Hampden South

Hampden South is one of Denver's official neighborhoods, down in the city's southeast corner just below the Hampden neighborhood. Its edges run roughly along Hampden Avenue on the north, I-25 on the west, Yosemite Street on the east and Belleview Avenue on the south, and it stretches across I-225 to the southeast to take in the interchange where the two interstates meet. Part of the Denver Tech Center falls inside it.

From potato fields to a 1960s annexation

Much of this land was acquired in the 1860s by Rufus Clark, a homesteader who got rich selling potatoes to gold rush miners. Denver annexed the area in the 1960s, and the suburban streets filled in from there, which is why it all feels a generation or two newer than the neighborhoods to the north.

The houses and the way the streets bend

Most of the houses went up in the 1960s and 1970s, on some of the larger lots you'll find anywhere inside Denver city limits. Two-story houses from the 1980s fill in other blocks. Don't expect a grid. East Jefferson Avenue, for one, curves south, then east, then back north until it turns into South Dayton Street, and plenty of the residential blocks wind around like that.

Closer to the Tech Center, the housing shifts to high-rise condo buildings and townhouses. If a detached house with a real yard is the goal, spend your time on the winding residential streets. If you'd rather skip the mowing, the condos and townhouses near the office towers are the other route, and you should plan for monthly association dues with them.

Goldsmith Gulch, the parks and a pool club

Goldsmith Gulch is the green line through the neighborhood. Rosamond Park, 35 acres at 8051 E. Quincy Ave. off South Tamarac Drive, sits along it. The city replaced its playground and basketball court in spring 2024 and its lit tennis courts in summer 2025. Along the gulch, about 30,000 square feet of bluegrass is being traded for low-water native plants. The Goldsmith Gulch trail winds through the neighborhood, so you can walk or bike between parks. George M. Wallace Park, Eastmoor and Southmoor round out the list, and Cherry Creek State Park spreads out just to the east.

Eastmoor Swim & Tennis Club is members only and has a long waitlist, so if a summer pool is part of the plan, get your name in early. Kennedy Golf Course, 27 holes, is next door.

Hampden Avenue and the Tech Center for food and errands

A commercial strip lines Hampden Avenue along the north edge. At Hampden and Tamarac Drive, a Target stands where the old Tamarac Square mall was torn down.

Zane's Italian Bistro, on South Yosemite Street, grew out of a pizzeria its owner bought and dressed up, and its mussels in spicy red sauce are the crowd-pleaser. Down in the Tech Center at 4955 S. Ulster St., Darcy's Bistro & Pub is the go-to for Irish pub plates, with bangers and mash and shepherd's pie as the house specialties.

Interstates and the light rail

I-25 runs down the west side and meets I-225 at the southeast corner, so an on-ramp is never far off. Hampden Avenue carries east-west traffic across the top. Belleview station, at 4855 S. Quebec St., is the main light rail stop for the Tech Center, with the E, R and T Lines and RTD's 73 bus. It has only 59 parking spaces, and riders cross I-25 on stairs up to East Union Avenue. If you'll ride the train most days, time the walk or bike from a house you like to the platform before you write an offer.