Louisville, CO: Home Buyer Community Information

Incorporated in 1882, Louisville lies in Boulder County roughly six miles east of the City of Boulder and 25 miles northwest of Denver. Louisville began as a commercial center for the surrounding coal mines following the arrival of the railroad in 1873. The city’s heritage is easy to spot in the historic downtown area, with numerous cabins and homes dating back several decades and the storefronts on the main street have retained much of their original facades.  Louisville offers families wanting a feel of a smaller town a variety of neighborhoods with their own small parks, playgrounds and bike trails weaving between the cul-de-sacs. In 2007 Money Magazine named Louisville the number three best place to live in America. The magazine highlights the feel of a frontier town combined with a 21st-century economy, miles of open space paths and a median family income of $94,385.  

There are essentially only five main roads crossing through the town, along with US 36 between Boulder and Denver serving as a southwestern boundary. But even this border is open to families; you can take a bike path under the highway and continue on through open space to the neighboring town of Superior.  The future growth potential in Louisville is almost all internal; with one potential exception there isn’t going to be much outward expansion of the city. Infill and redevelopment of existing commercial property will be the bulk of Louisville’s growth, and such prospects for sustaining a municipal budget are guaranteed to pose controversial decisions as neighbors debate the changes with their town.  

The largest imminent project involves the city’s participation in Metro Denver’s FasTracks development, a massive $5 billion transportation program approved by voters in 2004. For a town that was created around the railroad, FasTracks’ development 125 years later is poised to be a second rebirth for the community. Louisville’s historic downtown will see the freight train service that has continued to run for decades expand with commuter rail service in 2014. This will bring a new rail station to the city’s old town, along with new mixed-use office/commercial and residential development.  

The Centennial Valley and Colorado Tech Center business parks are growing with new commercial development; much of the growth is spurred on by the relative affordability compared to Boulder combined with the small-town quality of life Louisville offers. Plus, the city’s location is convenient to Denver, the mountains, Denver International Airport, and other major highways.

Currently financial services, technical consulting and various professional services make up a large percentage of Louisville’s employment base. Health care, retail, construction and manufacturing businesses are other key industries. The city has a retail and service area conveniently clustered around the US Hwy 36 and McCaslin interchange, including hotels, restaurants, a movie theater, office space, big box retail, etc. The historic downtown has a range of shops and office commercial with banks, restaurants, city hall and the new library.

Louisville has recently seen its sales tax base erode from the amount of additional retail growth in neighboring communities. Lafayette has recently opened a Super Wal-mart, a King Soopers grocery store and a Target is on the way. The opening five years ago of the Flatirons Crossing shopping mall in Broomfield was a blow to Louisville’s sales tax base and across US 36 Superior continues to add new stores in its commercial area. Another big hit was when a new Home Depot opened in Boulder in early 2007; previously there was no big box home improvement store in Boulder and a significant portion of Louisville’s Home Depot sales were to Boulder residents. In a wider sense, Boulder and Denver also offer more cultural and hospitality/entertainment options that lure Louisville residents away to spend their disposable income as well.

The next few years will continue to challenge Louisville’s budget as the community meets the threat posed by sales and use tax declines through business retention and recruitment.  In December 2006, the City Council adopted a Business Assistance Program to insure that the City remains competitive. The program’s criteria apply to primary job recruitment and retention, as well as retail recruitment and retention.

As is true of nearly all communities, Louisville struggles with the desire to remain vibrant and economically sustainable while having a strong commitment to its heritage. As such the redevelopments in the old town area tend to have a historic preservation angle that newer residents looking for a sort of historic charm will appreciate. Long-term residents tend to support this view as well, with the City Council tasked with maintaining the city’s services and character while determining viable redevelopment and revenue sources.

Louisville is a politically active community; in the 2006 mid-term elections 73% of registered voters turned out at the polls. The citizens have often debated local tax issues and other aspects of the authority they wish to grant to their city Council. The election of Councilors is not the only way Louisville residents choose to guide the priorities of their government. In the upcoming November 2007 elections, an issue has been placed on the ballot by citizen initiative that challenges the right of a City Council-appointed board of advisors known as the Louisville Revitalization Commission to make decisions on how to spend projected tax revenue connected with the major FasTracks/old town redevelopment described above.

Another political battle looming regards the vision for redevelopment of a large corporate campus owned by Sun Microsystems. The company will be closing down operations on a 390-acre parcel of land, and options range from open space to a business park to a massive residential and/or mixed use neighborhood. Given the size of the land in question, it is the last major land-use decision Louisville will be making besides the FasTracks project.

Additional details:

The Louisville City Council consists of six members and the Mayor. To see Louisville’s Comprehensive Plan click here. A map of Louisville’s open space holdings is here.

Last updated: September, 2007

City of Louisville: www.ci.louisville.co

Louisville Public Library: http://www.ci.louisville.co.us/library/

Louisville Rec Center: www.louisvillerecreation.com

Louisville Police Department: http://www.ci.louisville.co.us/police:

Louisville Chamber of Commerce: www.louisvillechamber.com

Avista Hospital: www.avistahospital.org

Louisville Churches: http://louisvilleco.areaconnect.com/churches.htm