Aurora staff outline retail strategy; council backs stakeholder outreach

The Planning and Business Development Department presented a draft retail strategy to the Planning and Economic Development Committee on Nov. 12 that would revise incentives, expand programs targeted at smaller centers and offer safety and security grants to increase visits and investment.

Janine Rostad, the director, said the strategy's goals are to strengthen and reactivate retail centers, improve the public realm and promote balanced tenant mixes that encourage repeat visits. She said the city's role is not to operate shopping centers but to maintain sidewalks, lighting and safety while facilitating coordination among property owners and tenants.

Rostad said the existing retail redevelopment or anchor incentive helped recruit Nordstrom Rack and Lucky Strike but is administratively complex and uses formulas that staff would like to simplify (for example, shifting from monthly to quarterly calculations and measuring increment at the tenant level). She proposed expanding incentives to midsize and smaller centers to tackle persistent storefront vacancies and suggested safety/security grants based on CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) and other improvements.

Council members emphasized that retail now includes experience‑based uses such as entertainment and services. "A lot of shopping for clothes and other things has transitioned online, and so I think we're gonna have to rethink those spaces," Council Member Gardner said. Rostad agreed the strategy will be flexible to support different mixes in different wards and said the next steps include targeted stakeholder engagement beginning January 2026 and bringing refined incentives and policy proposals to council in 2026.

Staff also said they will interview candidates for a business development manager who will focus on retail implementation.