Businesses along Denver’s South Broadway corridor say persistent crime, homelessness and drugs are pushing businesses to the brink of closure and have begun establishing business improvement districts. This will allow the district to hire its own private security personnel to address ongoing issues.
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“To be honest, this has always been the case,” said Luke Johnson, who has owned a pet supply store on Broadway for the past eight years and is president of the Broadway Merchants Association.
“This is a problem that happens every week,” Johnson said of crime, vandalism and riots.
He cited an incident last October when his store was broken into and thieves stole the company’s safe. On other occasions, he said, his windows had been smashed “for no reason” and people had walked into the store to steal.
“That’s true of everyone here — I’m not alone,” Johnson said.
In January, a man broke into the Roxy restaurant and music venue, rummaged through items, contaminated food and alcohol and attempted to set a fire. General manager Bryce Fox said the venue had to close for two days, causing an estimated $10,000 to $15,000 in lost revenue.
“It was tough,” said Fox, who remembers another man throwing a brick at their glass door for no apparent reason.
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During the first week of March, a video showed a man wielding a pole and smashing it into the front door and windows of a store on First Street on Broadway.
Business owners say police are stretched thin and unable to respond to all calls for help in a timely manner.
“Because when there’s violence on Broadway, it’s hard for them to respond unless there’s a gun or a knife involved and there’s blood,” Johnson said.
There are an estimated 200 to 225 property owners along the stretch from Sixth Avenue to Interstate 25. Johnson said the BID’s budget will likely be about $1 million a year, derived from assessments of property owners in the area, about $700,000 of which would be used to hire private, unarmed security guards to patrol the area 24 hours a day.
“What options are there at this point?” Johnson asked. The business owner went on to say that the area will have to rely on its property owners to “fix the issues that the city should fix.”
“It’s the homelessness epidemic, that’s part of it. It’s the drug epidemic, that’s part of it,” Johnson said. “I think drug use is a huge problem.”
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Other neighborhoods in Denver, such as Cherry Creek North, have established business improvement districts and hired private security to patrol the neighborhoods.
Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District President and CEO Nick LeMasters said they introduced private security in 2020 as part of a “proactive approach.”
“Recent crime statistics show a significant decrease in overall crime. We are proud of what we do but want to do more,” LeMasters said.
He said the area is currently considering installing cameras to read license plates, and when the cameras identify stolen vehicles in the area, police will be immediately alerted. LeMasters said their security commitment is designed to “enhance the overall customer experience.”
Johnson said he hopes to have the Broadway BID completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025. “We have no choice at this point.”
