After Months of Construction, Edgewater's 25th Avenue Reopening With a Block Party

After four months of construction, Edgewater's popular West 25th Avenue is reopening with a block party on Saturday, June 29.

The stretch of West 25th Avenue from Sheridan Boulevard to Benton Street is northwest of Sloan’s Lake. The recent construction flipped it into a permanent one-way street running west, with wider sidewalks for pedestrians and patio dining, along with new bike lanes.

“25th [Avenue] has always been our Main Street for small businesses,” says Edgewater City Manager Dan Maples. “But I think this new infrastructure really highlights them, and it gives you the ability to enjoy all those businesses and the street itself as a pedestrian or as a cyclist.”

The street is home to locally loved bars and restaurants like Joyride Brewing Company, Edgewater Inn, Providence at 5280 and U.S. Thai Cafe, as well as businesses like Wesco Dog Grooming, Uber Chic and Sati Coffee Co.

Edgewater began considering what to do with West 25th Avenue in 2019, when the city created a new Traffic Calming and Mobility Plan, which found that the street needed traffic reduction because of the high number of pedestrians and cyclists there.

In the midst of social distancing and closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city experimented with turning 25th into a one-way street to expand patio space, allowing restaurants to operate when indoor dining was prohibited. In 2021, Edgewater was awarded a Main Streets grant of $841,000 through the Colorado Department of Transportation to create those patio spaces and make the one-way direction permanent.

The city tested out traffic circles for the community and the West Metro Fire District before determining they wouldn’t work. Traditional intersections were chosen after a drone was used to map the street's turning radius, according to the final concept plan
Maples credits Kit Lammers, community services director for Edgewater, for seeing the street and its businesses through the long process and a reported crunch in sales.

“Everybody's just really excited because it looks so much better,” says Lexi Healy, owner of the Electric Cure, a rum and tiki bar on the street. “It’s been really rough on everybody financially.”

In April, Healy told Westword she estimated business was down 25 percent year-over-year, but the last month has been the hardest, she says. Because more people are traveling and can drink in their yards in warm weather, there’s no reason to battle construction. So she’s glad the project is over.

Maples says he expects the wider sidewalks and expanded patios will bring plenty of customers to the businesses in the coming months.

“We're hoping that the street is a much safer atmosphere for pedestrians and foot traffic and bikes,” he says. “Thank you to all the businesses for sticking it out and putting their trust in us to get this thing done. We really appreciate it, and we think it'll pay dividends in the future.”

It all starts with the Grand Re-Opening on Saturday, June 29, at 11:30 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting by Mayor Steve Conklin. From there, businesses will be active until 9 p.m., with live music and food and drink specials.

The Electric Cure will have a dunk tank and outdoor bar with rum and tequila drinks to complement its summer theme menu of ’90s nostalgia.

Joyride is offering a make-your-own-hat station and two live bands. The city provided security and a festival permit so that patrons can carry drinks from any liquor-license-holding business around the street rather than having to stay in one place.

“It should be a really good time to see everything,” Maples concludes.