DENVER — Denver’s Central Business District has been rebranded.
Upper Downtown is the new name of the neighborhood bordered by Lawrence Street, 20th Street, North Broadway, West Colfax and Speer Boulevard.
The Denver Downtown Partnership (DDP) announced the change Wednesday after about a year of planning. The revamp is intended to represent the changing feel of downtown.
“If you know the heart of our skyscraper district, if you will, it was built in the ‘60s, ‘70s and into the ‘80s, so it's about 40 or 50 years old, and it’s time for some new energy,” said Randy Thelen, the senior vice president of economic development with DDP. “It’s time for maybe the district to get back in shape, and so we are looking at the Upper Downtown through a new lens.”
In addition to a new name, the hope is to add more green space, public space, art and amenities to shift the focus from the towers.
“There’s only one publicly accessible bar or restaurant, a rooftop bar or restaurant, and so we have all these great skyscrapers in the market, can we find another way to bring the public up and to enjoy the views, and kind of embrace the upper part of the upper downtown?” Thelan said.
He said they’ll roll out marketing materials like banners to promote the update, though the advertising will need to meet neighborhood expectations.
“We’ve got great districts throughout Denver. I mean, RiNo's got a great brand, LoDo's got a great brand. Sort of the sophistication and the stature of the classic central business district calls for something a little bit more -- you know, we're not going to put rhinoceroses around the city. We're going to instead be a little bit more higher standard, if you will from a brand standpoint."
As for the name “Upper Downtown,” it was chosen, according to DDP, because property owners and residents in that area often refer to their neighborhood as that already.
But it didn’t take long for Denver (and us) to start talking about giving Upper Downtown a nickname, like so many other parts of the city.
Denver is already home to neighborhoods with names (some official, some not) like:
LoHi: Lower Highlands
LoDo: Lower Downtown
RiNo: River North
SloHi: Sloans Lake/Highlands
SoBro or SoBo: South Broadway
SoCo: South of Colfax
And, at one point, there were talks of dubbing Brighton Boulevard "NoBroNo," short for North Broadway North. But that didn't pan out.
So what should we call Upper Downtown? UpDo? UpDown?
This is what the internet had to say about it all:
Elizabeth Gabriel: Updown Abby.
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