Southglenn is often introduced through its conveniences: The Streets at SouthGlenn, easy access to Arapahoe Road and University Boulevard, nearby parks, longtime schools, and the familiar ranch-style homes that line its residential streets. But beneath that everyday comfort is a story that reaches back to the early 1960s, when Southglenn was still open farmland in unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Today, Southglenn is part of the City of Centennial, but its identity predates the city by several decades. The neighborhood’s history reflects the transformation of south metro Denver from agricultural country into one of the region’s most established suburban communities.
From Farmland to a Planned Community
Southglenn began taking shape in 1961, when developers Sol and Samuel Primack announced plans for a large residential subdivision. The project covered approximately 650 acres and was planned for roughly 1,590 homes. At the time, the land stretched between Euclid Avenue and Ramo-Woolridge Road, with University Boulevard forming an important western edge. What residents now recognize as a mature neighborhood was then a broad tract of fields on the southern edge of metropolitan Denver.
The development was associated with Perl-Mack Enterprises, a major Colorado homebuilder that also created communities such as Northglenn and Montbello. The company’s approach was to build complete suburban environments rather than isolated rows of houses. Southglenn was planned with a variety of home styles, streets, schools, parks, shopping, and space for future commercial development.
The first homes included ranches, split-levels, two-story houses, and a smaller number of bi-level designs. This variety was intentional. Rather than repeating a single model throughout the subdivision, the builders rotated floor plans and architectural styles to create a more natural-looking streetscape. Many of the original homes were priced between approximately $30,950 and $35,500, a reflection of the postwar era’s growing demand for attainable suburban housing. ([ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net](https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/41000/41300/41309/DenverWWIISuburbs.pdf?utm_source=openai))
How Southglenn Got Its Name
Southglenn’s name appears to have been part of the same naming tradition that produced Northglenn, another Perl-Mack community north of Denver. “Southglenn” offered a simple geographic identity: a planned community south of Northglenn, with a name that suggested a green, family-oriented setting.
Unlike neighborhoods named for a historic ranch, stream, or individual landowner, Southglenn was largely a modern development-era name. It was created during the great suburban expansion of the 1950s and 1960s, when builders used memorable names to give new communities a distinct identity. The name endured even as the surrounding area changed from county land to a fully developed portion of the Denver metropolitan region.
Building a Community in the 1960s
The majority of Southglenn’s homes were built during the early and middle 1960s, with nearly 295 homes completed in 1963 alone. The neighborhood was designed for families, and its streets were laid out with a suburban rhythm of curving residential roads, modest traffic, attached garages, and generous front setbacks.
Streets such as South University Boulevard, East Arapahoe Road, East Dry Creek Road, and East Orchard Road became the principal routes connecting Southglenn with Littleton, Englewood, Greenwood Village, and Denver. Inside the neighborhood, quieter residential streets created the feeling of a self-contained community.
Schools and libraries soon became important anchors. Southglenn has long been associated with Littleton Public Schools, and institutions such as Sandburg Elementary School, Powell Middle School, and Arapahoe High School helped make the area attractive to families. The Southglenn Library, which opened in 1970, became another sign that the neighborhood was no longer a new subdivision but a permanent community with its own civic life. ([arapahoelibraries.org](https://arapahoelibraries.org/news/arapahoe-libraries-celebrates-60-years/?utm_source=openai))
The Arrival of Southglenn Mall
The neighborhood’s most recognizable landmark arrived in 1974 with the opening of Southglenn Mall at the southwest corner of Arapahoe Road and University Boulevard. The enclosed shopping center brought major department stores, specialty shops, restaurants, and gathering places to a part of the metro area that had previously required longer drives for regional shopping.
Original anchor stores included Sears, The Denver, and May D&F. Over the years, the anchor lineup changed, with stores such as JCPenney, Foley’s, Joslins, and eventually Macy’s occupying prominent spaces. For generations of Southglenn residents, the mall was more than a retail center. It was where families met for meals, teenagers spent weekend afternoons, and holiday traditions began.
The mall also strengthened Southglenn’s role as a local crossroads. Arapahoe Road became one of the area’s busiest east-west corridors, while University Boulevard connected the neighborhood to Littleton and the broader south metro area. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streets_at_SouthGlenn?utm_source=openai))
From Enclosed Mall to The Streets at SouthGlenn
By the early 2000s, Southglenn Mall faced the same pressures affecting many traditional enclosed malls. Retail patterns had changed, newer shopping centers had opened, and the aging property needed a new purpose. In 2006, the mall closed for redevelopment.
The result was The Streets at SouthGlenn, an open-air, mixed-use center that opened in 2009. Its design introduced pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, outdoor gathering areas, restaurants, apartments, offices, entertainment, and retail. Commons Park and the center’s public spaces gave the property a more civic, neighborhood-oriented character than the enclosed mall it replaced.
The transformation preserved Southglenn’s role as a commercial center while adapting it to a new era. The site remains one of Centennial’s best-known destinations, although portions of the property continue to evolve as developers consider additional housing and redevelopment around former department-store locations. ([centennialco.gov](https://www.centennialco.gov/Government/City-Projects-and-Initiatives/Streets-at-SouthGlenn?utm_source=openai))
Parks, Trails, and Everyday Heritage
Southglenn’s heritage is not limited to buildings. It also lives in the mature trees, neighborhood parks, school fields, and trails that have grown alongside the homes.
Clarkson Park is a familiar recreational space for nearby residents, while larger regional destinations such as deKoevend Park, the High Line Canal Trail, and South Suburban’s recreation facilities are close at hand. These connections give Southglenn a welcome balance: It is convenient and urbanized, yet still linked to open space and outdoor life.
The neighborhood’s older homes also tell an important story. Many retain the practical layouts and midcentury character of their original construction, while homeowners have updated kitchens, finished basements, landscaping, and energy systems over the decades. The result is a community that feels established without standing still.
Southglenn Today
Southglenn became part of Centennial when the city incorporated on February 7, 2001. Centennial was formed from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County, including the former Southglenn area. The city’s name honors Colorado’s admission to the Union in 1876, while Southglenn preserves the identity of the earlier community. ([centennialco.gov](https://www.centennialco.gov/Government/About-Us/Milestones?lang_update=639234322846508208&utm_source=openai))
What makes Southglenn special is the way its layers remain visible. A quiet ranch house may date to the first wave of construction. A school or library may recall the neighborhood’s formative years. The Streets at SouthGlenn represents reinvention, while the mature trees and familiar roads connect present-day residents to those who arrived when the surrounding fields were still open.
For longtime residents, Southglenn is not simply a place built in the 1960s. It is a neighborhood shaped by everyday memories: first homes, school walks, mall visits, summer evenings in the parks, and decades of neighbors watching the community grow around them. Its heritage rests in that continuity—and in its ability to welcome the next generation without losing the character that made it home in the first place.