Cherry Hills Village
Cherry Hills Village is an affluent Colorado city located immediately south of Denver, incorporated in 1945 and recognized as one of the wealthiest municipalities in the United States.[1] With a population of approximately 6,234 residents, the city occupies a comparatively small footprint yet commands outsized prominence due to its distinctive semi-rural character, expansive private properties, and concentration of high-profile residents drawn from business, sports, and hospitality industries.[2] The city forms part of the Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and sits within the broader Front Range Urban Corridor that defines much of Colorado's population and economic geography.
History and Incorporation
Cherry Hills Village was incorporated in 1945, making it more than eight decades old as of the mid-2020s.[3] From its earliest days, the city was established with a deliberate intent to distinguish itself from the expanding urban footprint of Denver. At the time of incorporation, local leaders set a course oriented around preserving open land, limiting high-density development, and maintaining the character of a semi-rural community even as the Denver metropolitan area grew substantially around it.[4]
The history of the area reaches back further still, reflecting the arrival of settlers and others who came to Colorado from varied places and backgrounds, each contributing to the character of the region over generations.[5] The landscape that would become Cherry Hills Village was shaped by agricultural traditions and the wider settlement patterns of the Front Range region, with its proximity to Denver making it a natural destination for those seeking space and privacy while remaining connected to the city's economic and social opportunities.
The Swastika Acres Renaming
One notable episode in the city's more recent administrative history involved a subdivision known as "Swastika Acres." The name, which predated the widespread association of the swastika symbol with Nazi Germany and had roots in older uses of the symbol in various cultural traditions, had long been a source of controversy. In a vote that drew regional and national attention, Cherry Hills Village's governing body chose to drop the name "Swastika Acres" from the subdivision, reflecting a broader community decision to remove language that many residents and observers found deeply offensive given the symbol's twentieth-century history.[6] The renaming was reported by the Associated Press and brought renewed scrutiny to place names across the United States that had survived from earlier eras without sustained examination.
Geography and Setting
Cherry Hills Village borders Denver to the north and is situated within the broader suburban landscape of the Arapahoe County region, though its character diverges substantially from most suburban communities in the Denver area. The city has consistently maintained zoning and land-use policies aligned with the preservation of open space and large lot sizes, which stands in contrast to the denser residential patterns found in neighboring municipalities.[7]
Properties within Cherry Hills Village frequently sit on multiple acres of land. As one example, a notable residential listing featured a property on roughly four acres, reflecting the scale typical of significant real estate in the area.[8] The semi-rural atmosphere is sustained in part by the presence of equestrian properties, open fields, and relatively low-density residential zoning that has been protected since the city's founding era.
The city's position within the Front Range Urban Corridor connects it to the dense network of communities stretching from Pueblo in the south to Fort Collins in the north, yet Cherry Hills Village retains a markedly different profile from most of those communities due to its small population and high land values.
Demographics and Wealth
Cherry Hills Village has a population of approximately 6,234, a figure that underscores the small scale of the community relative to its regional prominence.[9] Despite its modest population, the city ranks among the wealthiest in the United States by per capita income, a distinction that has attracted attention from national financial and real estate media outlets.
The concentration of wealth in Cherry Hills Village is reflected in the value of its residential real estate market, which regularly features properties transacting in the multimillion-dollar range. A property at 14 Random Road, for instance, was listed at $8,500,000, described as a Rocky Mountain mansion representative of the luxury residential inventory available in the city.[10] The combination of proximity to Denver, large private parcels, and strong school and civic infrastructure has sustained demand for real estate in the community across economic cycles.
Notable Residents
Cherry Hills Village has attracted a number of prominent residents, particularly from the world of professional sports and the hospitality industry. Among the most recognized figures associated with the community are Peyton Manning, the former NFL quarterback, and John Elway, the Hall of Fame quarterback and longtime executive with the Denver Broncos.[11] The presence of multiple Broncos figures in the community reflects both the cultural significance of professional football in Colorado and the practical appeal of Cherry Hills Village to high-net-worth individuals seeking privacy and space near Denver.
Sage Hospitality, a significant player in the Denver-area hospitality sector, has also been associated with residents of the community, further illustrating the range of business sectors represented among Cherry Hills Village homeowners.[12]
Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan also owned property in the area. Shanahan sold a Cherry Hills Village home in a transaction that garnered attention from real estate media, with the property described as situated in the affluent city bordering Denver.[13] The sale illustrated the broader pattern of high-profile real estate activity that has long characterized the Cherry Hills Village market.
Real Estate and Architecture
The real estate market in Cherry Hills Village is among the most distinctive in Colorado. Properties in the community are frequently characterized by large lot sizes, equestrian amenities, and architectural styles that range from traditional ranch and estate designs to contemporary and glass-forward construction. A property featured by SFGATE as one of five notable glass houses in the United States was located in Cherry Hills Village, listed at $8,500,000 and described in terms befitting the luxury segment of the Colorado market.[14]
The Wall Street Journal has covered the Cherry Hills Village real estate market on multiple occasions, describing the community as a wealthy neighborhood outside of Denver and emphasizing the equestrian and pastoral qualities that set it apart from conventional luxury suburban development.[15] The combination of acreage, proximity to Denver's employment and cultural infrastructure, and the city's commitment to low-density land use continues to drive interest from buyers seeking alternatives to more conventionally developed suburbs.
Community Character and Planning
One of the defining characteristics of Cherry Hills Village as a municipality is the extent to which its planning and zoning decisions have been guided by a long-standing commitment to a semi-rural atmosphere. When the city was incorporated in 1945, that commitment was embedded in the foundational approach to governance and land use, and it has been sustained across the decades since.[16] The result is a city that stands out markedly from neighboring communities, offering a form of residential life centered on space, privacy, and the preservation of natural landscape rather than on urban amenity or commercial density.
This approach to community planning has shaped everything from the character of the streetscape — where roads often lack sidewalks in favor of bridle paths and open shoulders — to the architectural standards that govern new construction. The city's governance has maintained a consistent orientation toward protecting the qualities that have made it distinctive among Denver-area municipalities for more than eight decades.
See Also
References
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