“SHALL GOLDEN TRIANGLE GID TAXES BE INCREASED $1.69M–$3.04M ANNUALLY · PERMANENTLY”
The Balustrade · 1200 Cherokee · Survey Closes Nov 20
Your Rent & HOA Already Pay to Clean Your Block. Don’t Pay Twice for a $3M/Yr Tax.
In Denver’s urban commercial GIDs, commercial property pays 61%–85% of the tax. In the Golden Triangle, 6,746 apartments and condos carry over half the GID bill while 9+ blocks of courts and museums pay $0.
The Balustrade: +$11,080/Yr GID Tax · +$110,800 / 10 Yrs · +$219–$530/Yr per Condo
Owner: Condominium Homeowners (32 Residential Units) · Appraised $20.1M · Taxable $1,236,570. Your HOA dues already pay to clean 1200 Cherokee, and residents hold 32 equal homeowner votes.
0 MAILERS SENT6,746 Golden Triangle homes received zero postcards. In Cherry Creek, mailed cost postcards drew 65.25% opposition and ~1,780 neighbor signatures stopped the GID.
01 · PAYING TWICE
Rent & HOAs Already Clean Your Block.
Rents and $450–$800/mo HOA dues already fund trash, snow, and security. A GID adds a permanent tax with zero sunset and zero police.
02 · OUTLIER MATH
Other Urban GIDs Are 61%–85% Commercial.
Golden Triangle is 80% residential by market value, leaving homes over half the bill instead of $0 in a commercial BID.
03 · ~20-TO-1 VOTES
Tenants Outvote Tower LLCs ~20-to-1.
Landlords fold tower taxes into renewal rent. On the ballot, every 30-day renter gets one equal vote vs. one vote per tower LLC.
Annotated Receipt #01
What a Permanent GID Tax Costs Your Condo
Pick your unit number below from the certified 2026 Denver Assessor roll ↓
+ How Is This Calculated? · Mill Formula, 10-Year Math & Research
1 Mill = $1 of annual tax per $1,000 of Colorado assessed value, not market value. Colorado assesses homes at ~6.1%–6.8% of market value, mixed-use towers at 7.0%–7.5% blended, and shops at 25%, nearly 4× higher, with vacant land at 26% in 2026 and 25% in 2027. Unlike a 10-year commercial BID, a GID has zero statutory sunset; tacking 8.96 mills · $8.96 per $1,000 assessed onto Denver’s 79.6-mill baseline jumps the property tax rate +11.3%:
~$520K Prado Condo
+$2,860 / 10 yrs · +$286/yr
$31,957 assessed at 6.15% · Penthouses hit +$9,910 / 10 yrs
$122.4M AMLI · 372 Apts
+$805,700 / 10 yrs · +$1,940/apt
+$80,570/yr total · +$72.3K apts + $8.3K retail NNN
$1.0M Local Cafe · NNN
+$22,400 / 10 yrs · +$2,240/yr
$250,000 assessed at 25% commercial rate, billed to tenant
Why we show 10-year flat-roll & annual totals with zero inflation assumed: Harvard Business School research by Gourville 1998 documents how “pennies-a-day” monthly framing disguises permanent obligations. Empirically, Philadelphia Fed WP 25-41 finds landlords pass $0.50–$0.89 per $1 of property tax hikes into rent even on isolated single-building jumps, and cites $0.50–$1.39 per $1 across neighborhood-wide hikes, folded into Base Rent under HB25-1090. Meanwhile, NYU Furman Center · Ellen, Schwartz & Voicu 2007 found smaller, higher-overhead districts produced no statistically significant lasting residential property-value gains.
+ Compare All 31 Named Apartment & Condo Buildings
2026 Certified Denver Assessor GID Tax Impact Across 31 Buildings at 8.96 Mills · Flat 2026 Roll
Citywide Audit · Council Budget Votes Mon Nov 9 & Mon Nov 16
Where Does Denver GID Tax Money Actually Go?
Certified 2026–2027 City budgets show new GIDs pitched at “~10% Admin” actually spend 17%–25% on overhead, reaching 28%–69% in smaller districts. Meanwhile, consultants use a 1949 200-signature loophole to tax homes forever.
