Denver real estate star Cherry Creek prepares to shine brighter

One of Denver’s most popular neighborhoods is poised to get hotter.

More than a dozen planned real estate projects will attract even more attention to Cherry Creek.

The neighborhood’s hotels attract travelers, while its fine-dining options draw foodies. It’s also the ultimate destination for retail therapy, with the Cherry Creek Shopping Center and blocks of stores throughout Cherry Creek North.

Revamping Cherry Creek West

With the planned Cherry Creek West development, developers are eager to stake their claim in the neighborhood. This 12.5-acre mixed-use community would extend from University Boulevard to Clayton Lane and First Avenue to Cherry Creek, razing the largely vacant west end of the Cherry Creek mall.

Managing partner Amy Cara told The Denver Post that East West Partners, a real estate developer in Denver for more than 20 years, plans to include new office, retail, and residential space in the $1 billion development.

The neighborhood appeals to empty nesters who like the convenience of being near downtown combined with Cherry Creek’s amenities, says Kathleen McKern with West + Main, who’s lived in Cherry Creek North for seven years.

“I love my neighborhood,” McKern says. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

The location is convenient to downtown, the River North Neighborhood, and the airport.

What’s available?

A neighborhood once filled with bungalows built in the 1930s and ’40s, Cherry Creek’s now home to mansions worth millions.

As the Denver-area housing market slows, homes are starting to sit on the market longer. But McKern says Cherry Creek continues to be a seller’s market, as most homes sell in two to three weeks.

Prices for condos or townhomes start in the upper $600s and go up to more than $2 million. Single-family homes cost even more, with houses on the market for $15 million or more.

Who’s moving in?

McKern says that Cherry Creek’s prices limit the neighborhood’s appeal. It primarily draws empty nesters.

“First, they can afford it,” she says. “And the neighborhood is filled with amenities they can use.”

The neighborhood’s smaller yards also attract empty nesters.

“Small yards appeal to empty nesters who don’t want to spend their time working in the yard,” McKern says. “They appeal less to families who want yards with space for swing sets.”

The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.