Can Boulder bring empty storefronts back to life?

For decades, Pearl Street Mall has been a well-known gathering place in Boulder, with restaurants, shops, street performers and local institutions helping to define the city’s identity. 

But for some residents and business owners, the empty storefronts scattered through downtown tell a different story: a city struggling to keep its local character intact as rents rise, long-loved businesses close and commercial spaces sit dark.

Nick Stefanick has worked in and around Boulder for years. He said he has watched favorite restaurants and shops disappear and, in his words, “watched the city center slowly die.”

“It’s been a lasting problem that I started to notice when they took out Boulder Cafe on Pearl and kept taking out town favorites from there,” Stefanick said.

The concern is not only nostalgia. Vacant storefronts can create a cycle that hurts the businesses still trying to survive. Empty spaces reduce foot traffic, lower foot traffic means fewer customers and fewer customers can make it even harder for remaining shops and restaurants to stay open.

Data from the city’s most recent economic indicator report underscores the scale of the issue. Downtown Boulder’s office vacancy rate is about 28.9%, significantly higher than East Boulder’s 17% and Central Boulder’s 13.7%, highlighting how the city’s core has been hit harder than surrounding areas.

The problem intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, but business owners and residents say the pressure did not end when public health restrictions lifted. Office vacancy, rising commercial rents, changing consumer habits and the high cost of operating in Boulder have all made it harder for some local businesses to remain there.

Boulder Cafe, for example, was a longtime local favorite before closing in 2015 after 24 years of operation due to landlords’ refusal to renew its lease. The former Pearl Street space later became home to Capital One Cafe, which opened in 2016. According to some residents, this shift reflects a larger issue: downtown Boulder is becoming less local and more corporate.

“Half of the restaurants I used to eat at have been taken out of the city and are either empty or a chain restaurant now,” Stefanick said.

Other changes have reinforced that worry. On University Hill, redevelopment plans have brought new hotels and housing projects, while local institutions such as Dark Horse Bar and Grill have faced displacement through redevelopment.

The effects are also being felt by business owners still operating downtown. One Pearl Street business owner, who asked not to be named because of ongoing relationships with landlords and neighboring businesses, said staying open has become more difficult as rents rise and lease terms become less predictable.

“I don’t know how long we will be able to stay out here,” the business owner said. “Prices have just gotten more and more insane, so soon enough our building will be vacant.”

The owner said the issue is not as simple as blaming individual landlords. Many commercial property owners, they said, are constrained by commercial loan agreements and building valuations that can make it financially difficult to lower rent, even when a space is sitting empty.

If commercial property owners reduce rent too far, it can affect the building’s valuation or put them at odds with their lender. That leaves both landlords and business owners stuck: rents remain too high for small businesses, while empty spaces do little to help the street.

That’s why the anonymous business owner said Boulder should focus not only on rent but also on the process of opening a business downtown.

“We hit a wall when trying to get the vacancy tax passed, but we need to work with the city and real estate companies to streamline the process of finding a building, pulling permits and doing all the construction because that process is the reason most of Boulder feels empty,” the business owner said.

One resident-led group, Vacancy to Vitality, had pushed a ballot initiative that would have taxed vacant homes and commercial spaces in Boulder beginning in 2028. Supporters argued the tax would discourage property owners from leaving storefronts empty and create pressure to bring rents down or put unused spaces back into productive use. But that broader proposal has been set aside as city leaders focus on a narrower vacancy tax aimed at homes, not commercial spaces.

For people worried about empty storefronts, that leaves a gap. A residential vacancy tax could address second homes or empty housing units, but it would not directly apply to vacant commercial spaces on Pearl Street or elsewhere downtown.

Boulder officials say they are looking at other tools to address downtown vacancy and economic vitality. In January, the city launched a new cultural and economic development office aimed at supporting local businesses, arts organizations, property owners and redevelopment efforts.

One possible tool is a Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, which could help fund public and private investments downtown. Under Colorado law, DDAs are designed to support revitalization efforts within designated districts. Boulder city officials say this could include transportation improvements, upgrades to public spaces and the reuse of aging or underutilized buildings.

“If established, a DDA could provide a dedicated funding mechanism for strategic public and private investments, infrastructure improvements and redevelopment projects that help strengthen downtown as the economic and civic heart of the community,” said Emi Smith, senior communications program manager at the City of Boulder.

The proposal is expected to go before voters in November. If approved, the DDA could begin operating in January 2027. Until then, the empty storefronts remain part of the downtown landscape. The question facing Boulder is not only how to fill those spaces but also what kind of city residents want to see when they walk down Pearl Street.

“I just want to see these empty spaces get filled so we can go back to the Pearl Street that I knew when I first started working in Boulder,” Stefanick said.