Nearly one-third of our map worth $1.44B pays $0. Unlike every active urban Denver GID, residents carry over half the bill ↓
RECEIPT #02 · DENVER ASSESSOR GIS ROLL$4.67B STUDY AREA
Tap any block or callout on the map ↑9+ tax-exempt blocks worth $1.44B · 30.7% of map pay $0: City Courts & Detention $273.6M · Supreme Court $242.5M · Art Museum $178.4M · City & County Bldg $147.8M · Central Library $121.7M · U.S. Mint $43.5M. Across W. Colfax, the $82.3M Populus Hotel sits inside Downtown’s commercial BID and pays this GID $0.
8.960 mills · Flyers to all residents + 3 bldg events
14th Street
83.9%
16.1%
0.000 mills + $550K/yr special charges · Hotels
RiNo
77.2%
22.8%
4.000 mills + Brighton charges · Industrial/arts
Ballpark
60.5%
39.5%
5.000 mills · Coors Field entertainment district
Sun Valley
Redev
0 Homes
6.000 mills + DHA PILOTs · 0 private homes taxed
Cherry CreekProposed 2025
N/A
Res. Mix
Halted · Pushed past 65.25% “No” survey until ~1,780 signatures stopped it
Golden TriangleProposed
49.7%
50.3%
Outlier: 53.3% by parcel · 79.9% res market value · 6,746 homes · 0 mailers
+ Verify Assessor Methodology & Why Homes Pay $0 in a Commercial BID
Percentages above use certified 2026 Denver Assessor HB24B-1001 class splits, separating 25%-assessed ground-floor retail from 6.80%-assessed apartments inside mixed-use towers across all parcel and condo layers. Measured by whole parcel, Golden Triangle apartments and condos carry 53.3% · $180.5M vs. $158.3M; in Jan 2028, when 26% vacant land drops to 25% on the 2027 roll, the pure-residential share edges up to 50.31%. Under Colorado’s BID Act C.R.S. § 31-25-1203(2), apartments and condos pay $0 in a commercial BID, just like the commercial-only Santa Fe BID on our western edge. And because a GID cannot levy a visitor sales tax under C.R.S. § 31-25-612, 1.5M+ museum, court, and hotel visitors pay $0. Denver’s only other active GID is 1994 Gateway Village · Ord. 551-1994, 84.1% residential, a far-northeast raw-land subdivision near DIA formed before homes were built.
03 · Already Funded by City Taxes
What Your Existing Denver Taxes Already Fund
Colorado law and Denver’s GID standard bar a district from duplicating City projects or services. Here is what Golden Triangle taxpayers already fund ↓
1 · $11.38M Contract Approved
5280 Trail Is Already Funded
SEMA Construction’s $11.38M Acoma trail contract broke ground in October 2026 using voter-approved GO Bonds. Zero GID tax is needed.
2 · $51,792/Yr Active District
Acoma Upkeep Already Has a Tax District
Both trail blocks on Acoma from 10th to 12th Ave already sit inside an active maintenance district. Zero tax is needed from homes blocks away.
3 · $84M Sidewalk Program
Sidewalks Are Billed on Utility Bills
Since January 2025, Denver’s Sidewalk Enterprise bills every tower $1,445–$3,900+/yr to rebuild sidewalks. Zero active Denver GIDs rebuild sidewalks.
4 · 0 Police · 0 STAR Vans
GIDs Only Hire Unarmed Contractors
STAR vans and sworn police are City-funded. Zero of six Denver GIDs get police or a STAR van; unarmed contractors call the same free 911 and STAR lines.
+ Verify City Contracts, Non-Duplication Law & Ordinances
Colorado statute bars GIDs from duplicating existing or planned municipal improvements, and Denver’s GID ordinances extend that bar to municipal services. That leaves residents taxed strictly for supplemental private cleaning and ambassador contractors, while certified City filings show new GIDs spend 21%–25% on Admin overhead · see citywide audit.
1. 5280 Trail Construction · Council File #26-1310 & Acoma LMD · Ord. 652-1996 / CB26-1527
Funded by the 2021 RISE Denver GO Bond at 6.500 Bond P&I mills with NTP + 540 days, the 0.25% Parks Legacy tax for the $3.2M 10th & Acoma park site, and Nov 2025’s $950M Vibrant Denver GO Bond Issue 2A with optional elements installed “with adjacent development” per DDAB Slide 4. Ongoing upkeep on N. Acoma St from 10th to 12th Ave is already assessed $51,792.30 in 2027 under CB26-1527. In Ballpark CB24-1731–1734 and Broadway CB25-1974–1976, forming a GID dissolved all 7 Pedestrian Mall LMDs and shifted their bills onto surrounding neighbors.
