Last week, the Downtown Denver Partnership joined the International Downtown Association (IDA) and leaders from more than 30 other cities for the IDA Capitol Hill Fly-in to advocate for key issues facing downtowns across the country. In Washington, the Partnership met with the offices of Senator John Hickenlooper, Senator Michael Bennet, Representative Jason Crow, and Representative Diana DeGette to discuss the state of downtown Denver and advocate for legislation to address crime, housing and office vacancy.
Britt Diehl, senior director of external affairs and marketing & communications, represented the Partnership on Capitol Hill, joining IDA and place management professionals leading downtown advocacy efforts in cities including Chicago, Austin, New York, Houston and New Orleans who, together, met with more than 80 members of congress to advocate for vibrant downtowns and urban districts.
In addition to bringing light to the current state of downtown Denver, the Partnership encouraged Colorado leaders on the Hill to support two bipartisan bills that tackle critical challenges and opportunities facing urban centers today:
- Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 2853): introduced in the House on Thursday, April 10, this bill would establish an Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As organized crime increasingly impacts retailers across the country, the dedicated unit called for in this legislation would be charged with enhancing organized retail crime intelligence, facilitating information sharing and cross-agency investigations, and serving as a center of expertise for training and technical assistance.
- Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act: modeled after the effective and popular Historic Tax Credit, the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act seeks to establish a tax credit for converting commercial buildings into residential and mixed-use properties. The bill calls for a credit equal to 20% of Qualified Conversion Expenses (QCEs) for projects that reserve at least 20% of its units for household incomes up to 80% Area Median Income (AMI). Currently, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) are leading a bipartisan effort to introduce this legislation.
These bills are closely aligned with the Partnership’s 2025 Policy Priorities and issues that are top-of-mind for its members and downtown stakeholders. Back in Denver, the Partnership will continue to ask Colorado leaders in Washington to support these and other legislative opportunities to strengthen downtowns across the country.
IDA’s Capitol Hill Fly-in also brought opportunity for the Partnership to collaborate with peer organizations on challenges and opportunities unique to downtowns today, with discussions spanning tourism, workforce trends, infrastructure, economic competitiveness, cross-sector collaboration and more.
