience. It's incredibly important that any revitalization strategy contribute to long term positive growth

Business retention challenges. So the commercial district and business environment on the hill caters heavily to the student population

I'd have to really walk through all of those downtown districts take a look at them property by property

prohibiting the remaining vehicle related uses from the downtown zoning districts so that would be prohibiting car washes

I think you're going to see over the next few years the hill in downtown coming closer together

Obviously, we have so many events down here all the time, the entire summer, and even into the winter.

So moving on to the downtown folder partnership on a I see you here

in second floor spaces around all downtown, you know, are are suffering

a lot of these properties are located like right in the downtown core and so you know if you sell a building it can become a blight

almost 1.5 million impressions of the student banners down in town. So those are the banners like on Pearl Street, and there's counters and people walk in.

if we see higher office vacancy rates uh we then think about that multiplier effect if people aren't in the community

What I going back to downtown streets, public spaces.

Pharmacut is gone from Pearl Street is now gone from my deal, and they're building.

Do you understand the rationale with having the ambassadors start so early? Nobody is out and about on the hill.

there's actually going to be a kick off celebration, Andia del Nino. which is going to be on Saturday, April 29 downtown boulder at the Civic Park band

this one highlights some of the outcomes of the downtown ambassador program as a reminder this is a partnership between Community Vitality department and the downtown Boulder partnership

we have our downtown ambassadors which is a partnership with our um with our downtown Boulder partner group

to successfully launch the pop-ups this year that will include hiring a pop-up manager

the everyday activities that are meant to animate and energize the Pearl Street Mall

the department of community vitality is under under values parking.

The downtown bemoca doesn't get diluted from this and ultimately shut down?

we have put a huge amount of effort into promoting cultural activities downtown

Packet this Thursday City Council talking about downtown streets as public spaces.

I've got a lot of things around Post Covid recovery dealing with vacancies, planning for the future.

to make great events happen and activations happen throughout the district

the economic vitality needs of the of the district, and and Don't want to certainly disrupt anything you know

This is about economic vitality as well. We have seen how commerce has changed, how interactions between individuals and businesses have changed

we're about to hear a presentation of the Downtown Vision plan this is a plan that's been worked on

City Council is gonna have a study session on downtown streets as public spaces That project connects closely to work we're doing across the downtown area.

The Pearl Street model is probably the most complicated one. It does have a long history

it was part of that discussion yesterday about coordinating downtown initiatives I know everything's an emergency

the million the couple million people who come downtown every year actually go up to the hill

Downtown Vision plan implementation which through Community Vitality the downtown core arterial Network plan

Where are you going to put all the storage for all the little compartments that people are living in downtown boulder.

if pearl streets the heart, and in the civic areas the soul, it is constantly looking like these pictures

You look at great downtown civic spaces. They are not operated by the city alone.

You know our economic vitality in terms of commercial has been.

There are some vacancies, but we don't do a great job of tracking vacancies, but but the as much as we do.

like vacancy with retail, which is kind of like one bucket, which is like the activation thing.

The reason that I brought hospitality lounges and advocated for them is because so many people don't want to be walking up and down the Pearl Street Mall

the establishments would not be able to be on the first floor

So I want to make sure that we're here, including the hell in those conversations as well.

So we're trying to work with downtown boulder and the city to make sure that signs put up around the hill.

a general acknowledgment of number of downtown related uh planning processes that are kind of bubbling

It's an economic vitality question, while it's not heavy in our strategy.

that contributes to the overall experience of of Pearl Street and the downtown experience

we have a Mobility study for downtown that's going to be undertaken there's been a lot of talk

downtown Boulder partnership has been working on a vision plan for probably at least a year maybe a little longer

We have a lot that we are anticipating for the downtown area. You've heard a little bit about it today.

all the partnership becoming more involved in some of these conversations. We're working with them.

we're very fortunate in the downtown that we have the business improvement district we've had it for twenty-five years

downtown boulder partnership right is able to do its own marketing and all that other kind of stuff because of their funding revenue

there'd be a greater belief the downtown is not a place to go either for people in our community

one of the things we're trying to do and some of us are on committees to make the downtown more welcoming

then lastly the downtown Boulder business Improvement District uh this is a little bit different statute

I passed by seven empty spaces on Pearl Street. That was horrifying for economic vitality.

