Overview
Belmar is a 2004 mixed-use redevelopment in Lakewood, Colorado, at Alameda and Wadsworth and the surrounding areas. The commercial area opened in 2004 as a redevelopment of the Villa Italia Mall. Starwood Capital owns the commercial property, and Jones Lang LaSalle manages it. The neighborhood includes newer private residences, primarily condos, townhomes, and some single-family homes. McStain, Infinity, and KB Homes built Townhomes and single-family homes.
Belmar designers aimed to emulate a new take on the traditional walkable downtown with restaurants, shopping, and attractive tree-lined streets. Like a shopping mall, the neighborhood features a mix of well-known chain anchor tenants and some smaller businesses. The Target, Whole Foods, and the Cinemark Theater feature urban design features such as structured parking to provide the look and feel of an urban downtown while offering the conveniences of suburban shopping and entertainment.
Where is Belmar?
Belmar sits in Lakewood, Colorado, at Alameda and Wadsworth.
Belmar Homes
In addition to proximity to shopping and entertainment, homes in Belmar boast all of the modern features and conveniences of newer construction. These relatively low-maintenance homes are an excellent option for homeowners who are intimidated by the thought of yard work, old electrical, dated plumbing, and all of the other potentially scary and expensive unknowns associated with older single-family detached homes.
Typical Age of Homes
Most of the homes of Belmar were built 2005-2017, and the surrounding neighborhoods include primarily mid-century ranches and some mid-century condos.
Lot Sizes
Yards are not a thing in Belmar. Some of the quadruplexes have small outdoor patio spaces. The duplexes built by KB Homes have petite side yards, and the single-family homes built by Infinity have small courtyards between the house and a detached garage.
Home Prices
Cost per square foot, the home prices in Belmar are about even with the metro average. Check out the linked listings above to better estimate prices, or contact us for complete historical market analysis.
Home Owners Associations
All homes in this neighborhood are in an HOA.
Additional Notes on Belmar Homes
Belmar has a mix of renters and owners. It is one of Lakewood’s smaller neighborhoods, with less than 1000 residents.
Shopping
As a newer mixed-use development, Belmar offers tons of shopping opportunities, including trendy retail, fast food and restaurants, groceries, personal, and entertainment.
Outdoor Space
Private yards are rare in Belmar. However, just across Wadsworth is Belmar park, which is enormous and beautiful and a good area for walking leashed dogs. The park features a large lake and Heritage Lakewood Park, home to 15 historic buildings, gallery exhibitions, an amphitheater, and more.
Commuting from Belmar
As a suburban development on the middle-west side of the metro area, Belmar is a great location for most commuters, offering easy access to the City, DTC, Lockheed, and the Federal Center, as well as the mountains. At about a 40-60 minute drive, it’s a bit far for folks commuting to Denver International Airport.
History
A National Model
Belmar has become a national model for mixed-use developments across the United States. It has 80 stores, 20 restaurants, 300,000 square feet of office space, and more than 1,200 apartments. Several development publications, TED Talks, and industry awards have recognized Belmar as one of the country’s finest examples of sustainable, smart growth. Belmar restored a deteriorating commercial mall into a flourishing downtown for Lakewood, CO, in just five years.
In 1999, Continuum purchased the land where Villa Italia Mall now stands. Continuum began building on the 22-block mixed-use neighborhood in 2002. Phase I was completed in 2004 and included restaurants, boutiques, offices, residences, theaters, artist studios, parks, and plazas, totaling two million square feet of construction.
Belmar’s place in Colorado
The area that Belmar sits on has a long history in Colorado. Belmar Estate was the home of May Bonfils-Stanton, heiress to the Denver Post newspaper fortune. Bonfils-Stanton erected an exact duplicate of Marie Antoinette’s Petite Trianon Palace on her property. However, by the 1950s and 1960s, the mountain towns had become more accessible, and enormous estates had begun to give way to Denver’s rapidly expanding suburbs.
Gerri Von Frellick, an architect and developer, leased a portion of the Bonfils estate in 1960. Von Frellick began construction on one of the country’s first and most successful enclosed shopping malls. When it first opened in 1965, it was one of the world’s largest enclosed shopping malls.
Villa Italia
Lakewood did not become a city until 1969, four years after Villa Italia first opened. The Mall served as both the symbolic and financial heart of the new City. Eventually, a series of new commercial centers erected in the 1980s and 1990s overshadowed Villa Italia. As it continued to deteriorate, the City decided to find a developer to help them envision new possibilities for “the Villa.”
Continuum Partners
The City of Lakewood connected with Continuum Partners to breathe new life into the Villa Italia site. Continuum transformed the crumbling monolithic shopping mall encircled by a single enormous parking lot into a 22-block downtown. Belmar developers transformed Lakewood’s least desirable property into its most valuable residential neighborhood.
Belmar’s Economic Impact
Belmar revitalized and altered Lakewood’s image by luring large office tenants such as Omnicom Advertising and $ 1,000,000.00 residences. Belmar is still expanding today. A new extended-stay hotel, the Hyatt House Belmar, and five new residential buildings are now under construction. Additionally, another significant office building and much more residential space are in the works for the future.