Belmar District
Lakewood, CO
The downtown Lakewood never had — a $750 million transformation of a deteriorating mall into 22 walkable city blocks with 80+ shops, 20+ restaurants, an ice rink, summer concerts, a movie theater, a 132-acre park, and 3,500 residents. A national model for suburban redevelopment, 9 miles from downtown Denver.
- Zip Code80226 / 80232
- Home StylesCondos, lofts, townhomes, ranches, Craftsman single-family
- Price Range~$320K (condos) – ~$1.7M (Craftsman single-family)
- HOAVaries by building/community
- School DistrictJefferson County R-1 (Jeffco)
- WalkabilityHigh — 80+ shops and restaurants on foot
- TransitRTD W Line (Wadsworth) · Bus routes · Call-n-Ride
- Key DrawWalkable Urban Core · Belmar Park · 9 Mi from Denver
The Downtown Lakewood Never Had — Built from Scratch on a Mall’s Footprint
Belmar didn’t exist as a neighborhood until Continuum Partners demolished a deteriorating low-rise shopping mall called Villa Italia and replaced it with something that had never been attempted at this scale in the Denver suburbs: a genuine urban mixed-use neighborhood with public streets, residential density, retail, office, civic space, and a park, all layered together as a walkable community rather than organized around a parking lot. The $750 million project transformed 22 square city blocks in the heart of Lakewood into what the city had never previously had — a recognizable downtown with a central plaza, street-level commerce, residential towers, and the social infrastructure of a place people actually gather in rather than drive through.
The development that resulted has been cited nationally as a model for how suburban communities can rebuild deteriorating retail into genuine mixed-use neighborhoods. Belmar’s 726,000 square feet of top-tier retail — anchored by Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack, DSW, and Sur La Table — sits alongside approximately 300,000 square feet of office space and 1,200 residential units in configurations ranging from lofts and condos to townhomes, single-family detached homes, and senior-oriented apartments. More than 3,500 people now call Belmar home. The development was inducted into the Sustainable Neighborhood Network in 2011 for its green building standards and transportation programming. It is the rare suburban redevelopment that actually worked — and that residents describe with the kind of genuine affection that most planned communities never earn.
The residential product around Belmar spans a wide range. Postwar brick and wood ranch homes from the original neighborhood join 1970s and 1980s townhomes in the Villa West community (with pool and clubhouse) at prices from $320,000 to $640,000. On the east side, upscale Craftsman-style single-family homes built in the early 2000s with columned front porches and covered entryways start at $895,000 and reach $1.7 million. Belmar Plaza Residences — a five-story condo building completed in 2007 with 64 units — provides a more urban living option steps from the shopping district’s central plaza. The range of entry points is one of Belmar’s most distinctive characteristics: the neighborhood serves buyers across a wider income spectrum than most Lakewood addresses, anchored by the same walkable commercial district regardless of which end of the price range they occupy.
9 Miles from Downtown Denver — Wadsworth Light Rail, I-25 Quick
Belmar sits in the heart of Lakewood at the intersection of Wadsworth Boulevard and Alameda Avenue — a position that gives residents exceptional multi-direction access. Downtown Denver is approximately 9 miles east via 6th Avenue or I-25, a commute that most Belmar residents can make by light rail on the RTD W Line from the Wadsworth station, which is accessible by bus from within the neighborhood via the Call-n-Ride program. St. Anthony Hospital is 2.5 miles away. The Federal Center and its major federal employment base are nearby. Green Mountain’s trailhead is minutes west. Bear Creek Lake Park, Red Rocks, and the mountain corridor are accessible via Alameda Parkway and C-470.
For residents who commute by car, Wadsworth Boulevard and 6th Avenue provide direct north-south and east-west connectivity respectively. I-25 is accessible via 6th Avenue for the Denver Tech Center and northern commute corridors. The combination of light rail access, highway proximity, and walkable daily needs within the development itself makes Belmar one of Lakewood’s most transportation-flexible addresses — a rare combination that usually requires choosing between transit access and suburban amenity.
132-Acre Belmar Park — Trails, Ponds, and a Mansion’s Legacy
- Belmar Park (132 acres · trails · ponds · Belmar Mansion grounds)
- Addenbrooke Park (western boundary · pond · indoor fitness center)
- Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park museum (1860s-era structures)
- Belmar Plaza central plaza (concerts, community events)
- The Rink at Belmar (outdoor ice skating · winter seasonal)
- Music on the Plaza (summer concert series)
- Festival Italiano (September · Italian-American heritage celebration)
- Arts on Belmar First Fridays (galleries and artist studios open)
- Lakewood Cultural Center (320-seat theater · art galleries · nearby)
- Bear Creek Lake Park (2,624 acres · short drive west)
- Green Mountain trails (short drive west)
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre (15 min west)
The 132-acre Belmar Park — the neighborhood’s namesake — preserves the sweeping grounds of the former Belmar Mansion amid miles of paved and unpaved trails, ponds, and open lawn. The park’s equestrian-friendly trails and riding arena draw riders from across the area. Adjacent Addenbrooke Park adds a pond and indoor fitness center at the western boundary. Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, within the broader park area, contains preserved 1860s-era structures including a country schoolhouse and 1930s-era tractor sheds — a tangible connection to Lakewood’s agricultural past that sits in productive contrast to the modern retail district across the street.
Education in the Belmar District
The Belmar area is served by Jefferson County School District R-1 (Jeffco). Belmar School of Integrated Arts is the local elementary school — a Jeffco campus with an arts-integrated curriculum. Middle and high school assignments vary by specific address; much of the surrounding neighborhood feeds into the Lakewood High School pipeline.
