About Redevelopment
Urban renewal includes the redevelopment or rehabilitation of blighted real property in a city, usually as the result of a cooperative effort by private developers, urban renewal authorities, and local government. Redevelopment or rehabilitation of blighted real property is desirable because blighted property:
- can be detrimental to the health and welfare of Coloradans,
- has a negative impact on surrounding property, possibly resulting in their becoming blighted too, and
- can result in a fiscal drain on the provision of local services.
Understanding that redevelopment of blighted urban areas can be both complicated and expensive when compared with new greenfield development, the State of Colorado has empowered urban renewal authorities with certain tools, including tax increment financing and eminent domain, to encourage urban renewal activities.
The Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) was created in 1958, initially for the purpose of eradicating slum housing in central Denver neighborhoods using loans and grants from the federal government. Today, DURA uses tax increment financing to support redevelopment or rehabilitation of blighted real property throughout Denver. The goal of DURA’s urban renewal efforts is to create and maintain safe, prosperous, and healthy Denver neighborhoods.
The process of urban redevelopment starts with an idea or a plan – in the case of DURA, an idea or a plan to redevelop a blighted building, site, or area in Denver. Often the idea comes from a developer who approaches DURA for assistance with redeveloping a blighted property, but ideas also come from the City administration and surrounding community when they have a vision for improving a blighted part of Denver and approach DURA about setting an urban renewal area as an incentive to attract a private developer partner to affect redevelopment of the area.
Once there is a vision for redeveloping a blighted area, DURA begins the processes of evaluating, documenting, and approving an urban renewal project. The steps involved in undertaking an urban renewal project are presented below. Please note that while they are presented in a chronological order, in practice, the steps often happen concurrently.