The River North Arts District, or RiNo as
locals refer to it, is situated immediately
north of Downtown Denver at the junction
of Interstates 70 and 25. Coors Field and
the LoDo (Lower Downtown) neighborhood
mark RiNo’s southwestern boundary, while
Interstate 25 acts as its western border.
Interstate 70 serves as the neighborhood’s
northern edge, while the Curtis Park and
Five Points neighborhoods lie immediately
to the east. The RiNo neighborhood is
traversed by the South Platte River, with the
lion’s share of the District’s retail situated
on the east side of the river. Brighton
Boulevard, Larimer and Downing Streets are
the primary retail arteries, though a number
of other commercial corridors have seen
increased activity as this region has
undergone its transformation.
Denver’s arts community was already
established in RiNo prior to 2010,
converting many of the district’s vacant
warehouses to loft and gallery space. But
residential growth throughout Denver’s
urban core began to explode around 2010.
This first wave played out primarily in the
adjacent Downtown and LoHi (Lower
Highlands) neighborhoods, but as these
areas redeveloped with higher-end
multifamily housing, residential growth
increasingly moved northeast to the
RiNo District. According to the
Brookings Institute, Denver has become
the number one destination for
millennials, with its Downtown
neighborhoods expected to grow by 18%
over the next five years.
A number of notable projects in RiNo
have helped to speed the area’s retail
evolution over the past few years,
including The Source, a 26,000 SF
artisanal food hall, which opened in a
former steel foundry building on
Brighton Boulevard in late 2013. Other
food additions have included everything
from high-end local favorite The Populist
to authentic Mexican restaurant Los
Chingones. RiNo has also increasingly
become a focal point of Denver’s music
and nightlife scene through a mix of live
venues. Yet even with this recent
prosperity, RiNo stands as one of the few
areas remaining in Denver’s urban core
with available land and vacant buildings.
Because of this, development is
skyrocketing, with ongoing projects
ranging from office (Zeppelin Station) to
housing (Taxi), hospitality (The Source
Hotel), and mixed-use (DriveTrain—a
multifamily, retail/restaurant and
boutique hotel).
39.6%
Millennial Population
$69,790
Average
Household Income
RiNo (River North) Arts District:
Ground Zero for Mile High Millennials