All Belmar addresses are served by Jefferson County School District R-1 (Jeffco). School attendance boundaries vary by address — always verify your specific school assignment directly with Jeffco before purchasing. Jeffco’s Choice Enrollment program allows families to apply to any district school.
Where Belmar Residents Eat — Out the Front Door
Belmar’s most distinctive dining characteristic is that residents walk to it. The 20+ restaurants within the district are steps from most residential units and a short walk from the surrounding neighborhood — a daily-life reality that makes Belmar meaningfully different from every other Lakewood neighborhood where dining requires a car trip. From casual lunch spots to evening dining, the range within the district alone is broad enough to sustain weekly variety without leaving the neighborhood.
Birdcall built its reputation on all-natural chicken — no antibiotics, no hormones — served across a menu of sandwiches, tenders, salads, and shakes with a drive-thru that makes it a practical weekday option alongside a full happy hour and cocktail program for the sit-down crowd. The combination of fast-casual speed and better ingredient sourcing has made it a consistent Lakewood go-to for residents who don’t want to choose between convenient and clean.
Mono Mono was founded in New York City by MJ Chung and brought to Colorado by JW Lee — a Korean fried chicken operation built around the Asian frying technique that renders the fat out of the skin, leaving a thin, crackly, nearly transparent crust that holds its texture well past the first bite. For Lakewood residents who have been looking for Korean fried chicken done at the level the technique actually requires, Mono Mono is the address.
Wasabi Sushi Bar covers the full range of Japanese dining in a single Lakewood location — creative rolls alongside classic sashimi and nigiri, plus a cooked menu of tempura, teriyaki, ramen bowls, poke bowls, and hibachi for the nights when the choice is between something raw and something warm and satisfying. Vegetarian options and fresh local ingredients round out a menu broad enough that every person at the table can find something that works.
TStreet Roadhouse anchors the dining side of Belmar — a contemporary Lakewood restaurant serving brunch, lunch, dinner, and a happy hour that has made it a regular stop for the neighborhood. Burgers, tacos, and oysters cover the range from casual to occasion, and the craft drink program gives the bar a reason to visit on its own. The Belmar location puts it walkable for residents in the surrounding blocks and worth the short drive for everyone else.
The Rock starts every pizza with hand-tossed dough, hand-picked ingredients, and a custom-built brick oven — a combination that produces a crust with the char and texture that only a wood-fired format can achieve. The atmosphere adds live music and a room designed to feel like an event even on a Tuesday, which is why The Rock has built the kind of repeat-visit following that sustains a pizza restaurant for years rather than quarters.
Heaven Creamery is an artisan gelato operation built on a specific philosophy: no refined white sugar, no corn syrup, no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, whole ingredients only. Founded by Martha — gelato chef and owner — with the stated goal of tasting flavors first and sugar second. For Lakewood residents who want a dessert destination that takes its ingredients as seriously as the better restaurants take theirs, Heaven Creamery is the address.
Life in the Belmar District
Belmar residents consistently use a specific vocabulary when describing their neighborhood: walkable, dog-friendly, community-minded, friendly neighbors, good food, and shopping. These are the top-cited reasons Nextdoor users give for loving Belmar. What’s underneath that vocabulary is the simple fact that Belmar delivers on the walkable urban lifestyle promise that most suburban developments advertise without achieving — and that residents who discover it tend to stay because finding an equivalent combination of amenity, transit access, park adjacency, and Denver proximity at comparable prices is genuinely difficult.
Belmar is walkable in the way that most suburban developments describe themselves and almost none achieve. Whole Foods, Target, 20+ restaurants, a movie theater, a 132-acre park, and an ice rink are all accessible on foot from within the development. For residents of the condos and townhomes at its core, the car can stay in the garage for most of a given week. That is a genuinely rare proposition in the Denver metro area outside of specific Denver neighborhoods that cost considerably more.
Belmar’s summer concert series on the central plaza is one of Lakewood’s most consistently attended community events — free, outdoor, and centered on the same plaza that becomes an ice rink in winter. For residents who live within the development, the concert series is a walking-distance social event that reinforces Belmar’s identity as a genuine neighborhood rather than a commercial center where people occasionally gather.
The 132-acre Belmar Park is the neighborhood’s most underappreciated asset — a genuine large-scale park with walking and equestrian trails, ponds, and the sweeping grounds of the former Belmar Mansion, all within easy walking distance of the shopping district. Adjacent Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park preserves 1860s structures. For residents of the surrounding neighborhood, the park provides the outdoor counterweight to the urban density of the commercial core.
Belmar’s annual Festival Italiano each September brings Italian-American food, wine, and live music to the district in one of the Denver metro area’s most distinctive neighborhood festivals. For residents who live within or adjacent to Belmar, the festival is the year’s most reliably enjoyable neighborhood social event — the kind of annual occasion that makes where you live feel specific rather than generic.
Arts on Belmar opens its galleries and working artist studios monthly for First Fridays — a monthly arts event that gives residents direct access to working artists in a context that requires walking, not driving. Combined with the Lakewood Cultural Center’s 320-seat theater and rotating gallery exhibitions, Belmar offers an arts programming density that most Denver neighborhoods of comparable residential scale don’t approach.
The Rink at Belmar converts the central plaza into an outdoor ice skating destination each winter — a seasonal transformation of the neighborhood’s social center that draws residents and visitors from across Lakewood. For Belmar residents, skating is a walking-distance winter habit rather than a planned family outing to a distant facility.
Homes for Sale in the Belmar District
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Belmar is downtown Lakewood — walkable to Whole Foods, 20+ restaurants, an ice rink, a 132-acre park, and the RTD W Line to Denver, all within a neighborhood that actually delivers on the urban lifestyle promise most suburban developments only advertise. Let’s find the right unit or home for you.