Englewood-The good, the bad, the ugly? (Denver, Aurora: apartments, condos, work)

[Hray73]

I'm looking into moving to the Denver area and Englewood has been suggested as a nice suburb. What are your opinions on the area-such as quality of life, safety/crime, is it nice or run down, what is in the area, how long of a commute to Denver etc. I don't have kids, so schools are not an issue and I'm not really looking for a brand new house, since I enjoy restoring old homes. Any opinions or insight? Thanks

[2bindenver]

There are good, bad and truly ugly to be found in Englewood. It borders Denver to the south. So depending on where work is, you might have an easy commute.

Houses generally range from 1920's to 1960's, a few scrapes and rebuilds exist.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by Hray73

I'm looking into moving to the Denver area and Englewood has been suggested as a nice suburb. What are your opinions on the area-such as quality of life, safety/crime, is it nice or run down, what is in the area, how long of a commute to Denver etc. I don't have kids, so schools are not an issue and I'm not really looking for a brand new house, since I enjoy restoring old homes. Any opinions or insight? Thanks

I have been to Englewood many times over the years. For us long term residence--I have been here going on 30 yrs.---we can remember Cinderella City. It was the largest mall in the Western United States. When I came here the mall was starting to lose its luster; it was remodeled and eventually taken down for the Englewood redevelopment along the Light Rail Station---and I think it is a great redevelopment. This is the first Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the Metro Area and it will not be the last. The city hall is in an old department store with the library; there are beautiful apartments, green spaces; a big fountain where kids play........this is the future--you should go see.

This redevelopment has made Englewood a nice little enclave that you can live in without using a car. There is free shuttle back and forth to the station and on old Hampden that makes getting around easy with the Free Art Shuttle
City of Englewood : art Circulator Shuttle

There is grocery within easy walking and of course for us old people, the availability of Swedish Hospital and all the Clinics.

I think the area along Broadway has nice shopping and it is easy to get a frequent bus to further stores up on Broadway and to Downtown, and of course you have the light rail availability.

Also, to get to newer areas and parks south of Englewood is so easy on the rail--the platt greenway is very extensive all the way to Chatfield Reservoir.

Yes, some of the homes are a little ragged along the edge but are improving. There is a great mix of neighborhoods. You want to get excited, look at this development in Englewood Arapahoe Acres Historic Preservation Network

I would live there--it would be the best because I do not like to drive;, I have health problems; shopping is close; Light Rail access; Broadway and the walkable neighborhoods. There is absolutely no problem to commute to Denver--it is right on the edge and with the rail you can go anywhere---fast. The buses up and down Broadway run day and night and have frequent and quick limited buses--It is one of the major bus routes in Denver.

Is is safe??? I think it is not really bad--- but I am not bothered by old buildings, old people, odd buildings, odd people---people do not scare me; I scare them. That is what happens to you when you grow up in tough eastern cities.

Livecontent

[darjoh]

Nice post "livecontent", I appreciate the info.
I have been researching the Denver area regularly for the past 6 months or so. I even went out and visited a couple months ago, and I really liked the Engelwood area. I have family in Aurora, Littleton, and Denver (on the border of Englewood). I thought Englewood had a nice "feel" to it, but being there for such a short time, it is hard to get the true feel for an area.
I am hoping my house will sell where I'm at now, and I can get there by end of spring. I look forward to seeing more posts within this topic.

[DOUBLE H]

I lived in the Englewood/Littleton area for 34 years. It was sad when they knocked Cinderella City. But the problem with it was around 1978 concrete chunks started falling on the cars parked in underground parking; a good share of them near Penney's and the Ground Round restaurant. Southglenn Mall hurt it somewhat, Southwest Plaza even more. By the time Cherry Creek was built, Cin City was on its way out. But I like what the city has done. There's good shopping there, the new condos look great. I missed the old mall, though. I spent a lot of money in that place. I especially liked Cinderalley with all the small shops down there, especially Big Valu Records and Tapes.

[dj32]

yes definitely check out ARapahoe Acres, one of the only places (aside from Krisana Park, another neighborhood to check out) you can find midcentury modern homes. It is a great place to get in the 300s and you may be able to find a fixer for 200s. Very convenient location to light rail, south Denver and downtown.

[Hray73]

Thanks for all of the opinions so far. You can always read nice brochures about places, but it's so great to get real opinions from people who really know the area.

[tfox]

One thing that always confuses newcomers is that there is a city of Englewood and then there are places that have an Englewood address. Pretty much anywhere in unincorporated Arapahoe county is "Englewood". In fact, much of the new city of Centennial still has an Englewood address. The area around Centennial airport still has an Englewood address, but it's nowhere near the city of Englewood. The actual city of Englewood is fairly small, centered around Broadway and Hampden.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by tfox

One thing that always confuses newcomers is that there is a city of Englewood and then there are places that have an Englewood address. Pretty much anywhere in unincorporated Arapahoe county is "Englewood". In fact, much of the new city of Centennial still has an Englewood address. The area around Centennial airport still has an Englewood address, but it's nowhere near the city of Englewood. The actual city of Englewood is fairly small, centered around Broadway and Hampden.

Tfox,

Very good point. When I gave the OP information, I was thinking about the "real" city of Englewood (he may not have been thinking about that) and I forgot that there are many areas that pretend, by address, to be Englewood. I worked near Centennial Airport and it had an Englewood Address.

Englewood is very small and old. The biggest employer would have to be Swedish Hospital. This is a major Hospital in Denver and a tier 1 Trauma Center. There is also Craig Rehabilitation Hospital for Spinal Injury--very famous, this is where all the bad cases from around the country go for treatment.

If you look at Google Earth, you can see this large new apartment building, in the center of the TOD---The Building is build in a Square with the open space in the center for parking and the pool. Great Idea and good security.

Also right in the same building as the City Hall in this TOD is the library. It was a great use of one of the newer latter addition, a department store, to Cinderella City

I think that with the Transit Oriented Development, the Hospital, the stores along South Broadway, the central location, great public transportation with bus and rail, close to newer stores, close to great parks---it is ideal place to live if you want a small and compact community and you did not want to use a car and you are a person who needs excellent medical care nearby.

Another reason in Colorado to
Livecontent