Council approves first reading to form Broomfield Town Square Business Improvement District; developers outline financing plan

City and County of Broomfield council on March 18 approved on first reading Ordinance 2263 to organize the initial Broomfield Town Square Business Improvement District (BID), appoint a five-member provisional board and approve a 2025-26 operating plan and budget. The vote was unanimous, 9-0.

Jeff Romine, the city economist, summarized the statutory steps required to form a BID and said the ordinance authorizes an initial boundary for roughly three acres at Main and First (the northeast corner) and a small initial operating budget — about $50,000 per year for 2025 and 2026 — to allow the district to organize and prepare for future activity once development advances.

Developer representatives said the BID is one layer of a combined financing approach that also includes metropolitan district debt and an urban renewal area (URA). Megan Becker, general counsel for the applicant, and representatives from the financing team (DA Davidson) said the BID will focus on commercial activities, marketing and events and is intended to be used in concert with metro district debt so property-level debt and operation mills are capped in the aggregate.

The operating and service plan included in the packet sets a combined debt limit across the BID and the metro district of $104 million and a combined maximum debt mill levy cap of 50 mills with a separate operations cap of 15 mills; the presenters said those caps mirror prior approvals and provide flexibility while limiting cumulative mill levies on individual properties. The ordinance before council creates an initial, temporary boundary; additional property parcels will be added later as private development progresses and as property uses are clarified.

Council members asked about the likely timing of bond sales and construction. Developers said bond issuance and a construction start are contingent on completing construction documents, permitting and arranging bond and private financing. Representatives said the modeling in the BID operating plan uses conservative timing assumptions (a December 2026 placeholder in the plan), but added the BID and metro district authorizations — pending the May election — would allow a bond sale or development acceleration earlier if financing and design are ready.

Why it matters

The BID is intended to be a financing and management tool specifically for commercial portions of the Broomfield Town Square redevelopment; in combination with metro district financing and TIF from a new URA, the city and developer intend the layered approach to fund roads, utilities and activation (events, marketing) in the new downtown.

Next steps

Council will consider the ordinance on second reading and will consider the related urban renewal plan at the March 25 meeting. The BID formation requires a May election for any general obligation debt issuance and the BID board must bring an annual plan and budget each subsequent September 30.

Provenance

- topicintro: block_id="blk_4444" tc_start="00:49:04" tc_end="00:49:31" evidence_excerpt: "Thank you, manager Hoffman, mayor, mayor pro tem, council members. I'm Jeff Romine. I'm the economist, for the city and county of Broomfield and the the person before you talking about this next step in the Broomfield Town Square development." (transcript ~4444.59) - topfinish: block_id="blk_7230" tc_start":"02:00:30" tc_end":"02:00:41" evidence_excerpt: "All council members have entered their vote and the results will be displayed on the screen in a moment. And screen in a moment. Hey. That passes unanimously 9 to 0." (transcript ~7230.29)

Speakers

- Jeff Romine, Economist, City and County of Broomfield (government) - Megan Becker, General Counsel for the BID applicant (business/representation) - Tim Frederioule, First South Broomfield Town Square Alliance (developer representative) - Tim Morzell, DA Davidson (finance underwriter) - Council member Marsh Holshon (government)

Actions

- Ordinance 2263 (first reading): Declaring organization of the Broomfield Town Square Business Improvement District, appointing a board of directors and approving the 2025 and 2026 operating plan and budget. Moved: Council member Mark Holshon. Second: Council member Leslie. Outcome: approved on first reading, 9-0.

Clarifying details

- The initial BID boundary covers roughly three acres at Main and First (northeast corner) and an initial operating budget of approximately $50,000 annually for 2025 and 2026 was included in the operating plan. - The combined financing plan caps aggregate debt across metro districts and the BID at $104,000,000 and limits combined debt mill levy to 50 mills and operations mills to 15 mills, per the operating plan in the packet.

Context

Developers and staff emphasized the phased approach: parcels will be added to the BID over time as takedowns and land transfers occur, and the BID's activation powers (events, marketing) differ from a metro district's statutory powers. Council scheduled second reading and will consider the URA on March 25.

Proper names

[ {"name":"Broomfield Town Square","type":"project"},{"name":"DA Davidson","type":"business"},{"name":"First South Broomfield Town Square Alliance","type":"organization"} ]

Topics

[ {"name":"economic_development","justification":"BID and metro district create layered financing for redevelopment and activation","scoring":{"topic_relevance":0.95,"depth_score":0.70,"opinionatedness":0.05,"controversy":0.30,"civic_salience":0.80,"impactfulness":0.85,"geo_relevance":1.00}} ]