Setting
Central Park lies east of downtown Denver on land once occupied by Stapleton International Airport, which closed in 1995. Most of the neighborhood is in Denver, with a small southeastern portion of the redevelopment site in Aurora, including part of the Bluff Lake area.
As of 2022, the neighborhood had an estimated population of 30,000. The 80238 zip code covers almost all of Central Park and is entirely within the neighborhood.
From Airport to Neighborhood
Planning for the former airport site began while Denver International Airport was being built. The Stapleton Development Foundation convened in 1990 and produced a master plan in 1995 that emphasized pedestrian-oriented design. Nearly a third of the airport site was planned for public park space.
Construction began in 2001 under Mayor Wellington Webb. The redevelopment by Forest City Enterprises, later Brookfield, was planned as a new urbanist project with residential and commercial areas, including office parks, mixed-use development, and large-format shopping centers.
Parks and Community Amenities
Central Park includes 50 parks, among them regional parks and smaller community pocket parks. Its open space borders the restored Sand Creek Regional Greenway and Bluff Lake Nature Center.
The neighborhood also has 11 public and private schools, seven pools, a City of Denver recreation center, and a Denver library. The 80-acre Central Park opened in 2007 and later provided the neighborhood’s current name.
Housing and Districts
Housing in Central Park includes single-family homes, condominiums, live-work townhomes, row homes, duplexes, and high-density apartments. Architectural styles range from ultra-modern to traditional, and most single-family homes have garages accessed from alleys.
Several shopping and business districts are located within the neighborhood. The Shops at Northfield opened in 2006, and the area around Central Park Station was expanded with transit-oriented development that includes apartments, offices, a hotel, and retail shops.
Transportation
Central Park has been connected to downtown Denver by RTD’s A Line since 2016. Central Park Station is the neighborhood’s commuter rail stop, with service to Union Station in downtown Denver and Denver International Airport.
The neighborhood has access to the I-70 corridor and the I-270 interchange. RTD bus routes run through the area, and dedicated bike lanes and bike paths are prevalent.
Name Change
In 2020, residents voted to change the name to Central Park after debates and votes over the previous year.
The new name was chosen over the finalist Skyview. It refers to the 80-acre Central Park within the neighborhood; Central Park Boulevard, Central Park Station, and Central Park Recreation Center already used the name.
What it is like
Central Park, formerly known as Stapleton, is on the former Stapleton airport land, described as 6 miles from Denver’s city center and along Sand Creek. It is one of Denver’s newest and largest neighborhoods, with twelve subdivisions and around 30,000 residents.
Sources: Central Park, Denver (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA); history.denverlibrary.org