Denver Mayor Mike Johnston agrees to allocating $2 million to help businesses impacted by city construction

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston responded to the City Council's request for changes to the 2027 budget, in which city revenue is expected to increase slightly more than 1% from this year.

Councilmembers asked for several changes, including funding for the Business Impact Opportunity fund, which helps small businesses impacted by city construction. 

Since its launch in 2019, the BIO fund has provided over 4,000 grants to businesses during city construction projects and, for a time, to support businesses through COVID-19. Now, the city is looking at long-term options to keep much-needed support during future projects.

"I had a lot of experience with the BIO fund when the Broadway bike lane was going in," said City Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, who knows firsthand how the BIO fund can help small businesses in Denver. "There was a lot of damage to businesses, a lot of unexpected consequences of the construction, and then of course we've all been seeing what's been happening to Colfax."

Businesses along East Colfax endured years of construction for the bus rapid transit project. To date, the city has allocated more than $2 million to businesses in the area, and the BIO fund is conducting a final round of applications through the end of the month. 

"As a city, we are trying to be conservative about how we use our dollars, but we also need to remember that it's our small businesses that pay us the sales tax," said Alvidrez.

According to Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO), 95% of grant recipients affected by the Colfax BRT project are still open for business.

"The long-term impacts of that business corridor are still undetermined, and so the BIO fund is really a very small assistance to help these companies get through this," Alvidrez said.

Johnston has agreed to make $2 million available to replenish the BIO fund. About half of that money will come from the general fund, contingent on a long-term program design from city council.

"We have put together an ordinance that will be for projects of $10 million or more right now," said Alvidrez.

Alvidrez is among the city council members who will present a proposed ordinance to the body next month. 

She said, "We're trying to think of other ways and give the economic development office options to consider when they have these projects, other than just giving away taxpayer dollars."

The Federal Boulevard BRT project will also begin construction next year, but Councilwoman Alvidrez says that's a state project, not a city project, and therefore businesses in that area will not qualify for BIO funds. She says she's having conversations with CDOT and the state legislature about how to support those businesses.