Denver - Whittier
Is Whittier a Good Place to Live: If being just northeast of Downtown Denver is of interest to you, then Whittier might be a good place to call home. If the thought of owning a 100+ year old home sounds intriguing, Whittier will have some options for you. The typical home in Whitter is a 3 bed 2 bath, 1800+ SF residence built in 1905 and selling for $682K (2021). While Whittier isn’t necessarily a destination for those in metro Denver (other than maybe the Fuller Dog Park and a couple of restaurants), the neighborhood offers great access to other highly frequented spots for Denverites, most notably, the 300+ acre City Park (largest park in the city). City Park borders Whittier on the east and is home to City Park Golf Course, Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The park itself offers miles of trails, numerous sports courts, and community events like Jazz in the Park. With a history dating back to the 1800s, Whittier is a neighborhood rich in cultural significance to metro Denver.
Getting Around: Bordered by MLK Jr Blvd (32nd) to the north, E 23rd Ave to the south, York St to the east, and Downing to the west. The 30th and Downing Light Rail Station on the west side of the neighborhood is 4 stops from 16th Street Mall. A free bus ride offered every few minutes along 16th Street allows easy access to most central business district office towers.
Shopping and Entertainment: Hayati Mediterranean Grill. Ganne Rae Wings & More. The Plimoth. Whittier Cafe. Point Easy. There is no central street for unique retail experiences in Whittier, though being in central Denver, you are just a short drive or even bike ride away from numerous options.
Parks and Rec: While there are a few small parks within the Whittier boundaries (George Morrison Sr Park, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Park, Frederick Douglass Park, Madame CJ Walker Park, and Fuller Park/Dog Park), the most noteworthy park borders Whittier’s southeastern edge. Crossing York St offers visitors 300+ acres of trails, museums, golf, events, etc. at City Park, the largest park in the city of Denver. For comparison, Central Park in New York City is over 800 acres. And as an additional rough reference, a football field without the end zones is just over an acre in size.
Land Use: The Whittier neighborhood is largely residential, with even its main border streets displaying a large percentage of single family home land use. A couple schools, a large Catholic Church, and a few one off business use buildings make up the remainder of land uses. Of the roughly 120 residential properties that sold in 2021, 80% of them were single family homes (Victorian, classic bungalow, etc.).
Whittier vs Surrounding Neighborhoods: Whittier is often mentioned in the same sentence as the adjacent Five Points neighborhood when talking about the segregated past of Denver. There are many articles discussing the history of the area and the changes that have taken place over the last 100+ years.
Interested in More Information: Talk with someone that has researched metro Denver ad nauseam - market stats, newspapers, city planning documents, zoning possibilities, upside potential, concerns, schools, crime, new developments, neighborhood websites, one area vs another, etc. Chat with Matt - send me a text at 303-524-2086 and we’ll schedule a time to talk. Or, if it’s easier, send an email to MatthewJamesLong@GMail.com.