ADU Talk in Park Hill: Alley Access, Lot Sizes, and What’s Actually Buildable
Market check (Dec 16, 2025): 30-yr fixed averages ~6.22%. Park Hill/80207 is still transacting in the mid-$600s with typical market time around the mid-40s; ZHVI “typical value” sits near the low-$570s and many go pending in three to four weeks. Translation: financing has eased a hair; good ADU-capable lots still move.
What “buildable” really means here:
Alley matters. If you’ve got an alley, any ADU parking must load from it. No alley? A shared driveway from the street is the path.
Lot size + zone dictate size. Park Hill’s standard 6,000 sq ft lots (think E-SU-D districts) commonly support detached ADUs sized roughly in the ~650–1,000 sq ft range, scaled by lot area.
Rear-yard box. Detached ADUs live in the back third of the lot with tight setbacks and height/bulk-plane limits (generally ~1.5 stories/~24’), and they need to “look like” the main house.
Classic bungalows (pre-war): usually alley garages—often a straight swap to a carriage-house ADU over new garage. Watch sewer capacity, power, and tree roots.
Post-wars/ranches: wider side yards help construction access; verify rear-yard depth and eave heights against bulk planes.
Citywide ADU policy now simplifies eligibility, but you still must meet form/placement rules.
How to play it: Pull the zoning (is it a D1x/ADU-allowed variant?), measure the rear 35%, confirm alley width/condition, and price in utility upgrades. When you write the offer, prioritize seller credits first (2–3% for a 2-1 buydown), then inspection focus on roof/sewer/HVAC/radon. That’s how you turn a backyard into long-term value.
—Andy | Park Hill neighbor & Denver broker
#DenverRealEstate #ParkHill #80207 #ADU #CarriageHouse #Buydowns
