City planning staff on Saturday presented a year-long retail strategy aimed at stabilizing and growing Aurora's retail sales-tax base, ward by ward.

Janine Rustad, director of planning and business development, told council that retail accounts for about 57% of the general fund's revenue and that the city’s work will prioritize improving tenant mixes, center appearance and attracting high-volume anchors where feasible. “Retail sales tax are 50–57 percent of the general fund revenues,” Janine said, framing the case for an active municipal role in retail retention and recruitment.

Nut grafs: Staff said they have classified Aurora retail into four categories (primary centers, shadow areas, microcenters and secondary centers) and are proposing a set of interventions tailored to each center’s condition. The city will compile ward-level lists of underperforming centers, propose incentives and code- or planning-based tools, and track performance using metrics such as sales tax per rentable square foot and vacancy rate.

What staff reported
- Indicators and thresholds: staff use sales-tax per rentable square foot (a healthy benchmark around $300/sq ft) and vacancy (healthy threshold ≈90%) as primary indicators of center health; higher retail-theft rates (retailers told staff that 4% shrinkage is a red flag) are an operational concern.
- Ward snapshots: staff provided ward-level summaries. Examples: Ward 2 is rapidly developing with low vacancy; Ward 3 shows opportunities around the Town Center Mall; Ward 5 has older strip centers that may be candidates for redevelopment; Ward 6 hosts high-income neighborhoods and a successful power center (Southlands) that could attract additional anchors.
- Tools and incentives: staff said the city already uses targeted incentives (the restaurant program and sales-tax-related incentives such as the rebate used to secure Nordstrom Rack) and will compile a comprehensive incentives inventory to recommend new or modified tools. The report will also explore use of CDBG or urban-renewal tools when appropriate.

Council questions and staff commitments
Several council members asked staff to highlight which specific centers are highest-priority for intervention and to include an ROI-style analysis for proposed incentives. Ward members asked that staff identify centers that are likely to remain marginal retail environments and that the city consider redevelopment or mixed-use alternatives for those sites. Staff agreed to deliver a final report in April, a presentation to the Planning & Economic Development committee in May and a draft council resolution in June that would adopt the strategy and a prioritized implementation plan.

Ending: Staff emphasized they are already implementing many of the strategy’s tools while completing the final report. Council members asked for monthly updates and a clear set of metrics to track success.