The Washington Park West neighborhood was unsurprisingly developed to the west of Washington Park. The Park itself was designed by Architect Reinhard Schuetz in 1899.  The neighborhood was part of the larger South Denver suburb created in 1886, which was quickly annexed by the City of Denver thanks to the silver bust of the 1890s. The creation of Washington Park hastened development in the Washington Park West neighborhood and the area filled in between 1900 and 1940 with some late nineteenth century brick houses in the northwest corner of the neighborhood. Washington Park West was officially seperated from the Washington Park neighborhood in 1972. The district never experienced any significant decline but experienced a renaissance in the late 90s thanks to its central location, proximity to the park, and access to several commercial business enclaves.

Washington Park West also does well from an urban perspective with its great public transit and solid bike access, consistent ADA/sidewalk infrastructure, good public elementary schools, good retail options, safety, and attractive offering of 1910-1930 historic bungalow and craftsman homes. I would not include it in Denver’s elite urban districts due to a medium level of density, limited racial/economic diversity, limited housing options, ok cultural amenities, and uncompelling business districts along Broadway and Almeda. There are still many urban in-fill opportunities along these corridors.

Click here to view my Washington Park West photos on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great public transit access and solid bike access.
* Solid access to Dwtn as well.
* Excellent connectivity here.
* Very good ADA and sidewalk infrastructure.
* Decent amount of generational diversity.
* Okay # of walkable schools with 3 well rated elementary schools being the highlight.
* Great tree canopy.
* The district is located just west of Washington Park, which is a great multi-amenity park. No other parks in the district.
* Good retail amenities including 5 major supermarkets, an Office Depot, a couple drug stores, a couple boutiques/clothing stores, several home goods/furniture stores, a bookstore, a post office, plenty of churches and gyms.
* Overall a very safe neighborhood.
* Attractive historic bungalows and some Denver rowhouses mixed in mostly from the 1910s-1930s.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* So so density.
* Poor racial and esp. economic diversity.
* Decent # of apts but less than other inner city Denver districts. 1-beds lease anywhere in the 1Ks, 2-beds 2K-mid 3ks, and 3 beds in the 3 & 4 ks.
* Some  moderately priced housing but most for sale product is very expensive here. 1-beds that sell btwn 275K and 650K, 2-beds sell btwn 350K-950K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 550K-2M.
* Ok cultural amenities including a decent # of food & beverage bizs concentrated along Alameda, some art galleries, and a live music venue.
* Generally autocentric infill. Some nice MF infill in the SW corner of the neighborhood.
* Urban massing is a mixed bag along Almeda but pretty autocentric along Broadway. Good streetscaping however along Broadway.