E Colfax Roundup DEC 2025

Completed Projects
The Marlow. One of only a couple large multifamily projects underway east of Colorado Boulevard but within the I-70 and I-25 highways, the Marlowe is close to Marzwyk’s fine foods, at the site of a BRT stop, and brings new multi-family availability to South Park Hill, a neighborhood that, in a recent analysis of Denver Census data, had among the lowest new residents move there of any neighborhood in the city. The northwestern edge of the lot will gain a small community garden, but that will not get much light because it is covered up by the building from the south. Still, it’s a nice idea, and interesting to see the large-scale multifamily model come to South Park Hill. There are many more lots that would suit the treatment!

The Vixen (neé Karoi – Colfax and Downing). I often find myself surprised by the scale of new infill development as in the case of this completed multifamily development. Next to a number of attractive, historic multifamily homes from the early 1900s, facing a strip of well-loved, small-scale retail on the north side of Colfax, this development is a step change for the corridor, though redevelopment at this scale is nothing new for Denver, just new for East Colfax. Considering Colfax historically—from its beginnings as an elite residential corridor to its midcentury kitsch and wicked reputation—the changing uses of the street from residential to commercial, the accompanying change in scale for motorist convenience, must have been pretty jarring for someone who was born and raised in one of those now vanished mansions. So change is really the core fact of East Colfax, is my point. And there are more projects coming to East Colfax, including one literally across the street, that further the block-wide, new-build multifamily context as part of the corridor’s next step in history. So welcome to Colfax, new neighbors!

Under Construction
Route 40 Apartments. I think most of us were eagerly waiting for this project to break ground after sitting as a vacant lot for the better part of two years. As mentioned above, this project introduces a new context to the urban fabric along East Colfax, including ground-floor retail and an active street front. The only disappointment this project is that it is an outlier in that it is unambiguously over-parked. Capitol Hill is one of only a couple neighborhoods in Denver where it’s normal for your friend not to have a car. To say there are plenty of other transportation options for future residents of this site is an understatement. By the time this development is leasing, the closest BRT stop at Downing Street will already be bustling. Seems a shame to miss out because you’d feel shackled to that car, huh?

Proposed
1565 Colorado Boulevard. This project had been pretty well covered in the press, as the clearing of this site demolished the Royal Palace Motel which stood on North Colorado Boulevard since 1969. This development is certainly going to bring more activity to Colorado Boulevard than a vacant motel, though perhaps I will note a missed opportunity for ground floor retail along Colorado Boulevard. The closest BRT stop will be at Colfax-Colorado, of course, and in the years to come when Colorado Boulevard gets its own BRT improvements, this will be an extraordinarily transit-rich place to live.