Jefferson Park (Denver, Arvada, Boulder: apartment, power lines, rentals)

[fromthebay]

How is this area. I want to live on the west side and that seems closest to downtown and seems like you cold find a place with nice views of both the mountains and downtown.... how is the crime demographics and all that stuff....

[tfox]

So, just so we're clear for everyone, Jefferson Park neighborhood is bounded by approximately I-25 on the east, Speer on the north, Federal on the west, and roughly Invesco field at mile high on the south (20th Ave -- not sure).

Jefferson Park is fairly close to downtown, though East Highlands aka LoHi is actually a bit closer -- so if that's your goal you may look right off 15th Street or 16th Steet in East Highland.. However, Jefferson Par is REALLY close to Elitch's, Children's Museum, and the Aquarium.

As for the neighborhood, it's really changed in the last couple years. It used to be kind of run-down, mostly rentals. There were a few really nice historic homes here and there, but most of the neighborhood was either cheaply constructed apartment blocks and tiny little single family homes, marginally historic but not really. Now, there's a lot of new construction there, mostly lofts, condos and townhomes, as well as quite a few scrape-offs, both single family homes and duplexes. I think Jefferson Park is well on its way to seeing nearly 100% of its housing stock scraped and replaced, like you saw in some of the Central Denver neighborhoods. Unlike Belcaro or Cherry Creek in Central Denver, I don't see you'll see it turn into a millionaire's row, however, since much of the new construction is multi-family.

The neighborhood IS a lot cheaper than Highlands, which isn't saying much since that neighborhood has skyrocketed in value over the last 3-4 years. I think it's quite a bit cheaper than Highland if you like the new builds, though you still pay the "new construction" price premium the same as anywhere else. Unlike Highlands, there's not really a lot of nice classic homes here, though there are some. It's mostly either newer stuff, or older stuff that will likely be soon demolished and replaced by newer stuff.

Crime is definitely on the decline there, but there's some transition. You'll definitely see some lower-income people, and doubtless some crime that comes with that territory. Even after the neighborhood becomes completely gentrified and the lower-income people are gone, its proximity to the football stadium will likely lead to some crime, as well as its proximity to lower income neighborhoods south of Colfax. However, overall I'd say crime isn't really that big of a deal there.

Schools, however, are a big concern everywhere in North Denver, and Jefferson Park is no exception. Two of my cousins went to North High, and I can say from their experience that you don't want to send your kids there under any circumstances. If you have high school age kids, figure in private schools as a cost of living there or seek to "choice" your kids somewhere else. Virtually anywhere else would be better. Elementary school has some better options, though you do have to be proactive -- there are some less than desirable elementary schools in North Denver too.

Views, as you mentioned, can be outstanding. The namesake park in the neighborhood has some stunning downtown views, though no mountain views. Given that the neighborhood slopes quite substantially down toward downtown, you'll probably only have a nice mountain view from the upper stories of a multi-floor building.

The neighborhood is ably represented by an organization called JPUN (their version of Capitol Hill's CHUN) -- JPUN is one of the more active organizations in the city so there's a lot going on there.

[rebagirl]

We have been back and forth from California to Colorado a few times recently, meeting with our Realtor, looking at homes. For those of you who have followed my journey, you know that I've been interested in a lot of areas, but am mostly drawn to Littleton/Centennial (west of I25). Because we are hanging on to our home and renting it out, we don't have the hunk of money a lot of Californians have to work with from selling their home. We're trying to find a 4 bedroom or 3 bedroom with a study for no more than 350K. This is proving to be a difficult task--and I don't think I'm being all that picky! Every home we looked at had issues--huge power lines in the backyard, virtually no backyard, some structural damage, backed to a very busy street, lot size of 6,000 or less, etc. We are now looking at areas in Jeffco (Chatfield High School area) because lots are larger and homes are spaced further apart--and within our price range.

Specific Questions:
1. Does Chatfield area seem far away to you, as in "Boonies?"
2. Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of the schools there? (checked into Coronado elementary and Ute Meadows--both rate "high")
3. I'd like some yard for the kids, but is it worth sacrificing a certain area just to have some kind of a yard and privacy?

We're still looking into Parker as well, but that should be another thread...

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by rebagirl

We have been back and forth from California to Colorado a few times recently, meeting with our Realtor, looking at homes. For those of you who have followed my journey, you know that I've been interested in a lot of areas, but am mostly drawn to Littleton/Centennial (west of I25). Because we are hanging on to our home and renting it out, we don't have the hunk of money a lot of Californians have to work with from selling their home. We're trying to find a 4 bedroom or 3 bedroom with a study for no more than 350K. This is proving to be a difficult task--and I don't think I'm being all that picky! Every home we looked at had issues--huge power lines in the backyard, virtually no backyard, some structural damage, backed to a very busy street, lot size of 6,000 or less, etc. We are now looking at areas in Jeffco (Chatfield High School area) because lots are larger and homes are spaced further apart--and within our price range.

