Commerce City economic-development team says city captures strong sales tax but retail gaps remain on the north side

Commerce City’s economic development director and team gave a market briefing April 14 showing the city collects more sales tax per resident than most nearby suburbs but still lacks key retail services on the north side, including a full grocery and large home‑improvement stores.

Garrett Anderson, economic development director, told council the city’s per‑capita sales tax receipts are higher than nearby Thornton, Brighton and Westminster once population is taken into account; the city’s strong showing reflects a heavy concentration of primary employers, transport‑sector activity and online/destination sales. Anderson said a large share of the city’s sales tax now comes from non‑retail categories such as manufacturing, wholesale and vehicle fleets.

Grocery, restaurant and building-materials retail are the categories where local demand exceeds local sales, staff said. Anderson told council that for grocery the gap approximates the demand for roughly one additional full grocery store in the near term and that retail recruitment often requires both traffic visibility and multiple co‑tenants (developers and national retailers prefer several anchors to open at once).

Policy and process issues staff identified as barriers to new retail included: - Permitting and development fees: staff showed earlier fee analyses indicating Commerce City’s current fee structure can be higher than neighboring jurisdictions, and they recommended streamlining and predictable timelines; staff said fees also include separate water/district or metro‑district levies that affect final project costs and that council may have to weigh in on incentives or fee concessions for specific projects. - Site and traffic visibility: Anderson highlighted 100th & Fourth/Tower Road and the I‑76/I‑85 corridors as the best visibility corridors and pointed to the “Hammer” property near the Platte River and the E‑470/100th & Fourth area as priority sites for large-format retail if access and parcel assembly occur. - Incentives and predictability: Anderson recommended tightening the city’s incentive policy so smaller, clearly‑targeted administrative incentives can be approved quickly while larger or negotiated incentives follow an explicit council-reviewed process.

Council reaction and questions: Several council members said parking, transit access and the perception of regional transit service are real constraints — Councilmember Oscar Madera described how limited or hourly bus service reduces the practical effect of a “transit service area.” Elected officials asked staff to bring water‑district development fees and metro‑district levies into discussions because those outside charges make commerce development comparatively more expensive.

Staff’s next steps: Anderson said staff are preparing a draft revised incentives framework that would (a) allow an automatic administrative incentive when a project meets clear thresholds, and (b) keep negotiated council approval for larger or unusual projects. Staff also pointed to a workforce‑development effort (an “Advanced Commerce City Together” partnership funded with ARPA money) to boost local skills for target industries.

Votes at a glance: During the economic-development presentation council voted to extend the meeting to 11:00 p.m. to continue business. Staff did not record a named mover or recorded roll call on the audio; the chair called the voice vote and the motion passed.