Downtown Boulder Inc. begins stimulus program

BOULDER – With retail sales sagging in downtown Boulder, including the Pearl Street Mall, the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District is tapping a rainy-day fund to launch a stimulus program to help local businesses weather the ongoing economic slowdown.

“There is no question that consumer spending has been dropping since last summer, and some merchants need a boost,´ said Sean Maher, executive director of the business improvement district.

 Retail sales tax receipts are down 10.9 percent year-to-date through April in the downtown district compared with the same period in 2008. The district is a 49-block neighborhood where property owners tax themselves to make their community cleaner, safer and more vibrant. The area runs roughly from 8th to 20th streets west to east, and portions of Spruce Street to the north and Canyon Boulevard to the south.

Sales tax receipts are down 10.1 percent on the Pearl Street Mall, the city’s famed pedestrian mall, which is at the heart of the district.

Citywide, sales tax receipts are down 5.24 percent.

Home furnishing stores are taking the biggest hit, down 27.8 percent followed by consumer electronics, down 21.1 percent. Automotive trade is down 14.5 percent, apparel stores are down 8.7 percent and eating places are down 5 percent.

But there is optimism among some retailers on the Pearl Street Mall.

“We are down, but we are not struggling,´ said Alexis Cooley, manager at El Loro, Jewelry & Clog Co. at 1415 Pearl St. The shop has been on the Pearl Street Mall for 32 years. “We had three weeks of rain in June, and that’s unusual. But this is an outdoor walking mall, and the rain has caused business to slow.”

Cooley senses that tourist traffic is beginning to build.” We’ve seen a lot of shoppers from Japan, Germany and Switzerland lately.”

Maher said downtown Boulder is one of the healthiest and most vibrant downtowns in the U.S. “Our retail vacancy rates remain very low, and our traffic and sales are holding up far better than most places. This stimulus program is designed to keep it that way.”

There has been churn among retailers in the district. Since November 2008, approximately 25 businesses have either closed or moved out of the district, while approximately 14 businesses have moved in.

 The $65,000 downtown stimulus program is funded by the district’s contingency reserves and will focus on marketing, streetscape improvements and direct assistance to businesses. “We have been sitting on a rainy-day fund and this is definitely the right time to tap that resource,” Mayer said.”

 The largest portion of the program, $30,000, will go toward marketing efforts to drive more traffic to the downtown district. Downtown Boulder’s marketing director Terri Takata-Smith is using the additional funds to reach local residents as well as to selectively target the Denver Metro market.

“Research indicates residents will be staying closer to home this summer; therefore making Downtown Boulder a perfect, nearby option for Denverites to experience a totally unique shopping, dining and entertainment destination close to home.” She said specifics of the plan are still being worked out.

 The plan also allocates $20,000 to enhance the streetscape east and west of the Pearl Street Mall. The plan calls for adding banners west of the mall to 8th Street and east to 20th Street. There will also be more holiday lighting. These improvements are in addition to the $5,500 the district already has spent to purchase flowers and potting soil for more than 100 merchants to add splashes of color to their storefronts.

The final component of the stimulus package is $15,000 allocated to direct business assistance. Most of these funds will go toward a new consulting program for retailers and restaurants. “None of us have ever experienced an economy like this one,” Maher said. “This element of the program offers individualized help with marketing, financing and operations – whatever is needed, and it is free to downtown businesses.”

The consulting is provided through the Small Business Development Center at the Boulder Chamber.

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