Ten Resolutions for Downtown Denver in 2023

Downtown Denver, like most cities of its size that have been around for more than a century, has seen a number of changes. It wasn’t that long ago that downtown was the retail juggernaut of Denver, full of department stores and small retail shops and the like; around the time that began to change, Larimer Square was Denver’s Bowery, full of cheap bars and the folks who spent most of their time and money there.

Fifty years later, downtown is going through another transformation as it comes out of the pandemic and struggles to reinvent itself…again.

How could it do that? Here are ten resolutions that downtown Denver could make to create a better 2023 and beyond.
Support Small Businesses
We’ve lost too many of our mom-and-pop shops and restaurants in the pandemic and its aftermath. (The loss of 20th Street Cafe still stings.) Maybe the city could come up with an Enterprise Zone-type incentive for small businesses to establish themselves and have a greater chance of success in the downtown area. Downtown Denver has more than its share of national chains; for the area to be in any way unique, we have to support unique businesses that can draw both locals and visitors.
Continue the Grant Program for Affected Businesses
COVID made it tough on businesses along the 16th Street Mall…and then came massive construction right on its heels. That made it tough for some restaurants and stores to stay in business and stay downtown; in April 2022, Denver City Council approved $3 million for the Downtown Denver Partnership to financially boost affected businesses. Mitigation grants of $2,000 proactively help with potential revenue loss, and stabilization grants ranging from $7,500 to $15,000 are designed to help with realized revenue losses of at least 10 percent when compared to a previous year. That’s money-in-pocket help to keep the 16th Street Mall alive and well; it’s also money well spent.
Make the 16th Street Mall Safe
The 16th Street Mall is in the middle of a facelift, but it's a little like the Wild West, and not in that charming Westworld way, before all the robots went nuts. It gets even more so after dark. While construction continues over the next few years, the city would be smart to install security cameras, more lighting and more security on the beat in order to keep the peace in real and responsive ways. Yes, we want to keep the 16th Street Mall weird (no offense meant to either Colfax or Portland). It should be. And it should also be a place that a parent wouldn’t mind their teen being after the sun goes down.
Have More Horses
The horse-drawn carriage rides downtown are charming; the booze mobiles pedaling uselessly in front of traffic, not so much. But horses — especially in a Western town like Denver — make sense. They just seem to fit. So does the mounted police force, which would go a long way toward keeping the streets calm while also softening the image of the cop on the beat, which is something the DPD could use.
Build More Permanent Public Bathrooms
Hey, the toilet-trailers were a good and kind stand-in for folks in need of gastrointestinal relief downtown, and we're sorry that the "permanent" one at Champa and 16th Street turned out to be temporary when it couldn't be staffed. It’s high time for Denver to put its money where its pants drop: Build more municipal bathrooms (preferably ones that look like actual buildings and not dumpsters with a roof) that can be safe and accessible to all. More Biking Support
It shouldn’t be something of a life gamble to get through downtown on a bicycle. Bike lanes need to be mandatory on all downtown streets, and delineated clearly and visually for both cyclists and drivers so as to lessen the risk to both. The city has a long history of supporting this effort, and it should continue until Denver is known as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. We owe it to ourselves — and our air quality — to make that happen.
Embrace Inventive Architecture
The One River North project should be only the beginning of Denver’s nouveau cityscape. The creativity of McGregor Square across from Coors Field is already impressive, but it’s dwarfed by the stunning biophilic design of One River North, with its huge green gash climbing up to the rooftop, merging glass and steel with interruptive greenery. It’s the sort of building that becomes a symbol of the city in which it stands — and Denver should capitalize on the growth it’s going to see anyway in the best way that it can.
Keep Civic Center Park Open (and Clean)
Civic Center Park was closed in late 2021 because of a high level of misuse, ranging from vandalism to drugs to simple lack of care. Everything from human waste to used needles were found too often in what Mayor Robert Speer had started in his “City Beautiful” movement. The graffiti and detritus of the many protests brought about in the chaos of the Trump era were another factor. All of this led to a need to shut down access completely and give the park grounds a thorough cleaning, a renewed and extensive system of cameras, and greater security and maintenance crews. All good things — but Denver should commit to never having to shut the park down again to make things right.
Don’t Let Pavilions Go the Way of Tabor
Denver Pavilions has seen better days. It’s lost a lot of tenants over the years — we miss you, Barnes & Noble and Wolfgang Puck’s Grand Cafe — and the ones remaining anchor a huge space without much help. The United Artists Theater is hanging in, and Maggiano’s on the ground floor seems to be doing well, but other locations come and go. Here’s hoping the Pavilions can survive and thrive — not all the malls can close, can they?
Build the Canopy, and They Will Come
DDP’s Build the Canopy initiative is exactly the sort of thing the city’s center needs to bring people back downtown again. The incentive program has as its goal the building of a robust tree canopy in the downtown area, and to that end can offer up to $20,000 per tree bed to establish new or expand old planting areas. So far, 217 tree beds have been funded through the program, with more to come. A bit of green feeds the soul, and it's just one more reason to come downtown and breathe deeply.