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Project Overview

The Commercial Area Connections and Quality of Life Improvements initiative is a priority of City Council which includes projects across many City of Boulder departments. This 2024-2025 council priority aims to address current conditions in the city’s commercial areas, improvements to connections between districts, advancing safety and vibrancy, and examinations of the use of districting tools in key activity centers.

This exploration of improvement district tools will be at the center of the Commercial Areas Connections and Quality of Life priority. Led by the Community Vitality Department, these projects will engage with the community about how existing and potential future improvement districts can efficiently and effectively use financial tools can best contribute to the safety, vitality, and resilience of the community. Three main areas are currently in development or underway in support of this work.

Commercial District Revitalization and Investment Efforts

This area includes many projects underway or completed in the Community Vitality Department (with strong collaboration across many departments).

Public Art and Placemaking:

  • Bike Corral Murals

  • Boulder Arts Blueprint

  • Boulder Junction Branding/Wayfinding

  • Crosswalk mural at 17th & Pearl

  • Painted Crosswalk at 13th & College

  • Placemaking icons at Boulder Junction

  • Temporary wayfinding signage between University Hill and downtown

Mobility and Access:

Infrastructure and Maintenance:

  • Facility Assessment of the Spruce Garage

  • GID Asset Management Plan

  • HVAC Replacement at 1500 Pearl

  • Mill and Pave Public Parking Lots

  • Restripe Parking General Improvement Districts

  • Stormwater System Repairs

  • Spruce Garage Rehabilitation

  • Waterproof Traffic Coating

Urban Planning and Activation:

Improvement District Analysis

As we work on more immediate improvements in and between our commercial areas, we need to also fully understand existing conditions of Boulder’s improvement districts and explore options for advancing the efficiency of policy, governance and financial tools. The Improvement District Analysis will describe options and key actions to maximize our use of districting tools available to Boulder to best achieve our community’s near-term goals for our current General Improvement Districts (downtown, on University Hill, and at Boulder Junction) and potential new districts.

This work will be complete in May of 2025.

Boulder Commercial Areas Blueprint

Building on the Improvement District Analysis, the Boulder Commercial Areas Blueprint will look forward by reviewing and revising priorities for the future of our commercial districts. The project will be closely related to the update of the BVCP, building on that policy and strategy direction to create a road map for the future use of improvement district tools for our commercial areas over the next few decades.

The schedule for this work closely aligns with the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan Update and is aimed to be complete in December of 2026.

Projects Across Departments Related to Commercial Areas

In addition to details about the three projects above, there are a set of initiatives across departments that demonstrate a comprehensive approach to this City Council priority.

There are a set of initiatives across departments that demonstrate a comprehensive approach to this City Council priority: