Denver city officials will ask voters in November to allow the city to borrow more money through bonds to pay for projects like parks, recreation centers and roads, Mayor Mike Johnston announced Wednesday.
The new bond package — of an undetermined amount, though past city bond issues have been in the hundreds of millions of dollars — would contribute to a fund for general city projects. Residents’ input in coming months will help shape the list of projects the bonds would benefit.
“The Vibrant Denver bond package allows us to come together to decide our priorities for our neighborhoods, our families and ourselves,” Johnston said in a news release ahead of the announcement event. “This bond will help us build the Denver of the future.”
Johnston launched the process to create the new bond initiative at the Carla Madison Recreation Center, a project that bonds partially funded.
“We want to ensure our neighborhoods flourish — not just for today but for future generations,” City Council President Amanda Sandoval said during the event.
General obligation bonds, which are repaid through property taxes, can be used for any new or existing public capital improvement project, including roads, bridges, bikeways and government buildings. The city says the bonds won’t result in an increase in property taxes because they’ll replace earlier debt as it’s paid off.
Denver won’t announce the full amount of the bond until the council finalizes a list of projects in late summer.
Denver’s previous bond programs include Elevate Denver, a 10-year, $937 million general obligation bond program approved in 2017 and RISE Denver, a 5-year, $260 million bond program approved in 2021 — both of which still have projects underway or in the queue. Voters have been asked to approve general obligation bonds every four to 10 years.
Denver has completed nearly 400 projects using bonds, according to the news release. Recent bond-funded endeavors — sometimes supplemented with other funding sources — include a new wing of the Denver Art Museum, an animal hospital at the Denver Zoo, a new stage roof for Red Rocks, an indoor pool and play area at Green Valley Ranch recreation center, and updated equipment at police and fire stations.
The new bond programs would “deliver investments” within six years, according to the release.
The city will post surveys at recreation centers and libraries for resident feedback, and “community-led subcommittees” will review the input before referring it to the council.
That process is similar to past bond initiatives, which have generally seen success winning voters’ support in part because the packages included projects spread across the city. A notable exception was in 2021, when voters approved four bond ballot measures but rejected a fifth that would have used $190 million for a new arena and building renovation at the National Western Center.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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