Overview:
As East Colfax BRT construction progresses, business owners weigh parking loss, grants and long-term project goals.
More than a year after breaking ground in October 2024, the Bus Rapid Transit project on Colfax is making its way down the street, with East Colfax business owners still dealing with limited parking, frequent detours and an uncertain future.
“I think right now, we’re all kind of becoming very used to the project,” said Denon Moore, business support director for the Colfax Avenue Business Improvement District (CBID). “So, we’re focusing on not becoming complacent or immune to it, while still really making sure that we are supporting our businesses through the disruption.”
The East Colfax BRT project, which includes $75 million in state funding and $150 million in federal funds, was officially approved in July 2024, with a three-year construction schedule. After years of study and community input, the City and County of Denver advanced a center-running BRT system from Broadway to Yosemite Street, installing a dedicated transit lane in each direction of the city’s most heavily traveled corridors.
According to the city’s project dashboard, the Colfax BRT design is more than 92% complete, with construction nearing 37% completion. The project has cost $73.8 million to date and remains on track for completion in 2027. Construction was always planned in five phases: Broadway to Williams (more than halfway complete), Williams to Colorado (about halfway complete), Colorado to Niagara (just over a quarter complete), Niagara to Yosemite (recently started) and Yosemite to I-225, which is not anticipated to begin until late 2026.
Since construction began, business owners have been in constant communication with intermediaries such as Frank Locantore and Moore of the CBID. Business owners have made it clear that the BRT project was signed and sealed without what many felt was meaningful community-level oversight, but CBID has taken on a liaison role, connecting merchants with city officials, contractors and project stakeholders.
Moore has been the first line of contact for Colfax business owners for the past two years, and community feedback has largely centered on traffic flow and parking access.
“The amount of foot traffic from walk-ins has pretty much been cut in half,” said Moeh Haywood, a nineteen-year Colfax business owner at Crimson Hilt Tattoo. Haywood’s store is currently obstructed by a massive excavation for an arch that will serve as a stop for future BRT passengers.
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” Haywood said. “Because they are let off and get on points, we’ll get more visibility. Well, that’s what we hope for.”
Located at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Colfax, the shop sits in a central position for future bus riders, but for now, hope is mixed with anxiety among the remaining Colfax merchants. Boarded windows and graffitied closure notices line several nearby intersections, underscoring how critical accessible parking remains for small businesses trying to survive prolonged construction.
Compared with some neighboring storefronts, Haywood has found the loss of long-term street parking to be a logistical nightmare. “We have appointments where we’re tattooing people for four to five hours,” he said. “We enjoyed having parking, instead of having to force our clients to pay for parking somewhere else when they already have to pay for an expensive tattoo.”
Like other small businesses along the corridor, Crimson Hilt has received financial assistance to offset construction impacts, though in smaller amounts than larger businesses and national chains. Moore described the support as a case-by-case grant process intended to relieve short-term financial strain.
“We’ve also taken a subcontractor position to assist the businesses with applications for their BIO Fund grant program,” Moore said. “And that’s through the city department of DEDO: the Department of Economic Development and Opportunity.”
So far, $1.19 million in small business grants, distributed across 93 businesses, has been awarded along the corridor. The grant is a one-time payment meant to stabilize affected businesses. An annual revenue above $100,000 qualifies a business for up to $15,000 from the BIO Fund. Crimson Hilt fell below that threshold and was awarded $7,500.
“All small businesses, I think we fall under that $7,500,” Haywood said. “If you think about it, if your rent is close to $3,000, it’s not really that much.”
While Crimson Hilt represents the more severe disruptions facing some merchants, other Colfax businesses have experienced fewer impacts and have largely accepted the trade-offs of long-term infrastructure development.
“We can’t complain about infrastructure and then complain when we put it in,” said John Rehnstrom, a Colfax tenant and five-year business owner of DVSN WEST. “This is like white noise to me at this point.”
Rehnstrom both owns a business on Colfax and lives nearby, describing the situation as an inconvenience rather than a crisis. “My customers are going to come here and find parking regardless,” Rehnstrom said. “You could have driven down 13th and 14th as well, but you didn’t. Why?”
Unlike Haywood’s storefront, DVSN West has no major visual obstructions and benefits from multiple nearby access points near Vine Street and Colfax, allowing for easier parking. Rehnstrom also praised CBID’s communication efforts.
“Frank from CBID is top-notch,” said Rehnstrom. “They’re kind of like a liaison between the city and [business owners].”
Beyond transit efficiency, the East Colfax BRT project includes new and enhanced stations, pedestrian and bike improvements, placemaking elements and streetscape upgrades funded through a combination of federal grants, Elevate Denver bond dollars and the city’s Capital Improvement Program. Those investments include $20 million in voter-approved funding for sidewalks, lighting, trees and street furniture, as well as safety upgrades at 12 intersections along East Colfax.
Once operational, the Colfax BRT system is expected to deliver buses every 4.3 minutes during the day, reduce travel times by 15 to 30 minutes, and improve access to more than 250,000 jobs and community services along the corridor. For Moore, however, the success of the project won’t be measured solely in ridership numbers.
“I think there’s just that fear of, ‘Well, because parking is gone, are we still going to see customers return?’” Moore said. “I think we’re all waiting to see how BRT plays out and are hoping that we see customers return — double and triple what we were used to.”
