Reader: I'm Just Glad Hipsters Are Spending Money in Five Points

After years, decades of waiting for Denver's economic boom to reach Five Points, that day finally seems to have arrived. But with all this newfound interest in the area, will Five Points lose its colorful past? Tom's Home Cookin' just closed after sixteen years...but that's a relative drop in the bucket of the area's long history. While boxy apartment complexes are now under construction, the historic buildings of Welton Street are also being claimed. Rosenberg's Bagels & Deli and Dunbar's Kitchen & Tap House both opened on the street last year; early next year, we'll see the unveiling of the renovated 2801 Welton Street project (formerly BJ's Port) and the resurrection of the 715 Club, which has been closed for decades. News of the 715 deal was greeted with wary enthusiasm.  Says Bri:

Yes! now hopefully I don't get priced out of the neighborhood before you guys open.

Adds David:

Sweet! I hope they serve food and have TVs. I need a cool place to watch Broncos games and get a burger. Probably just another hipster dive but one can hope!

And other readers have weighed in on other changes in the neighborhood:

Says Messa: 

Don't forget the most important (and tragic) part of gentrification - the people and their forced displacement from neighborhoods that have been their homes for decades.

But this reader concludes:

If you live in the area, you understand that change is part of evolution & progress. Sad to see Tom's go, but what will be will be. Tom's wasn't forced out - it was a conscious decision by the owners to profit from the revitalization of the neighborhood. The beauty of the neighborhood hasn't changed, the history of the neighborhood hasn't changed... It still has character, heart & culture. And now it has even more to attract $$ into the neighborhood.

It was a scary place in the '90s. Back in the days that were referred to as the Summer of Violence, ask any Denverite if he would have walked Welton Street even at nine at night. There are still signs in some windows, pleading for "no more violence." I want to respect and remember the heyday of Denver's jazz history and rising African-American influence — I believe the current redevelopment honors it. So what if an affluent kid with skinny jeans and slick hair wants to drink a beer on Welton Street? I'm glad he's spending his money in the neighborhood.

What do you think of the return of the 715 Club? Of the other changes in Five Points?