Five Points District

East and north of downtown is the Five Points district, named for the five-way intersection formed at Welton Street, 27th Street, East 26th Avenue, and Washington Street. One of Denver’s first streetcar suburbs, Five Points had declined in recent decades, but is now on the upswing. The area around Welton Street has evolved into a vibrant mixed-use district that offers a direct link to downtown Denver via light rail. An unusual assemblage of critical properties for redevelopment has led the transformation of the district’s Uptown and Curtis Park neighborhoods into two of Denver’s most popular “up and coming” neighborhoods.1

Three large, multi-block, multifamily housing projects—Uptown Square, Benedict Park Place, and The Villages at Curtis Park—have provided a catalyst for additional private investment on smaller scales.2

Uptown Square, a pivotal mixed-use project in Uptown that has added younger dwellers and destination shops and restaurants, is located on the site of the former St. Luke’s Hospital, between East 20th and East 18th Avenues. Designed by RTKL, the Post Properties project includes nearly 700 rental apartments spanning four blocks that were built in four phases. Block 2 incorporates the original 1941, six-story, Art Deco hospital building, converted into 70 loft apartments. Blocks 2 and 4 are “Texas dough-nut” typologies featuring a central parking structure wrapped with housing to contribute to the urban streetscape. A new city zoning designation allowed for this type of mixed-use urban living. The streetscape environment was made possible by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, which contributed $8 million in public infrastructure costs.3

The final block (Block 5), was sold to another developer. Park Avenue Lofts, developed by Martin Fein Interests, includes an internal parking structure wrapped with five stories of residential apartments clad in brick. The project seals the gap between Uptown Square and Park Avenue and contributes to a new urban edge that is being created along Park Avenue.4

Directly north and east of Uptown Square, spanning Park Avenue to knit together the Uptown and Curtis Park neighborhoods, is the Benedict Park Place project. Formerly the East Village subsidized housing and Arrowhead Apartments public housing project, the 15-acre site was acquired by the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) and turned into a mixed-income project, which at buildout will consist of five phases. The DHA leveraged $20 million from a HOPE VI grant in 2002 into a total investment of $205 million.5

The project’s 873 units include 250 public housing rentals, 270 tax-credit workforce rentals, 149 market-rate rentals, and 204 for-sale homes. Parking structures wrapped with housing will be built on four of the five blocks. The first three blocks, designed by Humphries Poli Architects and Studio Completiva, have been completed, and Blocks 4 and 5 are under construction. This multiblock project has transformed the hard auto-dominated edge of Park Avenue into a pedestrianscaled street, and the increased density has brought new life to the area.6

The Villages at Curtis Park consist of a patchwork of DHA-acquired properties in the Curtis Park neighborhood. These revitalized properties have helped to transform this once crime-ridden neighborhood with the help of $25.7 million in HOPE VI funds and $132 million total in community investment. Blake Street Flats, designed by Humphries Poli, ties into the Blake Street Corridor and includes 24 mixed-income rental apartments. Glenarm Place, adjacent to Benedict Park Place Block 3, includes 19 mixed-income apartments in flats and two-story townhomes. Trimble Place and Atzlan Park encompass five blocks in historic Curtis Park and include 435 mixed-income apartment units. A fourth phase of home ownership is also planned. Together, the nine blocks provide nearly 580 new rental and for-sale homes, which will help weave together the historic urban fabric of the neighborhood.7

Smaller infill development projects by the private sector have followed these larger-parcel investments, with the mix of large and small-scale redevelopment in Denver’s oldest residential neighborhoods adding eclectic character and greater diversity. One such project is Merchants Row Brownstones, designed by in situ DESIGN. The six-unit project is modeled after New York brownstones, with raised stoops addressing the street. Large terraces and balconies offer indoor/outdoor living with views of downtown and the mountains.8

More than 40 neighbors in the Curtis Park Investors Group have funded development of the project, located on an important corner lot at 26th and Champa streets. The group previously developed the Champa Terrace townhomes, located in the 2900 block of Champa. That project won the Governor’s Award for Downtown Excellence for being “a true urban infill project that came to life as neighborhood activism focused on detail and quality.”9

• 1. Cheney Ferguson. Colorado Urbanizing: Experiencing New Urbanism. Colorado Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism. CNU 17.
• 2. Ibid.
• 3. Ibid.
• 4. Ibid.
• 5. Ibid.
• 6. Ibid.
• 7. Ibid.
• 8. Ibid.
• 9. Ibid.