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TO: Mayor John Laesch
FROM: Danielle Tufano, Downtown Economic Development
DATE: May 12, 2026
SUBJECT:
Approval of a resolution authorizing the disbursement of Special Service Area One funds not to exceed $300,000 to the Aurora Downtown District (ADD), as the successor organization for Aurora Downtown, for the provision of special services within Special Service Area One.
PURPOSE:
To fully fund ADD's operations for the 2026 calendar year. The funding will support marketing initiatives, event programming, operational and administrative expenses, legal fees, and other program-related costs necessary to provide special services within Special Service Area One (SSA1). Approval of this funding will allow the organization to operate independently from the City while continuing to support downtown economic development and related services.
BACKGROUND:
Special Service Area One (SSA1) has historically funded the nonprofit organization "Aurora Downtown" to provide marketing, event coordination, economic development support, and other special services within the downtown district. Following the dissolution of Aurora Downtown in early 2025, portions of these responsibilities were temporarily assumed by The Aurora Alliance and now City staff to ensure continuity of downtown services, programming, and marketing efforts while community stakeholders evaluated the future organizational structure for downtown management. Through a series of public town hall and stakeholder listening sessions, downtown businesses, property owners, and community members expressed strong support for establishing a new independent nonprofit organization with enhanced transparency, accountability, and governance measures. As a result, the "Aurora Downtown District" (ADD) was formed as the successor organization to continue providing substantially the same services previously administered by Aurora Downtown.
The timing of this transition aligns with the City's ongoing efforts to evaluate the...
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