DOTI’s Sidewalk Enterprise already charges $150/yr + $3.50/linear ft over 230 ft to fund ~34 miles started in 2025–2026, $84M / 76 miles in 2027–2028 including Santa Fe Dr on Slide 26, and interior Golden Triangle blocks in 2029–2032 on Slide 30. STAR, funded by a $6.9M General Fund budget + 0.25% Caring for Denver tax, launched its June 2020 pilot right inside DPD District 6, one block north of Denver Health at 777 Bannock St.
+ In P.U.M.A.’s Own Words · Global Trends Reports 2020–2026
Office BID Erosion vs. Apartment Resilience · 2023 p. 8 · 2026 pp. 8, 14
P.U.M.A. notes “business improvement district formation and renewal are specialties of the firm,” then warns downtown office values fell ~60%, citing Denver office losses in fn. 49 and “leaving BIDs and assessment-based districts more vulnerable,” while rental apartments kept “strong demand, relatively low vacancy, and consistent rental premiums.”
Rent Hikes Worsen Homelessness · 2020 p. 8 · 2026 p. 13
P.U.M.A.’s own research warns: “Half of American renters are cost-burdened, and a quarter spend over 50 percent of their income on housing... Research shows that homelessness rises faster where rent exceeds a third of income,” reiterating in 2026 that homelessness “correlates strongly with housing costs.”
1 Tax District Cannot Solve It · 2020 p. 4 · 2023 pp. 3–4
P.U.M.A. writes that “the homelessness crisis is a societal challenge that exceeds the capacity of any one organization to address” and “will require regional approaches,” reiterating in 2023 that longer-term solutions “should be advanced by regional coalitions” rather than one neighborhood’s rent bills.
Crime Reality vs. Sales Pitch · 2026 pp. 11, 19, 26
P.U.M.A.’s 2026 report notes violent and property crime rates “fell in 2024 to their lowest recorded levels since the 1960s. Yet public perception has consistently lagged reality,” while independent restaurants “declined by 2.3% in 2025” under inflation, right where a GID adds a 25%-assessed NNN tax.
Who Funded the Study, and How Nov 20 Closes the File
Zero City ordinances require a GID, and P.U.M.A.’s own Fact Sheet says it advances only with community support ↓
RECEIPT #03 · STUDY FUNDING & PUBLIC RECORDIRS EIN 87-3195005
P.U.M.A. “GID 101” Fact Sheet PDF · Pages 1 & 2
“Golden Triangle Civic Experience (GTCE), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), will serve as the neutral sponsor... The process is designed to move from exploration to action only if there is sufficient community support.”
▼ PUBLIC RECORDS: IRS FORM 990-PF & DENVER CITY CHECK ▼
Form 990-PFDept. of Treasury · IRS
Return of Private Foundation GOLDEN TRIANGLE CIVIC EXPERIENCE INC · EIN 87-3195005
OMB 1545-0047 FILED 04/27/26
Registered Office & Sole Officers · CO SOS #202119499481555 BLAKE ST STE 450, DENVER, CO 80202
Officers: Nicholas Murray, GTCE President & Treasurer · Urban Villages CFO; Jon Buerge, GTCE Secretary · Urban Villages President.
← PRIVATE DEVELOPER FOUNDATION · 0 NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS ON BOARD
Schedule B & Part I · Origin of Study Funds · FY2021–FY2025 Filings
Seeded in Oct 2021 with $200,000 FROM 1150 BANNOCK LLC during the $6.0M purchase of 1150 N. Bannock St, with $68,441 remaining entering 2026. COMMUNITY DONATIONS 2022–25: $0.00
Denver Clerk, Ordinance & Council Mandate Check0 CITY ORDINANCES OR PUBLIC AGREEMENTS REQUIRING A GID
← 100% OPTIONAL STUDY · ZERO CITY OR VOTER REQUIREMENT TO FORM A GID
See how a GID advances and download our 2-page “True Facts” sheet ↓
00 · Apr – Nov 2026 Outreach Gap
0 Mailers Sent
Launched across 45+ blocks with zero postcards sent to 6,746 Golden Triangle homes. Ground-floor retail tenants also get zero real-property ballot votes despite paying the 25% commercial tax rate.
01 · By Nov 20, 2026 Feasibility Survey
Checkpoint #1 · Nov 20
Mark “Not Interested” by Nov 20 and email District 10. In Cherry Creek, backers called a 65.25% “No” survey “not a clear no” until ~1,780 neighbor signatures and Council pushback stopped it.
