Lower Downtown (LoDo) Homes for Sale

Lower Downtown Real Estate

Lower Downtown real estate district, popularly referred to as “ LODO”, is a 24-block area surrounding Denver’s Union Station.

It extends from Wynkoop Street to Market Street on the southeast, and from 20th Street southwest to Speer Boulevard. This is the birthplace of Downtown Denver. LODO served as Denver’s main commercial center in the late 1800’s, right into the early part of the 20th century. Dominated by vacant buildings and crumbling infrastructure, this area suffered a long slow decline until the City of Denver declared it an historic District, in 1988. The designation preserved LoDo's architectural, historical and economic value, and ensured a future vitality.

As a frontier commercial district, LODO real estate grew exponentially, with the arrival of the railroad in 1870. By mid-decade a growing streetcar system supported even more retail business in the area. To minimize the threat of fires and because trees were in such short supply, most of the early buildings here were made of brick. The use of repetitive round window bays, simple brick cornices, and arched doorways, was a common feature that remains today. Over the past decade many of the deteriorating warehouses have been converted into fashionable lofts and retail spaces, restaurants, nightclubs, and art galleries. Today, some of the highest property values in the city are found in Lower Downtown real estate district. Fifteen hundred square feet, in one of Denver’s most fashionable addresses, can bring 7 figures.

Living and working in the city’s center can hold a particular appeal for those eager to leave benind the chores of lawn maintenance and the stresses of commuting. Art galleries, museums, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts complex, Coors Field, the Pepsi Center are all within walking distance from someplace here. Lower Downtown real estate district is also a transportation center for Denver. AMTRAK, the Ski Train, Light Rail and the free 16th Street Mall shuttle bus all come together at LoDo's Union Station. This will also be the hub for Denver's new $4 billion, 120-mile Light Rail network, scheduled for completed in 2018.