I was not aware of the downtown visioning exercise that's wrapping up right now

keeping a active and open commercial and streetscape and commercial landscape in the community is important to keeping businesses thriving

is there just a tremendous amount of attention being focused on downtown right now

a number of other projects that are focused on downtown currently

I counted six vacancies between 9th and Broadway and you know that that is not good

if there are higher vacancies on West Pearl that will lead to lower lower sales tax revenues because there are vacancies

first floor retail spaces getting occupied and leasing throughout the downtown and and but we are still seeing vacancies persist in this part of downtown

we will also continue work that is already underway with downtown Boulder partnership on the Downtown Vision plan

this was actually a jointly funded program between the city and downtown boulder partnership

we were quickly reminded why we avoid downtown please stop telling us that this isn't your responsibility

Center spells disaster for business residence and tourism anyone who wants to get off of the streets

spots on the 1100 block of the pearl street mall on the 1200 block

just literally tens of thousands of interactions with community members um with with business owners and just phenomenal success

they are supporting the downtown boulder partnership and their special events programming

on the economic vitality front we are getting ready to update our economic sustainability strategy

we'll include information in city newsletters and work with our partners at the boulder chamber and the downtown boulder partnership

we pursued the closure of the west end to vehicle traffic we rerouted the hop on pearl street in the downtown

the limited accessibility is really causing the problems that have caused the restaurant owners to overwhelmingly ask the city to reopen pearl street

it would be a big mistake to extend the closure it affects the whole mall

i understand that the boulder city council is still considering the west pearl street closure between 11th and 9th street

people aren't returning to the downtown office space who's or not fully who's supporting the downtown restaurants and so on

a consideration of a motion to adopt resolution 304 approving a supplemental appropriation to the 2022 downtown commercial district fund

so many people would like to see more pedestrian traffic on the west end but to me this is something we ought to be fairly cautious about

as well as economic vitality, so a need for higher turnover spaces to really help support businesses, especially in the downtown area

the business improvement district being as strong as it is uh downtown Boulder Inc

these small businesses are the backbone of downtown Boulder and we have seen a migration out of Boulder

in addition traffic counts are suffering during weekdays monday through thursdays lunches and dinners with office closures

And then recurring theme i've heard are just ideas for downtown

one of the things i've seen in our community downtown is that you know during the work week town kind of empties out

when you give it to a Community vitality group

we hear what's going on downtown um this is one i have served on for six years

the business improvement district is a legal taxing authority um within the city so it's quasi-governmental

as we think about places like the hill particularly the event street we um we think about

i hope we do get to a formal agreement with downtown boulder partnership

we just received downtown Boulder Partnerships proposal a few weeks ago even though we've been talking for a long time

some amazing Outreach conducted by downtown Boulder partnership and people were expressing a lot of enthusiasm for the experience

we have to be mindful of the trade offs and the impacts of economic vitality

providing economic vitality for our businesses which we rely on to generate sales tax to do the work that we do

wanting to learn how their downtowns can be more like our beloved pearl street mall

the ordinance that will um make restaurants permitted use of some kind in the pzone

we've talked with community vitality and downtown boulder and there are not specific plans

provided guidance to efforts supporting downtown Boulder in the hill most recently with the Hill Hotel Redevelopment

the negative effect of closing off roads and reducing parking is outweighed by the economic and cultural community-wide benefits of enjoying a larger portion of pearl street's businesses

we're also continuing in partnership with downtown to promote and connect people to small businesses including the farmer's market

area businesses are closing at an alarming rate I've heard from many Boulder residents they no longer will shop downtown because of safety concerns

it is more of an ambassador program that would be collaborative with maybe um downtown

staff to hear from the downtown organizations about what this might look like so we can make an informed decisions

