Northwest Denver Undressed

New Construction in Northwest Denver – It’s finally trendy here!

Those of us who know and love the Charming Old Denver neighborhoods have a soft spot in our hearts for older homes – we love our Tudors, our Bungalows, our Victorians, our cottages and our Denver Squares. We happily put up with an appalling lack of electrical outlets, virtually non-existent closet space, garages built for Model T’s and so on. You know what I mean.

But as our families have grown (or, ahem, we’ve “matured”), we’re noticing that these Charming Old Homes don’t quite meet our needs the way they used to. We kinda want the amenities of newer construction, but are loath to give up our City life to get them. What to do, what to do?

The answer? In-fill construction.

In-fill construction is nothing new in Denver – they’ve been doing it all over town for at least a decade. But the trend is relatively new to my part of the world – that is – Northwest Denver. When I left Denver a few years ago for my writing sabbatical, there was some new construction here in the ‘hood – specifically at Highland Garden Village (Old Elitch’s), East Bay near Sloan’s Lake, a few condo projects in what is now hot LoHi and some random attached homes scattered around. But the attached homes didn’t sell well and many of the local Old House Snobs (myself included) had a tendency to look down their/our noses at the tiny lots and vinyl-sided exteriors of the new developments.

Well, no more!

Northwest Denver is now exploding with in-fill new construction! Some, even, at reasonable prices! Admittedly, many of the new homes are attached – that is – they’re duplex style where each side is sold separately, but you can get some serious square footage and generous amenities, including gourmet kitchens, master suites, awesome finished basements and rooftop decks. Most have usable yards and two-car garages. Yeah, I love my 1927 Bungalow, but I’ll admit, walk-in closets, plentiful outlets and a garage that comfortably holds a Subaru are seductive, even to this Old House Snob…

Tomorrow… How does the neighborhood feel about all this development?

The next day… In-fill construction in Northwest Denver – What, where and how much?