Commerce City

Commerce City does have a bad wrap and its is because of the interstates and industrial buildings exit after exit, plus the Platte River looks likes were the Simpsons 3 eyed fish may live. So that is my impression, I have traveled through the area as I make my way to the airport. There is an industrial smell there by the interstate and we switch our AC or heater to recirculate when we cruise through.

The above may seem harsh but it is true and I must say that Commerce City would be the last suburb of Denver that I would choose. There are some new subdivisions to the north of the interstate area that are pretty nice looking, but they are isolated and have that sterile new feeling. There are so many amazing places in Colorado and the Denver/Boulder area and this is just not one of the shining stars.

It used to be that when you heard Commerce City you had an immediate image in your mind of smog, dirt, and rundown neighborhoods. While that is still true about some of the area closest to I-270, there are new, gorgeous developments being added to the eastern end of the city. Reunion is one of those neighborhoods. Built with proximity to Denver International Airport, it is one of the nicest new areas around Denver. The homes are very well kept and the neighborhood has a really pretty lake with a great rec center for the residents. The one drawback to Reunion is that it borders Tower Road and development grew much faster than some of the roads surrounding it. Getting off of Pena Blvd if you work at the airport and trying to get home on Tower can be really bad. Traffic is backed up on this one lane road for long periods of time. There is always the option of jumping on the tollway, but as the prices for the tollway keep jumping up and up it's not the most economical solution.

The area around Reunion seems to be very safe and almost has a country feel to it. Commerce city itself gets progressively worse the further west you go, where there are manufacturing plants and a more run down look. There used to be a race track here but that now just sits empty. Rainbow bread has their plant here and if you're nearby, it does smell really nice in the area. Rainbow also has a small store on site for people to stop in and buy bread, buns, and other items for really cheap.

There are some parts of the area that are very nice. The local library (part of the Anythink library system) has some of the friendliest staff around. In addition to the numerous books you can check out they have a computer center, many activities throughout the year, and a community garden on the side. The parking lot isn't big and can get full, but it's well worth the walk if you need to park on the street.

It's hard to write one review of the entire city since it can be so diverse, depending on what area you live in. Overall, there is a great sense of community on all sides and hopefully with the addition of new neighborhoods, some of the increased revenue will help to bring up the city as a whole.