All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
The former Colterra restaurant property is once again listed for sale, this time at $1,500,000. The building in which the restaurant was located was demolished after a fire in October 2017 caused the popular restaurant to close. The historic Bader House, which also occupies the property at 210 Franklin Street, has been enlarged since it was purchased for $1,000,000 in September of 2023. The property has been sold twice since the fire, and remains vacant in the heart of Old Town Niwot.
The year-end numbers are in, and they show a continuing downward trend in sales tax revenues collected by the Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) for 2024.
Revenues for 2024 totalled $249,677, down 8.8% from 2023 sales tax collections. The calendar year 2022 marked the high point for revenues collected by the LID at $292,231. But in 2023, LID revenues dropped to $273,747, a decline of $18,484, or 6.3%, from 2022, and the 2024 year-end figures showed an even greater decline.
LID members were hoping that sales tax revenues would level out in 2024, but instead, collections dropped by another $24,070 compared with 2023. May of 2024 was the only month all year in which revenues collected exceeded those collected for the same time the year before, and the increase was only $710.
A look at revenue by categories recorded by Boulder County shows that Remote Sales collections were down by $3,691, more than a 10% decline from 2023. Remote Sales include items ordered online and delivered to addresses within the LID, which is comprised of properties in the Niwot business district.
Retail Sales at $111,453 make up the largest sector of sales tax collections, but the number was down from $117,556 in 2023, a drop of 5.2%. Food Service and Accommodations produced revenue of $74,437 in 2024, down only slightly (2%) from $75,932 collected in 2023, thanks to a strong first half performance.
The "Other" sector produced $22,880 in revenue, down from $29,997, a drop of 23.7%, while Manufacturing was $18,957, compared to $18,480 in 2023, a 2.6% decline. Wholesale tax revenue was $10,017 in 2024, compared to $20,264 the previous year, a decline of over 50%.
The two smallest sectors showed the only increases over 2023. Information category sales tax revenue was up, with $8,666 in 2024 revenues, compared to $8,450 in 2023, a 2.5% increase. Professional and Technology Services also generated an increase in revenue, with $3,268 in 2024, compared to $3,065 in 2023, an increase of 6.6% over the prior year.
Although individual business revenue reports are confidential, it appears that the closure of 1914 House restaurant in July had an adverse effect on sales tax revenues.
The first six months of 2023 showed Food Service and Accommodations sales tax revenue of $36,517, while the last six months showed an increase to $39,415. But in 2024, the trend was reversed, with a strong $39,336 figure in Food Service and Accommodations revenue for the first six months, followed by a drop to $35,101 in the last six months.
With Farow restaurant closing in January of 2025, and the former Colterra and 1914 House restaurant sites still vacant, prospects for recovery of Food Service and Accommodations revenue in 2025 appear dim.
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