A few weeks before Halloween, crews wrapped up the block of Fourth Street between Cleveland Avenue and Railroad Avenue. That Friday night, Sean Hawkins walked it. Hawkins is executive director of the Loveland Downtown District, and he spent the last 20 months fielding complaints about the construction. In his October 25 Downtown Dialogue column in the Loveland Reporter-Herald, he wrote that a few business owners came outside to hug him, and that he kept thinking about "how much the street feels like the Fourth Street we've always loved and how we've made it better and safer."
In that same column, Hawkins put the whole Heart Improvement Plan about two weeks from done. He also named the first big event on the finished street: the Festival of Lights, Friday, November 20, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The timing is a little lopsided. One of the project's stated goals was to bring new businesses into downtown, and the column lists several that are coming. Three of them are headed for Fourth Street addresses. None of those three has announced an opening date, and the last target any of them published was early 2027. So the first big night on the rebuilt street is set to show off the street itself, and the new tenants will follow on their own schedules.
What the Street Itself Got
If you've mostly been avoiding downtown since early 2025, here's what changed on the pavement:
- Crossings. Hawkins writes that the busiest intersections are easier to cross.
- Boulder seatwalls. Low stone walls along the corridor give you places to sit without buying anything.
- Bike racks on every block. Downtown never had enough places to lock a bike before. Hawkins says people have told him they're seeing more riders.
- Pedestrian-level light poles. These run the full length of the corridor.
- New overhead lights. The 11 strands of colored lights that used to hang across Fourth Street are gone. A full string-lighting system replaces them, and it can change colors for different holidays.
That last item ties straight to November 20. The Downtown District's Festival of Lights page calls the event the debut of holiday lighting along Fourth Street, and Hawkins says the color-changing lights will "come to life in the holiday season ahead of us." This year that debut runs on brand-new hardware.
The One New Spot Already Open Is Around the Corner
Echo Brewing & Pizzeria opened in the former train depot at 409 N. Railroad Ave. and held its grand opening the weekend before the Reporter-Herald's October 23 story.
What to expect there:
- Owners. Echo started in Erie, where four siblings turned an old fire station into a taproom and brewery that opened in 2014. Loveland is their second location, and the beer is still brewed in Erie.
- Food. Neapolitan-style pizza. The range runs from a Margherita to the meat-heavy Norcia to the Capra, which comes with artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives. Appetizers, salads and desserts fill out the menu.
- Drinks. A rotating lineup of Echo beers, including Fire Fly IPA and Campfire Kölsch, plus guest taps, cider, wine and some mixed drinks.
- Size. Room for about 200 people, according to co-owner Katy Dukes.
- Hours. Seven days a week, opening at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends. Weekday lunch is a possibility next summer.
Downtown helped pay for the conversion. Hawkins told the Reporter-Herald that the depot's old kitchen needed major work to fit a pizza oven, and the Downtown Development Authority's restaurant grant program covered part of it. Dukes told the paper what drew them: "We love all of the outdoor space and all of the events they host on Fourth Street."
Those events are what the depot is betting on. And since November 20 falls on a Friday, Echo will open at 4 p.m., an hour before the festival starts.
Three Fourth Street Addresses, Still Waiting
The other three names in Hawkins' column are all on Fourth Street or headed there. None has a confirmed opening date.
| Business | Address | Status in late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| The Dug and Firkin | 243 E. Fourth St. | British pub with British-style ales and food. A complete application for a new brew-pub license was on the city's August 20 licensing agenda. No opening date announced. |
| Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant | 225 Fourth St. | The group's sixth Colorado location, joining Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Lone Tree and Greeley. The restaurant's own page says the doors aren't open yet. An April local announcement targeted early 2027. |
| Sky Bear Brewing | Now at 272 E. Fifth St., moving to 209 E. Fourth St. | Open and pouring at its current spot. Its website says "New location coming soon!" with no date. The city reported scaffolding and demolition prep at the new address in August. |
You can follow each one yourself: the city's August 20 licensing agenda, Rio Grande's Loveland announcement, Sky Bear's website, and the city's Heart Improvement Plan project updates. BizWest reported in April that Sky Bear's move would bring a bigger space with patios and an upstairs event room.
If you want a Sky Bear pint on festival night, head one block north to Fifth Street, where it's open now.
The column mentions more, too. Three new businesses are moving into vacant spaces on the block between Railroad and Garfield avenues, a professional services company is expanding, and planning continues on restoring the former Elks Lodge building.
A Week Earlier, Centerra Turns On Its Lights
Centerra holds its Flip the Switch lighting at Chapungu Sculpture Park, 5995 Sky Pond Drive, on Friday, November 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. Its All Is Bright Tour then runs daily from November 13 through January 1 at several Centerra locations.
The Centerra holiday schedule runs into December. Highlights:
- Santa's Workshop, Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Loveland Visitor Center
- Santa's Home for the Holidays, December 11, 12 and 19, at the Promenade Shops at Centerra
- Sleigh Bell Shuffle, Saturday, December 12, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
- Holiday Music Bingo & Ugly Sweater Party, Thursday, December 17, 6 to 8 p.m.
That gives Loveland two Friday-night lightings a week apart. Downtown's is the only one with something new to switch on.
How November 20 Lays Out on Five Blocks
The Festival of Lights uses all five rebuilt blocks of Fourth Street. Here's the evening, roughly in the order you'll run into it:
- Park in the Foundry Parking Garage. The Downtown District says it's free and open to the public. The district's parking page is general guidance, so watch its channels for any festival-specific closures.
- Walk through Floats on Fourth. This is a stationary parade on the two blocks between Lincoln and Washington. Floats line the edges of the street, there's a walk-through lane down the middle, and performers move through the crowd.
- Work the middle of the street. Expect a holiday market, live music, live reindeer, carriage rides, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
- End at the Rialto Theater. The night wraps up with the annual tree lighting in front of the Rialto. Hawkins writes that downtown's businesses will be open for the kickoff.
Between stops, there are the new boulder seatwalls to sit on, a bike rack on every block, and the new string lights overhead in holiday colors for the first time. Echo's depot taproom is a short walk away on Railroad Avenue. The three Fourth Street addresses in the table had no announced opening dates as of late October.
Robert films a walkthrough video for every listing, and downtown Loveland is about to look its best on camera. If your home is within walking distance of the rebuilt Fourth Street, those five blocks are part of what you'd be selling. Robert Crow can show you how he'd present your home and the walk to the Rialto. Request a free home valuation and tailored marketing plan, and he'll build it before the new tenants open their doors.
