Aurora’s Downtown Development Authority is seeking applicants to serve on the board that will oversee the Colfax Avenue revitalization project approved by voters in November.

The application for board members opened Tuesday and the deadline to apply is Feb. 28, according to a city newsletter. The application is available on the city’s boards and commissions webpage.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old and live, work or own a business or property within the DDA boundary, which sits along Coflax between Yosemite and Peoria streets.

Board members will not be paid per state law, but certain expenses such as travel and childcare costs can be compensated.

Aurora City Council members decided in a December meeting that the board will include seven members, including one councilmember. They are allowed to select up to 11 for a DDA board, and city staff recommended leaving space for additional members as plans develop.

Board members will be tasked with overseeing projects and investments under the DDA and ensuring community members and businesses are involved, and their needs are met throughout the process, the city newsletter says.

Core improvement areas for the DDA, as outlined in the Colfax Community Vision and Action Plan, are public safety, business support, housing stability, cleanliness and maintenance, arts and culture and public space.

The project to form a DDA began in April 2024, when Aurora’s Urban Renewal Authority board voted to approve an evaluation of how to improve downtown Aurora, with a focus on the areas between Colfax Avenue and Yosemite Street and 17th and 13th streets.

After studying the needs of northwest Aurora, Brad Segal, president of consulting company Progressive Urban Management Associates (PUMA), recommended the city move forward with creating a DDA and a community development corporation (CDC) for the area.

A DDA is a body governed by state statute that includes commercial and residential properties and is led by a council-appointed board, according to Segal. Funding for a DDA comes from tax increment financing, which uses future property and sales tax increases to pay for new infrastructure, he said.

A CDC is a nonprofit organization created to support and revitalize an area.

Councilmembers in July unanimously approved taking the question to voters, who needed to approve the creation of the Aurora Downtown Development Authority in order for the project to move forward.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the DDA through two questions on a special ballot that went out to people who live and work in the designated area. The first question asked voters to create the authority, and 133 people, 79%, voted “yes.”

A second question asked voters to authorize the DDA to use tax increment financing, and 141 voters, 83%, voted “yes.”

With the passage of both ballot measures comes the creation of the DDA, which is a governmental entity separate from the city and defined by state statute. It is led by a board appointed by the mayor and confirmed by a majority of the City Council.

After the application window closes in February, a nomination committee will conduct interviews in March. Mayor Mike Coffman will then present six nominees to the council for consideration, and the council will vote on the nominees at a public hearing in April, according to the city’s newsletter.

More information about what is expected of board members and how to apply is available on the city’s website.