With a name like “Ballpark” you just know this neighborhood is full of energy and fun.
Today the Ball Park neighborhood boasts many converted lofts, new construction, and apartments are in abundance, and many more are planned in this neighborhood. Ballpark’s rail yard history makes it ideal for classic loft conversions. Many of the original warehouses have been stripped and updated, and now offer loft space with exposed beams and pipes. Several more loft construction projects are planned, guaranteeing more growth and development in this expanding area. Developers have purchased and razed the few valueless buildings, creating space for new construction; new loft apartments and brownstones are available for rent and purchase, ensuring viable housing options for a wide range of prices and lifestyles.
Where is Ball Park
The Ballpark neighborhood lies to the north of Lower Downtown and Downtown Denver’s central business district. The southern end of the neighborhood (around 20th Street) is anchored by Coors Field, which opened in 1995. Ballpark also stretches almost 20 blocks to the north from 20th Street, into a section of Downtown that is still very much a functioning warehouse and light industry district. An increasing number of those warehouses are being renovated into loft projects.
How Ballpark Neighborhood Got Started
This part of Downtown was established early in Denver’s history, growing alongside the railroad tracks that carried goods and raw materials into Denver’s industrial market. Waves of immigrants–Italian, Irish, Japanese, Chinese and, more recently, Mexican–have left their own unique stamp on the area.
An important commercial corridor in the Ballpark neighborhood is North Larimer Street. From 20th Street all the way to the northern edge of stretches of Downtown (37th-38th Avenue), Larimer Street offers a unique mix of buildings and tenants–pawn shops, jazz clubs, bars, antique shops, art framers, galleries, brewpubs, authentic Mexican restaurants, small ad companies and more. Most of these buildings reflect the area’s predominant architecture, which is 2-3 story brick buildings and warehouses. The neighborhood is zoned for industrial use, so a good number of the buildings still have train and truck loading docks on their street frontages, as many of them are active warehouses and light industrial buildings. Not every building frontage has a sidewalk, and street trees are as not prevalent as they are in older, more traditional center city neighborhoods such as Curtis Park or Capitol Hill. In 2002, a the Ballpark Historic District was formed for much of the Ballpark area to preserve many of the historic warehouses and buildings that define the neighborhood’s historical uses.
A major change in the Ballpark neighborhood’s landscape was the demolition of the Broadway viaduct in 2000, which carried auto traffic from Broadway, over the adjacent Central Platte Valley train tracks, and north along Brighton Boulevard to I-70 for several decades. The viaduct’s bridge structure sliced through the middle of the neighborhood, but is now replaced by a four-lane underpass; two sets of train tracks cross overhead, much like the 15th Street underpass that was completed earlier this decade. This enhances the Ballpark’s pedestrian environment and improves its visual and pedestrian connection to Downtown Denver. It has also spurred new opportunities along Brighton Boulevard, which is a direct link from I-70 to Downtown Denver.
REAL ESTATE
If you would like additional information about Historic Ball Park real estate in Denver Colorado as well as anywhere in Denver Metro Area contact us at 1-800-791-3990 ext 232.
Jeffery McClintock, is a real estate broker in Denver and prides himself on providing clients with professional guidance in all phases of residential new construction, including market research, product development, consulting, marketing and advertising. His personal mission is to bring to you a level of knowledge, experience, commitment, high standards and results to answer your real estate needs. He believes, the most effective way to provide superior service is to build a strong working relationship with you. His system includes regular consultations and feedback, which is the best tool for identifying and clarifying your real estate objectives and help define strategic solutions.
