Federal Boulevard's rapid bus line gets $50 million. Council members have been asking what it means for small businesses

Bus rapid transit on Federal Boulevard moved a step closer last week. A state grant program committed $50 million to build two phases of the line, Denverite reported on Oct. 23.

Why it matters: Federal is one of the metro area's busiest and most dangerous corridors, and it runs the length of west Denver. Bus rapid transit, or BRT, means faster buses and new stations, and also months of construction.

The funding and the timeline

According to Denverite:

• The money comes from the Nonattainment Area Air Pollution Mitigation Enterprise, a grant program housed in the Colorado Department of Transportation with its own board. It also committed $2.7 million a year for maintenance.
• Phase one, $19 million, would build 28 stations between 52nd Avenue and Alameda Avenue, starting in fall 2027.
• Phase two, $31 million, would build the other 46 stations south to Englewood, starting in summer 2028.
• Service could start in 2030. The full project is estimated at $300 million.

Unlike Colfax, where Denver's transportation department ran construction, CDOT will oversee the Federal and Colorado Boulevard projects. CDOT's project page has the design and schedule.

What our records add

A $1.6 million plan for the corridor passed 13-0. Council Bill 26-1024 approved a contract with HNTB for an equitable transit-oriented development implementation plan for the Federal BRT corridor in Districts 1, 2, 3 and 7. It passed Aug. 3 with all 13 members voting yes, including former at-large member Sarah Parady (roll call). The council members for those districts are Amanda Sandoval, Kevin Flynn, Jamie Torres and Flor Alvidrez.

What members asked at committee. When planners presented it on July 14 (meeting):

• Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez said there has been "a huge concern" about what BRT will do to small businesses and the corridor's cultural importance, and asked how residents can reach the team (video at 9:14).
• Torres said identifying displacement risks in a report is not enough, and asked what the city will do with that information and whether those tools would be in place before construction (video at 10:38). A planner pointed to small-business displacement funds in Washington, D.C., as one example the team would study (video at 14:11).

At budget hearings. On Sept. 25, Alvidrez asked city economic development staff to join her in pressing the state to put money toward businesses on Federal, which is a state highway, and said small businesses there are afraid of what construction will bring (video at 41:11).

The corridor's business district budget is up this week. The Federal Boulevard Business Improvement District's 2027 operating plan and budget, 26-1596, is on the Finance and Business Committee agenda Tuesday, Oct. 27 (agenda).

What's next

• CDOT leads design and construction; the Council would see related city agreements as they come.
• The HNTB plan runs through August 2029, according to the bill.
• For how Colfax businesses were helped during that corridor's construction, see our story on the BIO Fund.