Mar Lee

Mar Lee is a rectangle in southwest Denver: Mississippi Avenue on the north, Jewell Avenue on the south, Federal Boulevard on the east and Sheridan Boulevard on the west. Westwood sits across Mississippi, and Ruby Hill is on the other side of Federal.

How the blocks are laid out

The street pattern changes as you cross the neighborhood. In the northwest, streets run north and south on a grid with alleys, and the blocks connect well. East of Garfield Lake the blocks grow larger and more built up as you get close to the commercial strip on Federal. Down on the south side the streets run longer and start to bend where they meet Sanderson Gulch. Three schools sit inside the neighborhood, and several of them fill big blocks of their own.

Sidewalks are the weak spot. Most are narrower than five feet and don't meet accessibility standards, so walk the actual block you're looking at, not just the house.

One-story houses set back from the street

Most of Mar Lee is single-family detached houses. The usual one is a single story with a driveway, a front door in the middle of the facade, brick or siding outside, and a shallow roof overhang or a small porch over the entry. Houses sit well back from the street, so front yards run large for a city neighborhood. Apartments and other multi-unit buildings mostly line Federal on the east side. If a big front yard and your own driveway rank above an old-house look on your list, put Mar Lee on the drive.

Garfield Lake Park and Sanderson Gulch

Garfield Lake Park stretches along the north edge. It has a lake where fishing is allowed, an outdoor pool, a playground, and baseball and football fields. A 0.6-mile trail loops the park's perimeter and the lake.

Sanderson Gulch cuts across the southern part of the neighborhood, with Irving and Java Park along its path. The paved Sanderson Gulch Trail starts at Wolff Street and runs 3.4 miles east to the South Platte River Trail, so the river is a bike ride away on a dedicated path.

Pho on Federal and the shopping centers

Most of the commercial space is on Federal, with smaller pockets on Sheridan and in the middle of the neighborhood. Pho 95, at 1401 South Federal, is a longtime pho shop, and the marinated steak version is the one to order. It opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m., a little earlier on Thursdays.

The Mar Lee Shopping Center, near Florida Avenue and Tennyson Street, is anchored by a Save-A-Lot and a post office. The city wants mixed-use and infill building on its underused land, so expect change here over time. On the west edge, the corner of Sheridan and Florida is a second commercial node, anchored by a large grocery store.

Buses, and bus rapid transit coming to Federal

RTD's 11 runs along Mississippi, and the 51 runs up Sheridan to US 36 & Sheridan Station. Federal is planned as a bus rapid transit corridor, with more housing and jobs near its future stations, especially within two blocks of Federal, where there are some larger and vacant lots. Buy close to Federal and expect more new building around you than on the interior blocks.

Zoning and what you can change

City Council adopted the Southwest Area Plan on March 2, 2026, and the rezoning that followed on July 13, 2026. The plan area has no design review districts, and Mar Lee has no Denver-designated landmarks, so exterior work on a house here won't go through historic review. Commercial buildings are a different story on parts of Federal, where a design overlay asks for active uses on the ground floor and doesn't allow drive-thrus or parking in front of the building.