Denver

The lay of the city

Central Denver sorts itself around its parks. City Park, at 330 acres, anchors the neighborhoods east of downtown and holds the zoo, the Museum of Nature and Science and the view of the skyline over Ferril Lake that appears at the top of this page. Washington Park gives its name to the blocks around it. Cheesman Park and the Botanic Gardens sit between Capitol Hill and Congress Park, and Sloan’s Lake, the city’s largest, defines the northwest side.

Cherry Creek North, where Amy’s office is, is the city’s main retail district outside downtown, sixteen blocks of shops and restaurants bordered by some of Denver’s most expensive residential streets.

What the housing looks like

The older neighborhoods were largely built between 1890 and 1930, and it shows. Park Hill, Washington Park and Congress Park are known for brick bungalows and the two-story foursquare locals call the Denver Square. Hilltop and Mayfair add Tudors and mid-century ranches on wider lots. Capitol Hill and Baker mix Victorian houses with mid-century condominium towers and converted buildings. On the west side, Villa Park and the blocks around Sloan’s Lake have seen a decade of new townhomes and duplexes go up beside the original housing.

That range is reflected in what The Nest has on the market at any given time, from a one-bedroom condominium near Cheesman Park to a rebuilt 1910 bungalow in Park Hill.

What to check before you buy

Older Denver houses reward a careful inspection period. Four things come up again and again:

• Sewer lines. Many pre-1970 homes still have clay pipe between the house and the street. A camera scope is inexpensive and routinely requested.
• Radon. Most of Colorado, Denver included, falls in the EPA’s highest radon zone. Testing is standard, and mitigation systems are common and relatively affordable.
• Roofs and hail. Hail is a fact of life on the Front Range. Roof age and material affect both insurability and premiums, so it is worth getting an insurance quote early.
• Electrical and plumbing updates. In houses from the 1920s and earlier, ask what has been replaced and when, and whether the work was permitted.

For condominiums and townhomes, the association’s finances deserve as much attention as the unit itself. Amy’s guide to reading an HOA covers what to look for.

Getting around

Union Station is the hub for RTD rail, including the A Line to the airport, the G Line to Arvada and Wheat Ridge, and the W Line along the west side to Golden. Interstate 70 runs west from the city into the mountains; in clear conditions Vail is under two hours away.