This October on South Broadway, crews are putting in new bus shelters, benches and trash bins at Chenango, Tufts, Quincy, Mansfield and Kenyon. They're also working on the corner at Oxford Avenue, the sidewalk and light poles on the west side, and new median cover at four intersections. That's the city's own work list for the month, published October 5. If you drive the corridor every day, it explains a lot of the orange.
The work has an end date, and so does the best shopping deal on the street. While the project runs, the city's EARN app pays up to 10% cashback at participating small businesses along the Englewood South corridor. The normal rate is 5%, and the higher rate lasts "now through completion of the project." The project is expected to finish in December 2026. So the next few months, with the construction, are the best-rewarded time to spend money on this stretch of Broadway.
Where the Work Actually Is This Month
The South Broadway Complete Streets project covers Broadway from Belleview Avenue north to Hampden. Essential Contractors started on January 12, 2026, and has worked north from Belleview through the year. The medians along that stretch were removed so traffic could shift around crews rebuilding 13 bus pads. They're coming back late in the project. October is when much of that comes back.
| Cross street | October work |
|---|---|
| Chenango | New bus shelter, bench, trash bin; median work; new pavement markings |
| Tufts | New bus shelter, bench, trash bin; new pavement markings |
| Quincy | New bus shelter, bench, trash bin; median work |
| Oxford | Continued excavation, drainage, concrete and corner improvements |
| Mansfield | New bus shelter, bench, trash bin; median work; new pavement markings |
| Kenyon | New bus shelter, bench, trash bin; median work; new pavement markings |
| West side of Broadway | Sidewalk improvements and light-pole work |
The city also lists topsoil going into new planter boxes, along with grading and cleanup where ground was dug up. It notes that some work was rescheduled because of stormwater improvements, and that the order of work can still change with weather and site conditions.
Three practical details matter more than the table does. The city says parking on South Broadway isn't expected to be affected. Only one or two bus stops close at a time, and RTD's service alerts show which ones are closed today. Construction hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with limited night or weekend work only in special cases. If a sidewalk segment closes, the city says it will provide a detour that keeps businesses reachable. Most weekend errands on Broadway run into crews far less often than the weekday commute does.
How the Cashback Works, and When It Changes
EARN is the city's rewards app, run through Open Rewards. The city pays for the rewards to keep spending at locally owned businesses that get most of their revenue from retail sales. Here's how it works:
- Download the app and create a free account.
- Find participating businesses under the Claim Rewards tab. If you link a credit card, rewards post automatically. If you don't, you upload a photo of the receipt.
- Spend the balance at any other participating business. You pay in full first, then tap Redeem Rewards within 7 days of the purchase.
There's a second offer coming. A separate city page lists a 10% "Holiday Boost" from November 1 through the end of the year. The city's pages don't say whether it stacks with the construction-corridor rate. The safe reading is that both offers top out at 10%, so check the app before you assume you'll get more. The participating list lives in the app, so look there before assuming any particular shop qualifies.
The New Names on Broadway
Several businesses have opened, or are about to, while the street is torn up.
Good Girl Cafe and Bookstore, 2807 S. Broadway. Owner Meg Garcia-Jahrman's shop sells only romance novels and coffee. A June profile in the Denver Post said the shop was planning a July grand opening. Westword's October 1 roundup listed it among September's openings and named it as one of several places that opened only after a long permitting process.
The Barn, 3299 S. Broadway. Co-owners Chase Devitt and Matt Ciani opened it in March, and it now has its first fall on the street.
The Den SoBo, 3467 S. Broadway. This is the second location of The Den Social Club, the parent-focused club that started at 2900 Zuni Street in LoHi. Denver7 reported on September 28 that the Englewood space was under construction and set to open in late October. The coffee shop will be open to everyone. The workspaces, play area, classrooms and programming are for members. Founder Chandler Lipe described what's different about this location:
"Our SOBO location will have a private back patio. It has beer and wine, and there's co-working, which is something that we constantly heard as a need from our LoHi location."
Two longtime spots have closed. Westword's August 29 roundup listed Beirut Grill at 203 W. Hampden Ave., and its September roundup listed Western Sky Bar & Taproom at 4361 S. Broadway. The Western Sky address is still on this month's calendar.
October 10 Is the Day to Use It
The second Saturday of October fills Broadway from morning to evening, and the events follow one another:
- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Old School Cool Vintage Market sets up in the parking lot at S. Broadway and W. Hampden.
- 1 to 3 p.m. Art in All Its Forms has live mural painting, flash tattoos, music, local art and hands-on activities. The city's listing puts it between Western Sky Bar & Taproom and BMO Bank at 4361 S. Broadway. Since Western Sky has closed, use the address and the bank to find it.
- All day. The Second Saturday Art Walk adds pop-ups, music, gallery and studio events, classes, demos, and food and drink. Nicole Korbe of EASEL Co Art Space and Hayley Schneider of SeeSaw Gallery lead it.
October 10 is a Saturday, so crews generally won't be working during any of it. Lunch, coffee or a book bought at a participating business that day still counts toward the corridor rate.
The Rest of the Fall Calendar
The next two months add several events, each in a different part of town.
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Trunk or Treat Express | Belleview Park Farm & Train, 5001 S. Inca Dr. | 1 to 6 p.m.; haunted train ride, candy; $5 tickets, under-2s free |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween SafeWalk | Historic Dearborn Street | 5 to 7 p.m.; free; candy at participating shops, kids' costume contest, haunted-hearse display |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Second Saturday Art Walk | Throughout Englewood | All day; same EASEL Co and SeeSaw leadership |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Tree Lighting | 1000 Englewood Parkway | 3 to 6 p.m.; tree lit at 5:15 p.m. |
The Old Englewood Village Association and the Rotary Club of Englewood Sunset put on the SafeWalk. The November 14 art walk falls 13 days after the Holiday Boost starts on November 1. That puts it inside both 10% offers, as long as the corridor work is still underway.
What Comes After December
When Complete Streets wraps, Broadway gets new medians, bus stops and sidewalks, and the corridor cashback goes back to the regular rate. The next round of changes is still on paper. The South Broadway Public Realm plan covers three and a half blocks from Little Dry Creek to Eastman Avenue. It calls for seating, bike racks, planters with native landscaping, specialty lighting and pedestrian-safety improvements, with installation targeted for 2027. Construction documents, financing and implementation planning are scheduled for September through December 2026.
Farther along Englewood Parkway, the city's September 29 CityCenter update showed possibilities that include housing, local retail, a hotel, expanded parks, an outdoor performance venue and a beer garden. No master plan has been chosen. The city expects one later this year, with Phase 1 design in early 2027. None of that is a date on anyone's calendar yet. December is, and until then a coffee or a paperback from a participating corridor shop earns up to twice the usual reward.
I follow South Broadway the way I follow sale prices, block by block, because both shape what a home in Englewood is worth. If you live near the corridor and want to know how a finished streetscape could affect your home's value, start with Brandon Kass's instant home valuation, and I'll go through the numbers with you before the cones come down.