02 · Spring – Summer 27 200-Signature Cap
Checkpoint #2 · Council
A 1949 state law lets just 200 signatures, under 3% of homes and irreversible once filed, ask District 10 Councilmember Chris Hinds and City Council for a ballot ordinance.
03 · November 2027 TABOR Mail Ballot
Checkpoint #3 · ~20-to-1
Every 30-day renter and condo owner gets one equal vote while a $173M corporate tower LLC gets at most one vote. At Dryden alone, 420 apartments outvote 1 tower LLC.
04 · Jan 2028 – Forever Permanent Tax
Zero Sunset
Zero of Denver’s six GIDs ever sunset and taxpayers have no petition right to repeal, locking $1.69M–$3.04M/yr onto renewal rents, condos, and local shops forever.
Your Landlord Gets 1 Vote · Your Building’s Tenants Get Hundreds
Renters Pay at Renewal, and Outvote Tower LLCs ~20-to-1.
Just 200 signatures, under 3% of homes, can advance a permanent GID to City Council. On a ballot, every 30-day renter and condo owner gets one equal vote while a corporate tower LLC gets at most one vote. Complete both 60-second steps below before Nov 20:
6,746
Assessor Homes in Study Map
420 : 1
Dryden Apts vs. 1 LLC Vote
STEP 01 · 5 SECONDS · OFFICIAL PUBLIC RECORD
Email City Council District 10
SurveyMonkey goes only to P.U.M.A.’s private collector with zero public audit trail. In Cherry Creek’s 2025 study, consultants excluded 17% of neighbors who quit before “Done” and still called 65.25% opposition “not a clear no.” Emailing district10@denvergov.org puts your building on a permanent CORA public record with Councilmember Chris Hinds.
Pre-fills your building’s certified 2026 Assessor numbers to district10@denvergov.org · edit freely before sending.
✓ Survey opened in a new tab! Remember to click “Done” on the final screen, and send Step 01 to City Council so there is an official public record.
STEP 03 · ZERO MAILERS SENT TO HOMES
Share With Your Building or HOA
Zero mailers went to Golden Triangle’s 6,746 homes ahead of the Nov 20 cutoff, so neighbors only find out when someone shares their building’s certified tax receipt or the printable 2-page fact sheet.
In Denver's active urban commercial GIDs, 2026 Assessor rolls under HB24B-1001 class splits show commercial real estate pays 60.5% to 85.2% of the tax: South Broadway is 85.2% commercial, 14th St is 83.9% at 0 mills with $550K in special charges, RiNo is 77.2%, and Ballpark is 60.5%, while Sun Valley taxes 0 private homeowners. In the Golden Triangle, $1.44B or 30.7% of the map is tax-exempt and homes carry over half the bill under every method: 53.3% by parcel, 50.3% pure residential, and 79.9% of non-exempt market value. Why push a residential GID here when commercial owners already have a commercial-only BID option under CRS 31-25-1203(2) where homes pay $0?
Our apartment rents and condo HOA dues already cover private trash, snow removal, sidewalk upkeep, and building security, and because Colorado's HB25-1090 bans separate property-tax junk fees, landlords recover $80,570 to $113,549 annual GID tax bills on large apartment towers through base rent at renewal. Why ask renters and condo owners to pay twice while 9+ civic and museum blocks and the $82.3M Populus Hotel across Colfax pay this GID $0?
No City ordinance or public agreement requires a Golden Triangle GID, and P.U.M.A.'s Fact Sheet says the effort moves forward "only if there is sufficient community support." In Cherry Creek's 2025 GID study, 65.25% of 354 survey responses marked "Not Interested," yet consultants called that "not a clear no" and tried to keep going until ~1,780 resident signatures and press coverage stopped it. If Golden Triangle's Nov 20 survey comes back "Not Interested," will GTCE and P.U.M.A. commit in writing to ending the study rather than using a 200-signature petition?
Cherry Creek's 2025 GID study mailed Phase 1 postcards estimating $230 to $990/yr taxes, drawing 65.25% "Not Interested" across 354 responses, and South Broadway mailed flyers to every resident during petitioning. Here, 6,746 Golden Triangle homes got 0 mailers ahead of the Nov 20 survey cutoff. How can this study claim community support for a permanent tax with zero 10-year sunset under CRS 31-25-611(1)(a), unlike commercial BIDs, without mailing notice to a single household?
