East Colfax Neighborhood Creating a Cultural District

Residents of the East Colfax neighborhood as well as frequent visitors to the area know that it's populated by immigrants and refugees who've come from all around the world, bringing their cultures with them. As a result, the corridor running from Monaco Parkway and Yosemite Street is packed with restaurants serving everything from Ethiopian to Burmese cuisine, along with markets that carry unique foods, spices and other items.

Though much of the recent news about East Colfax tends to focus on violence in the neighborhood, the Fax Partnership is trying to highlight all of the good things the area has to offer. In fact, it wants to position East Colfax as a cultural district in order to show off the businesses, pay for improvements and encourage more people to come to East Colfax. A year ago, the Fax Partnership applied for city funding to get started on the project and received a grant of $150,000 from the Community Development Block Grant Program.

In the months since, the Fax Partnership has created a mission statement for the proposed cultural district: "To celebrate, preserve and provide opportunities for the multicultural community of East Colfax by amplifying the voices of our diverse community members, supporting new and existing locally-owned businesses so they can thrive, strengthening community amenities and creating a welcoming international experience of commerce, culture and community." It has also hosted many community engagement meetings and begun working with local businesses to develop the goals of the cultural district.

Two weeks ago, the Denver office of Economic Development and Opportunity awarded the Fax Partnership an additional $40,000 grant to develop a logo for the district, which it hopes to have done by the end of the year after input from the community.

"The ultimate multi-year goal is that you have a clear brand and designation of a specific area represented through street art, logos, murals and a committee of business owners that would then plan events," says Monica Martinez, executive director for the Fax Partnership. The plan is also to provide business owners with more education, host community engagement events and develop marketing materials so that all the enterprises along the corridor reflect the brand of the cultural district.

Denver has four arts districts that have been officially designated by the state as Colorado Creative Districts: RiNo, Westwood, Golden Triangle and Santa Fe. Denver also has two official historic cultural districts, La Alma Lincoln Park and Five Points. East Colfax is not looking for an official designation from the state or city, but rather plans to brand itself as a cultural district.

Martinez hopes that move will give existing and incoming businesses a sense of place and brand East Colfax as a multi-cultural business and retail hub. Many areas around Denver are known for what they offer, she points out, but East Colfax has yet to really brand itself. "If you think about going and eating pho, you think of Federal," Martinez notes. "Santa Fe is really well known for the Chicano arts scene, and I do think East Colfax could develop that same notoriety for the Ethiopian restaurants that are here and the Burmese grocery stores."
Federal Boulevard, home of Little Saigon and the Far East Center, has been working on a similar project since 2019; it might also form a business improvement district. In 2013, the shops in the area came under the umbrella of the unofficial Little Saigon Business District, and many of the businesses still hope to push it more as a cultural district.

Billing East Colfax as a cultural district was a recommendation in the East Area Plan, adopted by Denver City Council in 2020 as a guideline for improving the neighborhoods of South Park Hill, Hale, Montclair and East Colfax. Part of the plan calls for branding the corridor between Monaco Parkway and Yosemite Street as a cultural district to activate the area.

Tor Ericksen, the owner of East Fax Tap, 8001 East Colfax Avenue, is excited about the cultural district concept and has been to all the community meetings.

"I'm originally from the East Coast, and every big city on the East Coast has a Little Italy or a Chinatown or a Little Tokyo, some sort of cultural area," Ericksen notes. "I don't feel like Denver has a specified area like that. There's pockets of different cultures, but I don't feel like there's one particular area that would be all-inclusive yet diverse, where it would actually be inviting people to that area."

Ericksen recognizes the stereotype of East Colfax being a dangerous area; when he opened East Fax Tap in the former home of the Hangar bar, he was wary of having a business in the neighborhood because of constant reports of violence. But that's just part of the story. "I truly believe in the path that they're taking in this area," he says.

"Having a business there for four years, I've realized a lot of that is blown out of proportion," Ericksen concludes. "There's so much good food that people don't know about. The Ethiopian community, the Burmese community, the Hispanic community, It's the longest, wickedest street in America, but it also has some of the best culture."