The tiny city of Edgewater is seeking to develop a fresh identity by embracing its old-town charm with a lot of new changes. In a little more than a year, Edgewater has overhauled its charter, putting a city-manager-led government in place, and has seen five restaurants open. The average home value jumped 45 percent between 2000 and 2008 to $193,364, according to .
Edgewater Police Chief Dan Keough, a 27-year veteran of the force, measures the change another way.
“It is a working-class community, although I see more young moms pushing strollers around,” Keough said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
In the late 1880s, Edgewater was known for bordellos, not baby buggies. The city was filled with brothels and saloons — a sin city.
By the 1950s, the 1-square-mile town had become a blue-collar city with a small-town community feel.
In the 1990s, Edgewater had become overwhelmingly transient as more renters moved in, Keough said, and it was associated with gangs, crime and graffiti.
Now, the community of about 5,400 is in the throes of transformation once more.
“It is changing before our eyes,” said City Manager Harold “H.J.” Stalf. “People have lived here for many, many decades, but new families are coming at us rapidly.”
When Natasha Turner and her husband had their first child in Edgewater five years ago, there was one other child on their six-block street. Now, there are 14.
When she started the Edgewater Mommies group about that time, there were 20 children. Now, there are 80.
Turner said that 10 years ago, she and her husband bought their home for $150,000. After about $50,000 in renovations, it has been appraised at $325,000.
Gina Hartley, owner of Edgewater Coffee Co., said her parents moved to the city 47 years ago because it felt like a close- knit community. That feeling, she said, is starting to return.
In addition to the five new restaurants, two more are set to open in October along West 25th Avenue and around the corner on Sheridan Boulevard.
Red-brick buildings that house a gardening store, a hair salon, a coffee shop and an art gallery seem to stand guard against a bail bondsman, a marijuana dispensary and a pawnshop along Sheridan, across from Sloan’s Lake.
“We are trying to bring the community back to what it was many, many years ago,” said Mayor Bonnie McNulty.
Active government
One major step was a charter change that replaced a mayor- run municipal government with a full-time city manager.
Before the charter change, the mayor was the boss, but the job was mostly ceremonial, McNulty said.
“There was a lot of benign neglect,” Stalf said.
Since becoming city manager, Stalf has hired the city’s first full-time fire chief, Parks and Recreation director and finance officer.
In September, the city plans to begin construction on an “ice ranch,” with two National Hockey League-size ice rinks, at the site of a long-vacant King Soopers at West 20th Avenue and Depew Street, Stalf said.
Last year, the City Council started to increase its collaboration with residents, Hartley said.
A prime goal is to spur economic development in parts of Edgewater while preserving the quality of life, Stalf said. This means guarding against haphazard retail development.
The city’s zoning and support of small businesses have made it appealing to developers and business owners. The storefront vacancy rates are among the lowest in Jefferson County, McNulty said.
Strong housing market
The city’s housing market also appears to be strong. Most homes are sold within two months, with the median age of homes at about 60 years.
Many of the the houses have deep porches and gardens along tree-lined sidewalks. There are affordable, renovation-ready bungalows and quiet, kid-friendly streets and parks.
Downtown Denver is about five minutes away.
The core of the city is a half- mile area of low-density residential homes built around the turn of the 20th century.
A high-density area of rental properties built mostly in the ’60s encircles the core, where about 50 percent of the city’s population lives, Stalf said.
“It’s like a tale of two cities,” he said.
The average home-sale price is about $200,000, bracketed by $305,000 at the high end and $91,000 at the low end, according to data pulled from Multiple Listing Service.
“We have seen Edgewater real ly pop onto the homebuyer’s radar lately as a serious contender to the more expensive Highlands, Jefferson Park, Sloan’s Lake and Wash Park,” said Rob White, owner of Mile High Real Estate and chairman of the Edgewater Redevelopment Authority.
And people moving into Edgewater aren’t buying and flipping their houses.
“I’m never leaving,” said Alison Williams, a photographer who has lived in Edgewater for 10 years.
When Williams’ car was broken into, her neighbors came over to apologize, saying, “Things like this just don’t happen in Edgewater.”
Sarah Horn: 303-954-1638 or shorn@denverpost.com
