AURORA | The latest retail sales and tax receipts reports for Aurora continue to paint a dismal economic picture as city officials develop a program to shore up retail sales, and city tax revenues.
“It is the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve rounded off like this and have been looking at flat numbers,” Robert Olivia, senior project manager of Aurora Planning and Development Services told members and staff of the city’s Planning and Economic Development Policy Committee last week. “And so it is concerning.”
Olivia presented a retail sales update for all the different categories in retail sales for the Committee on March 12.
For the last few months, city economic and retail officials have been pouring over data in an effort to determine why store and restaurant sales are flat or falling, and what the city can and should do about it.
The sales-tax drop has also prompted warnings from city officials to expect a budget deficit and required budget cuts, possibly significant. City budget officials are predicting an $11.5 million shortfall in the city’s 2026 estimated budget.
Simultaneously, Aurora officials are scrutinizing a host of capital improvement projects and the possibility of some kind of tax increase for construction projects, and maybe even to shore up operating budgets.
Aurora’s sales-tax revenue increased 3.4% from 2023 to 2024, a lower increase than previous years.
“In almost all of our numbers, there is a rounding off from 2023 to 2024,” Robert Olivia said. “You can see it kind of flattening, and you’re going to see this in almost all the numbers.”
Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said the low numbers of retail stores in Aurora were very concerning to her.
The category for restaurants and bars increased in sales tax revenue annually, with a dip during 2020 and then picked up with an increase in 2021 from where 2019 left off. In 2024, the city had only a minor increase in restaurant and bar sales tax revenue of 1.4% compared to previous years, which usually shows closer to a 10% increase or more.
The category for discount stores in Aurora has decreased in sales for the past two years, with a decrease of 3.1% in 2023 and 1.5% in 2024.
“We did not expect the discount stores to see a drop last year, but that could be because folks like Walmart were starting to drop prices,” Olivia said.
Building materials also leveled off from the previous year’s sales at a minimal 2.8% increase. Auto dealer sales and parts had a very small sales increase of only 0.5% in 2024 when the increase in previous years was usually more than 10%.
In Colorado, city sales tax on vehicles is returned to the city of the purchaser, not dealer, indicating that Aurora residents were spending less on cars.
“This is a very strange story because we know the auto business, the car business, is in the tank right now, but the parts business is picking up the difference. But even the parts stores are in trouble now, too,” Olivia said.
Electronics sales had a significant increase of 4.4%. Electronics sales have been leveling out since there was a significant spike in 2021 after the pandemic.
“Another surprise,” Olivia said. “We didn’t see an electronic cycle like an iPhone cycle at the end of the year, and yet, they were up about 4.5%. We did not expect that. So that’s good news for the electronics folks.”
Grocery store sales had a 3.1% decline after typically having a high increase besides a flattening in 2022. Aurora does not tax grocery store food, so the category for grocery store sales tax revenue was from non-food products.
Telecommunications and cellular sales had a slight increase of .2%, but it was more consistent with previous years. The clothing and clothing accessories category had a minor increase of 5.2%.
Beer, wine and liquor sales, which includes grocery stores and liquor stores, has been flat since 2020 when it jumped for COVID-19.
“If we are going into a recession, liquor does well in a recession, so we would see an uptick if we end up in a recession,” Olivia said.
Department store sales had a 0.8% increase, which Olivia said was not surprising after COVID-19, and Olivia said he doesn’t expect them to come back. The category combining sporting goods, hobbies, books and music decreased by 5.9% after a spike from COVID. Furniture and home furnishings have declined since 2021, with a 6.5% decrease in 2024.
City staff said that an estimated 17% of retail sales are from online sales, according to market estimates, but it is hard to find an exact number.
Some “bright spots” Olivia mentioned were Burlington stores, which bought 44 Bed Bath and Beyond locations that can bring in double the profits that Bed Bath and Beyond was bringing in. The city is also hoping Ollie’s Bargains will break into Colorado since they are buying up a lot of the closed Big Lots locations.
There is also an International Council of Shopping Centers event coming up, which city staff attends annually to talk to larger companies and work to lure more businesses into the city.
Councilmember Françoise Bergan asked if there was more the committee and the city could do to talk to businesses, and she asked if retail and other companies knew Aurora existed.
“Yes, you’d be surprised how many people know Aurora exists,” Olivia said. “When we’re talking to them, they’re already aware of how large we are. They’re aware that all of their competitors are here. They’re aware of what their sales are. They are actually incredibly informed.”
Small Business. There need to be more incentives for small business in Aurora – there are way too many chains here which is not attractive to consumers who have money to spend. If you want to bring in people who spend on retail, you need to provide more interesting shopping opportunities, as well as revamp the shopping environment itself. Perfect example is Havana street – lots of retail, also dirty, unsafe, non-bike and pedestrian friendly, frankly — ugly. Even some basic urban landscape enhancements can make big difference for consumers.
Crime. APD needs to significantly ramp up patrolling and crack down on violent and petty crimes in commercial areas. If you look at Community Crime Map the concentration of crime around Gardens on Havana is astounding. Look at the crime and frequent shootings around Aurora Mall. People don’t feel safe shopping in Aurora.
Diversification. A huge chunk of businesses specifically in the West Aurora shopping corridor are retail, restaurants, and groceries. There are limited entertainment options – few/no comedy clubs, few movie theaters, few museums, few breweries. There is nothing to do in many shopping malls other than buy something and leave – people are not spending time in Aurora shopping districts, just in and out.
