Villa Park: West Denver neighborhood creates melting pot

Conveniently located between West Sixth and West Colfax avenues and Sheridan and Federal boulevards, Villa Park in west Denver offers homebuyers homes with larger lots at prices below $600,000.

Maria Irivarren, 8z real estate agent, says Villa Park’s proximity to both the Sheridan and Knox light rail stations is a significant advantage for people who want to head downtown for work or entertainment. Residents also can quickly hop on U.S. 6 or I-70 to head to the western suburbs or the mountains.

“It’s a great location,” Irivarren says. “It’s easy to get wherever you want to go.”

The neighborhood is also close to the Barnum Recreation Center and both Lakewood/dry Gulch Park and Paco Sánchez Park, which includes Denver’s largest playground.

Who’s moving in?

The neighborhood attracts first-time buyers and young professionals. It also appeals to people who grew up in the area and want to return to buy their own homes.

With lot sizes of about 6,000 square feet, the urban neighborhood still offers buyers a little breathing room, Irivarren says.

What’s available?

Villa Park offers a mix of single-family homes, townhomes and duplexes, and mixed-use properties. The average price for a single-family home built in the 1900s to 1950s is $550,000. The brick or A-frame homes typically have 1,000 to 2,000 square feet plus a basement.

While some developers buy and flip houses or scrape older homes and build new ones, many first-time buyers purchase some older homes available for $300,000 to $400,000, Irivarren says.

While those houses are structurally sound, most need some love and sweat equity, usually, paint and updates to their kitchens and bathrooms. Some first-time buyers complete the upgrades and cosmetic repairs at their convenience when it’s cost-effective to do so, she says.

Villa Park has about 30 percent fewer homes available for sale now than it did a year ago, Irivarren says. Houses typically spend about four days on the market.

“People are staying put in this neighborhood,” she says. “It’s a nice little melting pot of a community.”

As of 2017, according to the Piton Foundation, now known as Gary Community Ventures, the neighborhood is 70 percent Latino, 26 percent white, plus other ethnicities. More than

27 percent of Villa Park residents are immigrants born in another country.

Villa Park’s history

Developers bought more than 1,000 acres in 1871 in the area that now includes both the Villa Park and Barnum neighborhoods. The original plans called for developing the area with lakes and landscaping designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, New York’s Central Park designer.

When that plan fell apart, the land was bought to use as a cattle brokerage.

Helen Barnum Hurd Buchtel, daughter of circus owner P.T. Barnum, bought the land in 1878 to develop it. The Villa Park neighborhood slowly developed through the 1950s.

Sara B. Hansen has been an editor and writer for more than 20 years. Her professional background includes editing positions at The Denver Post, The Des Moines Register, The Fort Collins Coloradoan, and At Home with Century 21. She’s also the founder and editor of Dogsbestlife.com and the author of

“The Complete Guide to Cocker Spaniels.”