Denver Neighborhoods - Historic Cherry Creek

No Denver neighborhood portrays the Horatio Alger “rags to riches” motif better than Cherry Creek. Its success as a center of culture and upscale living has been so complete that today very few recall its humble origins.

From the early days, the creek has helped to define the area. With traffic following its natural contours, the banks of the Cherry Creek offered a popular picnic spot for 19th century Denverites. Such patterns also attracted gypsy encampments, religious revivals, indigents, and roadhouses. In 1886, as a means to protect against “tramps, bums, bummers, and the liquor traffic,” residents formed the town of Harman. But high tax rates and a nationwide depression ultimately led to the Harman’s annexation by Denver in 1894.

Within Denver, the area remained a forgotten backwater. Homes in early twentieth century Cherry Creek were sometimes made of timber or cinder blocks, and real estate developer Temple Buell let the land go to waste. Until the river’s rages were controlled by the Cherry Creek Dam in 1950, much of the area was literally a dump. When the city redesigned the intersection of Cherry Creek North and Alameda in 1988, they had to remove 12 feet of underground garbage.

The Cherry Creek Shopping Center, one of the first in America and currently one of Denver’s prime attractions, initiated the area’s transformation in 1950. The Denver Dry goods store (forerunner to Foleys, and now Macy's) and nearby Sears (linked by an underground tunnel under 1st Avenue) capitalized on commuting trends by offering a commercial haven outside of downtown. An increasingly upper class residential district led Buell to construct a far more artistic and upscale mall in 1986. It was an unqualified success: in the first six months, more than 10,000 people per day visited its 1 million square feet of luxury shops.

Enriched by consumerism, Cherry Creek today offers a variety of activities. Hundreds of thousands of people each year attend the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which along with the Taste of Cherry Creek and Cherry Creek Sneak make the neighborhood instantly recognizable. The boutiques, art galleries, spas, and restaurants of North Cherry Creek reinforce the image of graceful living. And the banks of the creek continue to draw crowds, as the 22-mile Cherry Creek path teem with runners, bikers, and in-line skaters.

Though the neighborhood history is easily lost among the newly-constructed town homes and spacious modern dwellings, the area’s core is well represented by its multiplex activities, commercial designs, and ongoing designs for improvement.

July 2008 Market Statistics

In metro Denver closed sales in July were 5,123 compared with 4,980 in July 2007, a 2.9% gain. The average selling price for the period was $262,224 compared to an average in July 2007 of $289,294, a percentage drop of 9.4. The median sale price for single-family homes was $229,200 compared with $255,000 in July 2007, for a drop of 10.1%. 969 condos and townhomes sold in July 2008, compared with 1,081 for the same period in 2007, a drop of 10.4%. Median prices for condos in July 2008 were $149,000 compared with $158,000 in July 2008, a drop of 5.7%. For single family houses, condos and townhomes the average number of days a house was on the market in July 2008 was 98, and in July 2007 was 95. The list to sale ratio was 97% in 2008 versus 98% in 2007. 25,673 houses are currently on the market and interest rates are still low. It’s a great time to buy in the Denver real estate market, but if you’re a seller you may want to wait till conditions improve.

Check out the current Market Conditions Report for further analysis.