Specific Questions:
1. Does Chatfield area seem far away to you, as in "Boonies?"
2. Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of the schools there? (checked into Coronado elementary and Ute Meadows--both rate "high")
3. I'd like some yard for the kids, but is it worth sacrificing a certain area just to have some kind of a yard and privacy?

We're still looking into Parker as well, but that should be another thread...

I live up north, so I don't know a ton about Chatfield, but I've been there. I'll try to be helpful.
1. No. It is southern-ish, but it's still in Jefferson County. There is all of Douglas Co. south of there that is still considered metro Denver.
2. No. My entire knowledge of their schools is having been to a gymnastics meet at Chatlfield High. It is the high school where the Columbine kids finished up the year of the shootings.
3. IMO, yes. I like having a yard. We moved into this house when our kids were two and five. We have enjoyed the yard immensely, in different ways over the years. First it was a swingset and a little above-ground pool, then a trampoline and a bigger pool, and now we're back to just the pool as "empty-nesters". We like to sit out there on summer evenings, and we even rigged up a mini-croquet course (non-regulation, of course).

[rebagirl]

Thanks for your reply, even though I know you're in the northern section. I think because we're coming from California--- in an older, established neighborhood with trees--I really don't want a crammed-in feeling like I've seen in so many neighborhoods. The yard is very important to me. Like you mentioned in another thread, it's nice to have a place for the kids to play safely, while Mom is doing the usual household chores. It certainly isn't practical to constantly be taking trips to the park or rec centers for the kids to play. I also love that some of the areas I've looked into in 80127 and 80128 don't have ridiculous HOA's and there is some sense of land/privacy between homes.

One concern that someone can hopefully answer:

Are Kipling and Wadsworth both extremely busy streets? Some of the homes I've looked at are near either of these roads and I can't tell if it would be too close for comfort. I've used Google Maps and Virtual Earth, but would love to hear from someone who actually travels in that area.

[Katarina Witt]

Yes, in general they are pretty busy. Wadsworth actually starts up north of Broomfield as Highway 287, and goes all the way south to SW Plaza Mall, as near as I can tell on my map. Kipling, too, goes all the way from Arvada south to the Chatfield area. If the house is near but not on the road, I think you'd be OK. It's one of those situations where you have to see it to make a decision. Our house is one block from a very busy road that runs all the way from west Boulder to east Lafayette, yet our own neighborhood is very quiet.

[Kibbiekat]

I noticed a difference between California and here as to how traffic noise is addressed in residential areas. In the central valley it was very flat, so the road was almost always at the same level as the bottom of the house. An earth berm, or more often, a cinderblock wall was ALWAYS required for houses that back to busy streets (at least in my county). Here I noticed that the variation in elevation makes a big difference (I can hear traffic from farther away), and that there doesn't seem to be a consistent requirement for a wall or solid fence. I've seen split rail fences along busy streets. We made the mistake of backing to a busy street in our first house in CA, and didn't make the same mistake again. If you don't eliminate a house because of the street, I think you should at least stand in the back yard during rush hour, and listen.

[Katarina Witt]

That is an excellent idea.

[rebagirl]

Thanks, everyone. We went to a house that backed to Lincoln and stood on the deck outside. It sounded like a California 6-lane freeway! No thanks. I think we need to prioritize and decide what's important. In our price range, we obviously can't have it all, but we certainly can find something that will work and make us very happy.

[Kibbiekat]

Originally Posted by rebagirl

Thanks for your reply, even though I know you're in the northern section. I think because we're coming from California--- in an older, established neighborhood with trees--I really don't want a crammed-in feeling like I've seen in so many neighborhoods. The yard is very important to me. Like you mentioned in another thread, it's nice to have a place for the kids to play safely, while Mom is doing the usual household chores. It certainly isn't practical to constantly be taking trips to the park or rec centers for the kids to play. I also love that some of the areas I've looked into in 80127 and 80128 don't have ridiculous HOA's and there is some sense of land/privacy between homes.

One concern that someone can hopefully answer:

Are Kipling and Wadsworth both extremely busy streets? Some of the homes I've looked at are near either of these roads and I can't tell if it would be too close for comfort. I've used Google Maps and Virtual Earth, but would love to hear from someone who actually travels in that area.

We also had a hard time finding what we were looking for in a house. You have a little more $ to spend, so it might be different. We couldn't find a main floor bedroom/office and settled for 4 beds up. We also had a hard time getting past the shorter fences between yards and differences in elevation that sometimes allow you and your neighbors to see straight into each others yards. We looked at houses for months, and seemed to see them with different eyes by the end. It just takes some getting used to, I guess.