DOWNTOWN DENVER · SPEER BOULEVARD TO 20TH STREET, LAWRENCE TO THE SOUTH PLATTE
LoDo
Brick warehouses turned lofts, Union Station in the middle and a train to the airport every 15 minutes. The typical home is worth about $600K.
Location: Downtown Denver, from Speer Boulevard to 20th Street, between Lawrence Street and the South Platte River | Vibe: Old brick lofts, newer towers, restaurants on every block | Known for: Union Station, Larimer Square, Coors Field next door, warehouse lofts
LoDo is short for Lower Downtown. There’s no single official line around it. The historic district runs roughly from Speer Boulevard to 20th Street, and Zillow and the city count it as part of the Union Station neighborhood, which runs from the South Platte River to Lawrence Street and adds the newer towers around Commons Park.
Denver started at this end of town in 1858, where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte. Union Station opened in 1881 to bring four railroad depots under one roof. A fire in 1894 destroyed the middle of it, and the center section you see today went up in 1914.
By the 1960s and 70s about a fifth of the old buildings had been torn down. In March 1988 the city made LoDo a historic district, which protects about 127 historic buildings. Coors Field opened at the edge of the district in 1995, and the restored Union Station reopened in 2014 with the 112-room Crawford Hotel inside.
What the housing looks like
Everything here is a condo or a loft. Older warehouses were converted into lofts with brick walls and timber beams, like the Ice House at 1801 Wynkoop, built in 1903 as a creamery’s cold storage warehouse. Newer mid-rise and high-rise condo buildings sit closer to the river and the rail yards, and McGregor Square across from Coors Field added its own residences.
The tradeoff is noise. LoDo has more than 70 bars and restaurants, and Rockies fans fill the streets on game nights. A unit on a quiet side of a building and a unit above a bar on Market Street are very different places to live, even at the same price.
LoDo at a glance
Residents
About 10,300 people lived in the Union Station statistical neighborhood, which includes LoDo, in the 2020 Census.
Getting around
Union Station has A, B, G and N commuter trains, C, E and W light rail, and the free 16th Street FreeRide and MetroRide. The D, H and L lines are suspended until early 2027, and Speer Boulevard leads to I-25.
Public schools
Listings in LoDo and near Union Station show Greenlee Elementary as the boundary school, and middle and high school assignments differ from building to building. Check the DPS school finder for a specific address.
Rules to know
Inside the Lower Downtown Historic District, the Lower Downtown Design Review Commission reviews new construction, alterations, signs and demolition. That covers changes to your building’s exterior, and limits what can be built next door.
“LoDo is where I send buyers who want to walk to Union Station, take the train to the airport and come home to brick walls instead of a yard.”
Downtown Denver
Discover LoDo
Local spots worth knowing
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Union Station’s Great Hall
Restored and reopened in 2014. The Great Hall is part hotel lobby, part Amtrak waiting room and part public living room, with the Crawford Hotel upstairs and the bus concourse underground.
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Larimer Square
Most of the buildings on the 1400 block date from the 1870s to the 1890s. Dana Crawford started restoring them in 1965, and the block became Denver’s first historic district in 1971. Asana Partners has owned it since 2020 and has been changing the tenant mix.
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Coors Field
Opened April 26, 1995. The purple seats in row 20 of the upper deck mark one mile above sea level, and the Rooftop deck was added in 2014. The Rockies’ lease runs through 2047.
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Denver Milk Market
A food hall in the Dairy Block at 1800 Wazee St with stalls like Fuso, BOS Butcher & Deli, Konjo Ethiopian Food and Lucky Bird, plus free Skee-ball and shuffleboard in the game room.
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McGregor Square
Across 20th Street from Coors Field, with the Rally Hotel, condos, offices, places to eat and a 17,000-square-foot plaza with a giant LED screen for watch parties.
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Rockmount Ranch Wear
Papa Jack Weil founded Rockmount in 1946 and is credited with putting diamond-shaped snaps on Western shirts. The company turns 80 in 2026 and still runs its headquarters and store at 1626 Wazee St.
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Wynkoop Brewing
Colorado’s first brewpub, opened in 1988 by future governor John Hickenlooper and partners. It’s at 1634 18th St, across from Union Station, and opens at 11 every day.
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The Oxford Hotel
Opened in 1891 at 1612 17th St and designed by Frank Edbrooke. The Art Deco Cruise Room bar opened the day after Prohibition ended, and the Urban Farmer steakhouse is on the Wazee side.
New in LoDo
In July 2026 City Council approved a walking and biking bridge over Speer Boulevard from the foot of Wynkoop Street to Ball Arena, with a new plaza on the LoDo side. Kroenke Sports and Entertainment is paying for it, and completion is expected around 2029.
A small Marczyk Fine Foods grocery opened inside Denver Milk Market in April 2026, with prepared food, dairy and basic groceries daily from 11 a.m.
LoDo real estate
LoDo values are down 2.8% over the past year. Downtown condos have been slower than houses, and HOA dues and a building’s finances now move prices as much as the unit itself. For a specific loft I start with sales in the same building, then similar buildings nearby.
Source: Zillow Home Value Index for Union Station, Denver (Zillow’s name for the LoDo area), as of August 31, 2026. All home types, including condos and townhomes.
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Who buys in LoDo
Most LoDo buyers pick the location first and size the home to fit it.
Frequent flyers
People who fly often and want the A Line to the airport a few blocks away instead of a parking bill.
Downsizers
Owners leaving a house and a yard for a lock-and-leave condo with restaurants downstairs.
Loft buyers
Buyers who want exposed brick, timber beams and tall windows, which Denver has in real numbers only in this part of town.
LoDo questions I get asked
What should I check in a LoDo loft building’s HOA?
I read the budget, the reserve study, the last two years of board minutes and the insurance policy, and I ask whether any special assessment is planned or was recently paid. Several LoDo buildings are more than 100 years old, so roofs, masonry and elevators come up often. In Colorado contracts you get a deadline to review these documents, and I go through them with you before it passes.
How loud is it on game nights and weekends?
The Rockies play 81 home games a year from spring to early fall, and more than 70 bars and restaurants stay open late. Blocks near 20th Street and along Market and Blake get the crowds at closing time. Units facing an alley, an interior courtyard or the river side are usually quieter, so I’d visit a unit on a Friday night and a game night before you buy.
Can I change the windows or outside of my building?
Inside the Lower Downtown Historic District, exterior changes go through the Lower Downtown Design Review Commission, and your HOA usually controls the exterior too. The same rules limit what can be built next door, including height, which protects some views.
Nearby neighborhoods
LoHi is across the South Platte and I-25 on the 16th Street pedestrian bridges, and it’s where my office is. Auraria is just across Speer Boulevard, with Ball Arena and the campus. Five Points starts on the other side of 20th Street, around Coors Field.
Buying in LoDo? My Denver home buyer’s guide walks through the whole process in 10 steps.
Thinking about LoDo?
Let’s talk about which LoDo buildings have healthy HOA finances, which units face the bars and which face the river, and what lofts in the same building have actually sold for.
Or call or text 720.454.5432