Durango Business Improvement District History

A History of the Durango Business Improvement District

Durango’s business leaders have for decades discussed the need for a conference or convention center to enhance the economy, but in August of 1997, a grassroots coalition took steps to make the vision a reality. These volunteers petitioned the Durango City Council to form the Durango Conference Center Business Improvement District with a purpose to create a funding mechanism for feasibility studies that would determine the viability of constructing a downtown conference center, and ultimately, should a conference center prove viable, have in place the infrastructure to help fund its operation.

Project supporters presented council members with petitions signed by approximately 65 percent of the property owners within the proposed taxing district, and the formation of the Durango Conference Center Business Improvement District was indeed approved.

In November 1997, those who lived, leased or owned property within the newly-formed district voted to approve a 1.5 mill levy increase in property taxes, essentially imposing a tax upon themselves to fund requisite feasibility studies and move the project forward. The ballot question stipulated that the mill levy would sunset in 1999, and any funding beyond that date would require a separate district election.

In January 1998, the Durango City Council appointed a five-member board of directors to oversee the research and development of the proposed Durango Conference Center. The original board members were hoteliers Rod Barker and Chris Vivolo, businessmen Ted Hermesman and Jerry Poer, and banker Steve Parker. Businessman and now former County Commissioner Robert Lieb Sr. volunteered his services to coordinate the initial election and interview research firms capable of conducting the feasibility studies.

Concurrently, additional groups were established to study potential building sites, parking and ground transportation plans, air transportation and technology needs, and to conduct a preliminary market analysis. A City-owned site located at the corner of East Second Avenue and 7^th Street (now the M.M. Mayer building) was identified as the best available Downtown Durango location on the market at that time. A subsequent engineering analysis did, however, determine it to be inadequate due to its limited size and sloping topography.

In January 1999, the district board retained Convention, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) to conduct an in-depth market and economic analysis of the proposed conference center project. CSL’s research included evaluation of market potential and regional competition; analysis of future event size, scope and community impact; review of alternate sites and preliminary architectural design of the facility; and cost estimates of construction, operations and maintenance.

In April 1999, voters within the City of Durango approved a measure to eliminate the vendor fee and use those funds to retire a proposed bond to acquire real estate and construct the Durango Conference Center. Up to that point, Durango merchants were permitted to keep the vendor fee - 3.33 percent of the city sales tax they collected - to cover any bookkeeping costs incurred during the collection of taxes.

The ballot question stipulated that if district voters did not pass a bond issue during the November 1999 election, or if results of the market and economic analysis did not support the construction of a conference center, the results of the vendor fee question would be null and void. The district board of directors chose not to include the bond issue on that November ballot, opting instead to take a more cautious, steady approach to the project by conducting more thorough research of the conference business. As a result, the vendor fee was never collected for use by the Durango Conference Center Business Improvement District.

However, in November 1999, district voters did opt to grant a one-year extension of the 1.5 mill levy to complete the second phase of the feasibility study, and to enable the board of directors to continue its search for an adequate site and potential partners.

In fall 2000, CSL presented its findings, concluding that the proposed conference center would indeed improve the local economy by attracting guests who otherwise would not visit Durango, as well as even out the tourism peaks and valleys throughout the year. The annual economic impact was estimated at $1.2 million to $7.1 million per year. The facility would, however, according to CSL, require a public subsidy of approximately $200,000 per year to cover operations and maintenance. Researchers further concluded that a public/private partnership would be the optimum means of financing such a project.

Though the CSL research was essentially positive, a location and funding partners were not immediately forthcoming, thus the district board sought alternatives to help sustain Downtown Durango. In 2002, when tourism in Durango slowed to a crawl due to wildfires in the region, research gleaned from a study of similar communities indicated that special events drew thousands of new visitors and contributed significant income to the local economies.

With a construction of a conference center on hold, in 2003, the district board voted to use revenues carried over from previous years to fund a grant program for organizers of local special events, while continuing research and development of a future conference facility. Also in that year, the board voted to change its name to the Durango Business Improvement District (BID), eliminating specific reference to a conference center. In November 2003, district voters demonstrated their support of this new direction by reinstating the district mill levy through 2010.

Efforts since that time have included a focus on sustaining the “heart” of Durango – its Downtown – through a variety of creative endeavors. Development of a Downtown conference and events center is not off the table, but until a perfect scenario develops, the BID will continue seek alternative, creative projects to sustain what is now recognized as healthy “Business in the BID.”