I know that our downtown organization has indicated that they would support this financially

we don't want to make the lack of visitors downtown a permanent thing

from um the downtown management commission or the downtown boulder partnership or other stakeholders

SCOPE OFF WHATAT THEYY D DOO CHANGEE T TOT BUILDINGS THROUGHOUT THEHE CITYY INSTEAD O OFF JUSTT FOCUSING ONE DOWNTOWN AREA

there's been little or no discussion regarding the broad future of downtown and how it relates to the whole city

to allow downtown restaurants and others to expand operations the public right away

Boulder has a high vacancy rate and low absorption rate indicating that the city may have as much or more retail space than it needs

we believe this project is critical to the long-term sustainability and economic Vitality of 29th Street

the hill Boulder and downtown Boulder partnership and safety related murals some of which you'll see

one of the things that has been very popular is a street closure that Council suggested

one of the things that was a result of the pandemic is that there's been substantial reduction in the number of people driving downtown

these are difficult times though as as those commercial property owners and the city itself has expenses to cover

as part of our economic vitality function obviously we're on high alert

we're also accommodating the many businesses that need to continue to receive deliveries and to provide for safety in that area

we're expecting that they're going to be working together on their block face and with the downtown Boulder partnership

WE ANTICIPATE GETTING AN UPDATE ON THE DOWNTOWN BOULDER PARTNERSHIP SURVEYING AROUND CONSUMER SENTIMENT

THE BIGGEST CATALYTIC COMMUNITY BENEFIT IS HOPEFULLY REVITALIZATION TO CREATE SOME ECONOMIC VITALITY FOR ALL OF THE BUSINESSES

downtown build a partnership um you know our Hill partners and the business Community up on the hill

I'm personally going to be watching vacancy rates we have a situation on the hill in the double digit vacancies

pearl street is the heart of boulder it's a highly trafficked public space

i'm understanding that there's some concern that we've got all these businesses that are shuttered

we repurposed some funding and community vitality to uh add some additional private security coverage on the mall

making weeknight parking downtown more affordable in any of our five downtown city parking garages

I love the new three to three program as a frequent downtown user and someone who worked there

downtown business Improvement District board it's it's two actually two members it's not an alternate

WE JUST FINISHED OF CITYWIDE RETAIL STUDY. TO GO FORWARD IN ADDRESSING WHAT YOU ARE ASKING FOR

SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE SOMETHING LIKE FAMOUS TWELVE POINT THREE MILLION DOLLARS ALLOCATED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET FOR ECONOMIC VITALITY

there's a presumption against conversion of residential to office in certain areas to avoid that in around the downtown

more than 20 people from around Boulder and across the country applied for his job seeking to continue the good work that

the downtown Boulder foundation a non-profit there that presents festivals concerts and parades that draw more than a quarter million people to downtown every year

continued implementation of retail strategy action steps including possible bid expansions and creation of affordable retail space

they also wanted to say that they supported the implementation of the downtown retail strategy for 2019

that is part of the retail strategy that will be coming to council later in the year

those neighborhoods and downtown businesses have a very real special relationship

A QUESTION FOR THE COMMITTEE AGAIN WHAT THE PROCESS IS FOR THE HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD.

THAT WAS PUT FORWARD AS ONE OF THE WAYS TO ENHANCE THE DOWNTOWN CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE THE DISTRICT

boulders consider to have a healthy concentration of retail within the downtown business district your vacancies are low

just select based on who's gonna give you the most rent and you know what kind of business you want in your location

some of the shopping areas around the mall those retail pad sites have vacancies some anchor vacancies so I think they're having some analysis to do

we definitely saw sales tax decline from that area of the city in 2017 in the next area we thought we'd focus on

there have been more apparel store closings than openings so it's something to look at we will also see on a later slide

is not necessarily enamored of what's happened to the Pearl Street Mall over the years

have started work on a downtown retail strategy we talked about it earlier this year

we have a great collaborative relationship with all the downtown stakeholders and the city at large

the Pearl Street Mall is recognized as one of the premier outdoor pedestrian gathering and retail spaces in the United States