The real estate world lost a visionary developer when Dana Crawford passed away in January 2025 at age 93. A member of the Urban Land Institute for more than 40 years, Crawford redeveloped more than 800,000 square feet (74,300 sq m) of historic property in Denver.
“Most people know Dana as a visionary, a changemaker, and for her creativity, passion, and collaboration,” says Ferd Belz, president of Denver-based development company Fulenwider and past chair of ULI Colorado. “That said, what I appreciated most was her inclusivity and big heart. She was always thinking about how what she did would make people’s lives better.”
A preservationist ahead of her time
Born and raised in Kansas, Crawford arrived in Denver in the early 1950s to work in public relations at a time when cities nationwide were bulldozing historic buildings to make way for parking lots and modern structures. One day in the 1960s, her car broke down along the 1400 block of Larimer Street, whose dilapidated Victorian edifices—the city’s first commercial district—the Denver Urban Renewal Authority had slated for demolition. While waiting for the tow truck, Crawford saw the block as cultural heritage worth saving.
In 1965, Crawford formed Larimer Square Associates and began purchasing buildings along the 1400 block with money from family and friends. Her vision: preserve the historic character while creating economically viable spaces that would bring people back downtown. She hired local craftspeople to restore the
Victorian-era façades while modernizing interiors to accommodate shops and restaurants. Larimer Square became Denver’s first historic district.
Reviving Denver’s lower downtown
When she partnered with Sage Hospitality, in the 1980s, to transform the 1890s-era Oxford Hotel from a run-down lodging house into a boutique hotel, she helped spur a wave of projects adapting historic edifices for hospitality use.
In the 1990s, she renovated a former mill listed on the National Register of Historic Places into the Flour Mill Lofts, with more than 40 units, including round rooms inserted into the three original silos. With Charles Calloway, she converted a Renaissance-style turn-of-the-century structure—built to house a creamery and cold storage warehouse, and also listed on the National Register—into the Ice House Lofts, condominium units that take advantage of exposed brick and timber beams.
Crawford assembled a team of developers, known as the Union Station Alliance, to renovate the decaying Union Station, a Beaux-Arts railroad terminal completed in 1914, into a shopping, dining, and cultural destination that opened in 2014. The Crawford Hotel, named in honor of her, occupies the top two floors.
Crawford’s legacy includes the longstanding mentorship she provided to generations of developers, preservationists, and urban planners. A consultant for more than 50 communities on projects aimed at revitalizing historic streets and neighborhoods, she was also a founding member of Historic Denver, Platte River Greenway Foundation, and Friends of Union Station. She served on the boards of Project for Public Spaces, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Main Street Program.
“Dana was the embodiment of ULI’s commitment to transformation,” says Marilee Utter, president, Citiventure Associates, and former executive vice president for District/National Councils at ULI. “Larimer Square was just the beginning, as she saved, rejuvenated, and created entire neighborhoods by understanding the power of human scale and community. I live in an historic brick loft in the walkable LoDo neighborhood Dana envisioned and inspired, and I regularly have business meetings at Union Station—just a few years ago dark and foreboding—[which] Dana guided to become ‘Denver’s Living Room’ . . . . She had a sharp wit and a dry sense of humor, and was a deep observer of human behavior.”
Crawford garnered numerous accolades, including the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Community Service in the Arts Award from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, and ULI Colorado’s Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement. She was also inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame.