FAQ: Mill Formula, Zero Sunset, 5280 Trail, Sidewalks & STAR
1. What is a “mill”?
One mill is $1 of annual tax per $1,000 of Colorado assessed value, not market value. Colorado assesses homes at ~6.1%–6.8% of market value, mixed-use towers at 7.0%–7.5% blended, and shops at 25%, nearly 4× higher, with vacant land at 26% in 2026 and 25% in 2027. At 8.96 mills, a +11.3% jump on Denver’s 79.6-mill baseline, an average ~$520K Prado condo at $31,957 assessed pays +$286/yr, AMLI at $122.4M market and $8.99M assessed owes +$80,570/yr total · +$72,273 residential = +$194/apt across 372 units plus +$8,297 retail NNN, and a $1M NNN cafe at $250K assessed owes +$2,240/yr.
2. Commercial vs. residential share
In Ballpark at 60.5% commercial and South Broadway at 85.2% commercial, commercial property pays the majority. Here, certified 2026 Denver Assessor data across all 1,137 study-area schedules shows residential properties make up $2.59B or 79.9% of non-exempt market value vs. $649.2M or 20.1% commercial. Even after commercial’s 25% assessment rate, apartments, condos, and rowhomes carry 53.3% · $180.5M of the $338.8M taxable base by parcel, and 50.3% · $170.3M after carving out ground-floor retail inside apartment towers, rising to 50.31% on the 2027 roll collected Jan 2028.
3. Do renters pay?Yes. Colorado bans local rent control, and HB25-1090 prohibits landlords from itemizing property taxes as separate monthly junk fees. Landlords recover $80.6K–$113.5K GID tax bills on large apartment towers through base rent at lease renewal; Philly Fed WP 25-41 documents $0.50–$0.89 per $1 shifting onto tenants even on single-building tax jumps, and cites $0.50–$1.39 per $1 across market-wide hikes.
4. Does a GID expire after 10 years?No. Commercial-only BIDs include a 10-year City Council renewal clause, such as RiNo BID CB25-0640 § 16 and Downtown BID CB21-0657, and let taxpayers petition to dissolve under C.R.S. § 31-25-1225. By comparison, 0 of Denver’s 6 enacted GIDs have a 10-year sunset or reaffirmation vote; under C.R.S. § 31-25-611(1)(a), a GID has “perpetual existence,” and C.R.S. § 31-25-625 gives taxpayers zero right to petition for dissolution. Enacted ordinances: Broadway CB25-0917 § 19, Ballpark CB24-0766 § 19, Sun Valley CB22-0980 § 19, Gateway Village Ord. 551-1994 / CB16-1041 § 2, RiNo CB15-0309 § 22, and 14th St Ord. 464-2009 / CB17-0809.
5. Does a GID build the 5280 Trail, rebuild sidewalks, or provide STAR or police?No. Colorado statute C.R.S. § 31-25-602(1) and Denver’s GID Finding (e) bar GIDs from duplicating or interfering with existing or planned City projects and services. Council File #26-1310 already approved SEMA Construction’s $11.38M contract to build the Acoma 5280 Trail from 10th to 12th Ave with 2021 RISE GO Bond funds, extending north and south “with adjacent development” per DDAB Slide 4, and the Golden Triangle Pedestrian Mall LMD under CB26-1527 already assesses $51,792.30/yr on those two blocks for ongoing upkeep. Voter-passed Ord. 307 already charges Golden Triangle towers $1,445–$3,900+/yr on stormwater bills for DOTI’s Sidewalk Enterprise: ~34 miles started in 2025–2026, $84M / 76 miles in 2027–2028 including Santa Fe Dr on Slide 26, and interior Golden Triangle blocks in 2029–2032 on Slide 30. None of Denver’s 6 GIDs run ongoing sidewalk-repair programs, and 0 post-Ord. 307 GIDs rebuild sidewalks. STAR and sworn police are City-funded; 0 of 6 GIDs get a dedicated STAR van or sworn police, hiring unarmed private contractors who call the same free 720-913-STAR and 911 lines.
This is P.U.M.A.’s private study form, not an official City ballot. Follow 3 rules so your answer counts:
1
Check Renter or Owner on Q1: Click “Next” past the intro screen first.
2
Mark “Low” & “Not Interested”: Rating services High on Q2–Q8 gets spun as tax support.
3
Click “Done” at the End: In Cherry Creek, 17% who quit early were excluded.
Q10 Open Comment · Write 1–2 Sentences in Your Own Words
Mention your building or shop, note that rent and HOA dues already clean our block while 9+ civic blocks pay $0, and suggest a commercial-only BID where homes pay $0.