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Denver council sponsors seek formal Bio Fund to support small businesses hit by long construction
Summary
Council sponsors proposed formalizing Denver’s Business Impact ("Bio") Fund—created informally since 2013—to provide grants, rebates or revolving loans for small businesses suffering measurable revenue loss during long horizontal construction projects; administration officials said legal and funding constraints require further work.
Councilmember Sawyer proposed formalizing Denver’s existing business-impact program into a permanent Bio Fund to help small businesses along corridors hit by long horizontal construction such as Colfax and Santa Fe. Sawyer told the Budget & Policy Committee the fund has existed in various forms since at least 2013 and was formally named the Bio Fund in 2019, but it currently operates only through internal Department of Economic Development procedures rather than ordinance.
The proposal responds to data sponsors cited showing sales-tax revenue declines on affected corridors; sponsors said a special fund would help preserve small businesses that underpin the city’s sales-tax–dependent general fund. "If we want strong cities, we have to have strong businesses," Councilmember Sawyer said, urging a predictable funding mechanism rather than temporary…
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