5280 Magazine – May 2018

104 |^5280 |^ MAY 20^18

From top: Courtesy of Elizabeth Cryan Photography; iStock; Steve Simon; Courtesy of Overland Golf Course

CHEAPENING

THE EXPERIENCE

We all wish for houses in safe, fun

neighborhoods with great schools—just

like we all wish eating raw cookie dough

with a spoon would give us six-pack abs.

Unfortunately, buying in an affordable area

means sacrificing something. Here, the

pros and cons of living in four of Denver’s

least expensive ’hoods. —Shane Monaghan

Indian Creek

$282,729

Montbello

$285,448

Mar Lee

$291,033

Ruby Hill

$308,958

MONTBELLO

INDIAN CREEK

DENVER

AURORA

MAR LEE RUBY HILL

I-25

I-225

I-70

Violent crimes dropped

a startling 42 percent

from 2016 to 2017. The

overall rate, however,

remained around

average for Denver.

The overall rate remains

close to or lower than

average for all types of

offenses, though crime

did tick up four percent

last year.

Montbello’s rates hover

near the city average,

but they’ve been

falling: Crime dipped

by eight percent from

2016 to 2017.

Indian Creek isn’t just

comparatively safe; it

has one of the lowest

crime rates of any

neighborhood in

the city.

Rip tee shots at nearby

Overland Golf Course

and attend 50 free

concerts a year at

Ruby Hill Park’s Levitt

Pavilion, a new outdoor

music venue.

Garfield Lake Park—

with its tennis courts,

0.6-mile running trail,

new bike path for kids,

outdoor pool, and

playground—is one of

the city’s most pleasant

green spaces.

Pick up a hobby and

splurge on the HBO

cable package. This

place is a fun desert—

though it is just south

of the Rocky Mountain

Arsenal National

Wildlife Refuge.

There’s not much—or,

really, anything—in

the way of nightlife.

(But Comrade Brewing

Company’s delicious

beers reside just south

of the border.)

The houses here cost

less than those in

nearby Harvey Park and

Platt Park, but that’s

likely because more

have siding rather than

brick exteriors.

Mar Lee won’t rival

Congress Park for

quaintness; 1950s-style

single-story homes fill

the neighborhood, and

strip malls line busy

Sheridan Boulevard.

Montbello could appeal

to expanding families

because the properties

are, on average, about

2,000 square feet—800

square feet larger than

homes in most of Denver’s

other “affordable” ’hoods.

A cyclist’s paradise,

Indian Creek offers

quick access to the

Cherry Creek Trail as

well as a number of

bike shops, including

Alchemy Bicycles.

Godsman Elementary

and Schmitt Elementary

received high marks, as

did Strive Prep-Ruby Hill

and Strive Prep-Federal

(both are just outside

the area).

Force Elementary,

Charles M. Schenck

Community School,

and Denison

Montessori met DPS

expectations; Johnson

Elementary received

lower marks.

Maxwell Elementary

met DPS’ expectations;

Marie L. Greenwood

Elementary, McGlone

Elementary, and John

H. Amesse Elementary

did not.

For the 2016-’17 school

year, DPS gave the

area’s only school,

Rocky Mountain Prep

Creekside Elementary,

high marks.

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NEIGHBORHOOD

AVERAGE SALES PRICE SCHOOLS CRIME FUN MISCELLANEOUS