Learning Denver neighborhoods: what about Capitol Hill? (Castle Rock, Victor: section 8, real estate)

[OneMoreMove]

Hello all -

My wife and I (and our 1 year old son) are moving to Denver for a few years and we're trying to learn the neighborhoods so that we can search for a rental asap. I know the city a bit, but not enough to have a feel for the different areas.

We are looking for a reasonably priced place, at least 2 bedrooms for around $1200 in a decent/safe area that's close to UCD where she'll be working.

We are seeing places in Highland, where we have a few friends, and that seems fine. I'm also seeing a lot of affordable listings in Capitol Hill and I can't seem to get a clear idea of what that area is like. One person I know (who lives in Castle Rock) says it's dangerous but she also thinks Highlands is dangerous so no help there. We saw a listing for a nice looking place on High St about a block north of Colfax, but I'm wondering what the reality of the area is like.

Is there really substantial enough street crime in the area to be a concern, or is it just not as safe as the suburbs? Safety seems to be subjective, but coming from NYC just about everywhere in Denver seems pretty safe (and incredibly cheap).

Would it be safe to walk around at night in that area? etc. Obviously this is a question without a straightforward answer, but any insight would be much appreciated! We live in the city now and we're used to a bit of grittiness, and bit of actual urban reality. That said, I don't want to be constantly worried about my wife's safety, etc. Any thoughts much appreciated

thanks!!

[tfox]

Capitol Hill is mostly safe. Yes, if you're looking for various types of vice at late hours of the night you can find them, and likely the trouble that inevitably accompanies such activities. There are occasional vehicle break-ins, mostly crimes of opportunity, when something of considerable value is left in plain sight.

If you're comparing it to the grittier parts of NYC, I'd say that it's pretty clean. If you're not looking for trouble you're not likely to find much there.

[whoisjongalt]

Only people in the suburbs think that Cap Hill / downtown is "dangerous". From what I've heard, it was sort of sketchy 15 or 20 years ago but it's actually pretty primo real estate now. There are still relatively good deals on rentals but I'd guess the average price for a house is around $500,000. In other words, you've got nothing to worry about.

[OneMoreMove]

Thanks for these insights! I appreciate it. What about this talk about 'not being too close to Colfax'?

Even in a decent neighborhood, you never want to be TOO close the busy commercial street where a lot of possibly dicey activity goes on. Looking at Google street maps, Colfax near High St seems to be a mostly commercial and not particularly nice stretch of a big road, but it's not exactly urban blight. It is noisy, dangerous to be that close to Colfax? Anyone familiar with that block?

I keep hearing references like 'stay away from Colfax'. Then again, we live in Brooklyn and people from the suburbs get nervous when they hear that

[Dorthy]

Attached is a link to crime stats for this neighborhood
http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/337/documents/8caphill.pdf (broken link)

As a female, I would not walk around alone at night in Capitol Hill but would feel perfectly safe in a group of people.

[OneMoreMove]

According to those crime maps, it looks like being half a block N of Colfax actually puts that place in North Capitol Hill..

[D-town 720]

Originally Posted by yodi

Attached is a link to crime stats for this neighborhood
http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/337/documents/8caphill.pdf (broken link)

As a female, I would not walk around alone at night in Capitol Hill but would feel perfectly safe in a group of people.

Wow. Not a single homicide in two years in Cap hill, a very urban hood in a large city with a hood pop of 22k. I lived in midtown Sacramento and There was usually a homicide every other month. I think that is common for large urban hoods in most cities. This just proves how safe capital hill really is.

I know plenty of females that walk alone at night after coming from sanchos or other dive bars.

BTW, DPD district 6 is located right off Colfax on Washington. I always see lots of crusiers when I make my late walk to good times.

[Dorthy]

Originally Posted by D-town 720

I know plenty of females that walk alone at night after coming from sanchos or other dive bars.

Yes. lots of women do walk alone in this neighborhood at night. I personally choose not to. Some women will feel perfectly comfortable, others will not. It's highly subjective.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by OneMoreMove

Even in a decent neighborhood, you never want to be TOO close the busy commercial street where a lot of possibly dicey activity goes on. Looking at Google street maps, Colfax near High St seems to be a mostly commercial and not particularly nice stretch of a big road, but it's not exactly urban blight. It is noisy, dangerous to be that close to Colfax? Anyone familiar with that block?

I wouldn't want to live right on any major thoroughfare in Denver, whether it be Colfax, Broadway, Colorado Blvd, Federal, Quebec, etc. It's not so much that such areas are more dangerous, it's just that they're busy and kind of noisy. You could say the same about big suburban streets like Wadsworth, Arapahoe, etc.

[steveindenver]

We saw a listing for a nice looking place on High St about a block north of Colfax, but I'm wondering what the reality of the area is like.

Technically this area is not in Capitol Hill. I don't think any of 80218 gets that designation.

I lived on the 1500 block of High (just north of Colfax) when I first moved here years ago. 16th ave is actually pretty quiet and has a bike lane on both sides (which they need to resurface). We had the old Victorian towards Colfax on the west side that the next owners destroyed.

It is a safe area with easy access to quite a bit of entertainment and services. Cheeseman and City Parks, Petes Kitchen, The Satire, The Lions Lair ...

Now that being said, there is a row of Section 8's on the north side of 16th at the intersection of 16th Ave and Colfax. The tenants tend to me loud, repair cars on the street and generally trash out the block.

If I was in your shoes I might look a bit further south in the Congress or Cheeseman Park areas.



I am not surprised your friend from the boonies says the area is unsafe. Tell he or she that they are correct, the city is in fact a horribly dangerous place and that they should stay well away. They can't parallel park for **** anyway.