When last measured in 2016, Aurora’s retail tax base per capita fell 14% below the state average among cities and 59% behind Denver. That was a failing grade in 2016 and city council has accomplished almost nothing since.
Until just recently Council was saying everything was just fine. Just ignore the fact that we’re borrowing money for simple street maintenance. If that’s not a BIG RED FLAG!
The solution is to significantly boost foot traffic by attracting visitors to dine, shop and have fun in Aurora. Its squarely City Council’s job to nurture the city’s retail economy but there’s very little evidence that this responsibility is being taken seriously. Council hasn’t even requested any new comparative data since 2016. They are lost in the forest with no map, no direction, no consensus and no plan.
I take zero comfort knowing that the Aurora Fire Department is among the most poorly funded in the state and I don’t give a rat’s gluteus about anyone’s devotion to laisse faire on the right or socialism on the left. The hyper-devotion is what has allowed Denver to play us for fools for decades.
Any Council Member who refuses to do what’s necessary to revitalize this city’s retail economy needs to resign. You’ve nearly killed our city.
Any candidate for City Council how is isn’t intimately familiar with the city budget or how our retail tax base lags the state average should withdraw. Sorry but you’ll do more harm than good.
Is anyone surprised after Aurora was dragged through the mud by Jurinsky and Trump. Aurora was destroyed according to Trump in the State of The Union propaganda fest. He also mentioned Aurora in horrific statements during the campaigning. No doubt some of the revenue slide is from the politicians. Now everyone in Aurora is paying a price. Remember in November folks who brought this .
You talk as if Aurora was healthy and vibrant before Trump and Jurinsky. Are you high?
The data don’t lie. Aurora’s retail and dining activity per resident has scored near the bottom among Colorado cities going back a decade or more.
Let’s keep it real. These hyperbolic rants about the damage done to Aurora’s reputation are completely over the top.
Totally, it’s definitely from the politicians and not at all from the criminals that are making Aurora an undesirable location due to significant violent and non-violent crime rates for a city of this size. Let’s keep pointing the finger at everything around the problem, that will solve it!
As the comment above yours proves, this is not a recent trend. Take your broken logic elsewhere.
I see that Jurinski, our local brain trust (not), says:
….Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said the low numbers of retail stores in Aurora were very concerning to her….
Geez, she buffaloed the council with vile emails into a $6.1MM cut in the usage tax without providing any substitute revenue. And now we have an $11MM + budget shortfall and growing. Great, Danielle, you moron, you blast Aurora as under the control of TdA, which was a blatant lie, and now you wonder why sales are down. Well, at least you’re verrry concerned. How ’bout a SOLUTION! You don’t seem tongue-tied when you are issuing epithets and running down the city!
Each and every member of this City Council, including the Mayor, needs to go. Aside from tax cuts for corporations and laws that benefit the bar owners on council, not much else gets done. They can squabble about kids being at meetings, throw cash into a water mine (when they hope no one is looking), run for cover when protestors come, spend money trying to keep public meetings secret, but nothing they do advances the betterment of the City. Mandatory jail time for dine and dashing hasn’t increased revenues and ignoring domestic violence isnt going to fill coffers. The new soccer facility would have been great, but it doesn’t appear that Aurora made much of an effort to attract that venue. Aside from the vending machine sales to employees, there won’t be much sales tax revenue coming from the nicotine plant. As others have mentioned, no one wants to come to Aurora to shop. Crime and traffic are big concerns, but those aren’t unique to Aurora. This City has so much going for it, but Council and City staff seem too focused on distractions that get us nowhere.
It doesn’t take a genius to know why this has happened. The first reason is of course that no outside businesses or consumers want to do business in Aurora after the hysteria that Jurinsky and her MAGA cronies have caused. They have used a false narrative about gangs “overtaking” us (which turned out to be 10 people at one rundown apartment complex) to ruin the reputation of our city. People and businesses are SCARED to come to Aurora and it’s all her fault. Like they say, you reap what you sow.
And the second reason that the city is suddenly coming up short is because Jurinsky et al (once again) repealed the Occupational Tax so that their businesses no longer have to pay this tax that previously brought in over $6 million per year to Aurora. This is why everything is now underfunded. And now they want to tax the citizens to make up for the shortfall that they created.
Don’t fall for their blatant lies. There is no solution for the damage that they have done except to bring in new Council members in November who have experience and common sense!
Crime – we live in Aurora but no longer shop here for a simple reason: crime, shoplifting, and car thefts. We’ve had too many encounters in parking lots.
And we should thank Council member Jurinsky – her alert to the TdA problem has been validated. I know reality is hard to confront, and the negative public relations hurt, but the real culprits are Polis, Mayor Johnson of Denver, and the non-profits they hired to place illegal aliens here.
Some good comments here. A few thoughts: How much in $$ should Aurora give businesses to establish here….what might be an algorithm to be used to decide this? Council Member Marcono tried to get the city to look at making changes to encourage easing transportation (walking/biking), basic urban landscape enhancements that could make a big difference to our residents(and he was run out of office for being a socialist?????)…You want more cops? I’ve been saying for years to raise taxes, increase pay/benefits for the LEO’s and ensure they stay by having an agreement they must put in 5 years of service before a transfer. All these things cost money. And all the complaints about how the money is spent (just like the national budget) needs to be looked at and CAN be by each interested resident. It’s on line folks! But you gotta get involved instead of just complaining.