Centennial home remodeling usually means working on a house that is older than the city itself. Centennial, in Arapahoe County, incorporated on February 7, 2001, from unincorporated county land that included the former Southglenn and Castlewood communities, so most of its neighborhoods were built and permitted long before the city existed. This page covers how Centennial permits remodeling work today, the mailing-address mix-ups common here, and what its 1960s through 1980s South Metro neighborhoods tend to need.
A City Younger Than Most of Its Houses
Because Centennial didn't exist until 2001, a house built in 1978 was permitted while its land was unincorporated Arapahoe County. If you're trying to find original permits or plans, county records are often the place to look. Framing, wiring and plumbing were inspected to whatever the county enforced at the time, which is one more reason to open walls with an expectation of surprises.
Centennial's Building Division, Licenses and Codes
Today the city runs its own Building Division, and permits and contractor licenses are applied for online. Three rules shape a remodel here:
- Contractors and subcontractors working in Centennial must hold a Centennial contractor license.
- Homeowners may pull their own permits by signing the city's homeowner agreement and affidavit.
- The city publishes a dedicated permit guide for single-family basement finishes.
On codes, Centennial lists the 2021 International Building and Energy Conservation Codes, the 2023 National Electrical Code, and the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code, which the city adopted with local amendments. Neighboring Littleton is already on 2024 editions, so a detail approved there isn't automatically the detail approved here.
Mailing Addresses That Say Littleton, Englewood or Aurora
For years before incorporation, these neighborhoods used Littleton, Englewood and Aurora mailing addresses, and many still do. The U.S. Postal Service treats Centennial as an acceptable city name across several ZIP codes that also belong to other cities, and ZIP 80112 is shared with Englewood and Greenwood Village. The result: the city on your envelope may not be the city that permits your remodel.
If your address says Littleton, Englewood or Aurora and you live in the South Metro
Then check the Arapahoe County parcel record; the house may well be inside Centennial.
If your address says Centennial in ZIP 80112
Then confirm it isn't inside Greenwood Village, which permits under different code editions.
If the parcel is confirmed inside Centennial
Then confirm that every trade on the job holds a Centennial contractor license before scheduling.
Remodeling Homes Across Centennial's Neighborhoods
Interstate 25 splits Centennial roughly in half, and its neighborhoods were built in waves.
| Neighborhood | Era and style | Typical remodel focus |
|---|---|---|
| Southglenn area | 1960s through 1980s detached homes | Closed kitchens, original baths, panel capacity |
| Walnut Hills | 1970s ranches, two-stories and split-levels | Opening split-level kitchens to living areas |
| Willow Creek | Writer Homes, mid-1970s to early 1980s | Updating dated layouts and supply piping |
| Homestead | Late 1970s split-levels and Cape Cods in Homestead Farm, Homestead in the Willows and Homestead Village | Lower-level and basement conversions |
| Piney Creek | Master-planned, near Cherry Creek State Park | Kitchens, primary baths and finished lower levels |
Houses from the late 1970s into the 1990s are the window for polybutylene supply lines, a gray plastic pipe used in some homes of that period and prone to failure at fittings. Many homes of the 1970s also still run original electrical panels, and some brands from that era have known reliability problems. Both are worth confirming before walls are closed on new finishes.
On the lower levels of Homestead and Willow Creek houses, a basement finishing project in Centennial follows the city's own basement guide, so read it before framing.
Living in a Centennial house built before the city was? Let's look at what's behind its walls first. Book a Centennial remodeling consultation
Our Denver Metro remodeling page covers the region. North of Centennial, see Greenwood Village home remodeling, and to the west, the Littleton remodeling page.