On May 2, KB Home will hold the grand opening of their Parkfield development in Denver. The Lodge homes are custom-build single family homes that start from the 140s; KB Home Cottage models, which are nearby, start from the high 120s.
You can find the Parkfield community in the Denver/Commerce City area, which is in the DIA corridor between I-70 and I-76.
For those families farther away from Aurora, the Children’s Hospital opened a facility up north, in Broomfield, in March ‘09, marking another great draw for families all over the Front Range. Along with the umbrella of children’s health services The Children’s Hospital is known for, the core services available there are:
The hospital is located on Highway 7 and I-25 in Broomfield. Directions are as follows:
From I-25:
Take exit 229 Highway 7, west towards Lafayette.
Head west on Highway 7, also known as W. 168th Avenue, for about ½ mile. Turn right into The Children’s Hospital North Campus parking lot.
From Boulder and the west:
Take 287 to Baseline Road/Highway 7.
Take Baseline Road heading east, for approximately 6 miles.
Turn left into The Children’s Hospital North Campus parking lot.
With so much awareness around Earth Day and Earth Week, and with so many things to do in Colorado in celebration and observance of it, there are a wealth of ways to do your part. Just for starters, I thought I’d share a few of them with you, and then celebrate the day myself by turning off my computer and taking a nice walk in the woods. (Making sure to keep an eye out for mountain lions, that is.)
And because we don’t have to stop observing Earth Day tomorrow, remember that no matter where you are or what day it is, you can always use sites like FreeCycle and Zwaggle to pass along the things you no longer need without tossing them into a landfill.
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
I’m a little late, but April 12 -18 is National Library Week. Here’s why I care:
Friends to parents and researchers, businesspeople and folks just plain killing time, libraries are often an underused and unappreciated asset to citizens in every town. But Colorado’s commitment to good libraries is undisputed. From the main branch in Denver’s impressive downtown building to the small intimate branches in neighborhoods all over the Front Range and Western Slope, if you’ve got a library near you, I encourage you to get involved with it, even if it means borrowing an old classic you pretended to read in high school. (I’m reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn right now.)
For the most part, I have to hand it to the Colorado library system for keeping up with the times. Using most systems’ Web sites, you can hold or request materials, pay fines, renew materials, and sometimes browse resources right from your browser. What can really make the difference in your library experience is that some libraries can navigate you to the places at their Web sites where you can gain access to exclusive databases that are otherwise inaccessible or expensive to use otherwise. These kinds of databases can often make a big difference to job seekers looking for work, and businesspeople doing research.
Another library-related resource is Ask Colorado. It’s not officially a part of the library system; rather, it’s a cooperative that literally bridges the gap between librarians and information seekers. Ask Colorado facilitates one-on-one Internet chat rooms around the clock; using the Ask a Question button, anyone with an Internet connection can ask a reference librarian any number of questions about how to find information relevant to any kind of project.
Here are a few of my favorite library branches in Colorado:
Nederland Community Library–Most small mountain towns don’t have much in the way of amenities. But Nederland (just 20 minutes west of Boulder) not only boasts a grocery store, video rental store, hardware outlet, and fitness center, it’s got its own library. It’s a rare thing, and an appreciated one, especially one that’s managed and maintained with a lot of love. If you visit, say hello to Gretchen, the head librarian. She’s passionate about literature and the arts, and always considers special requests.
Rangeview Library System (formerly the Adams County Library), Pearl Mack branch–The Pearl Mack neighborhood is in Adams County, near Denver, in what could be described as an area that’s “underserved” by other arts and culture initiatives. If ever there was a need for a library in Colorado, this area is one of them.
Boulder Public Library, Main branch–In downtown Boulder, on Arapahoe, just off Broadway (map of Broadway). Head librarian, Tony Tallent, keeps a blog. Say hello! Also, this just in: During the course of writing this entry, I learned by way of the Downtown Boulder and Daily Camera Twitter streams that, “Roof leak closes second floor of Boulder Public Library.”
Denver Public Library, Ross-Cherry Creek branch–In the Cherry Creek area of southeast Denver, near the Cherry Creek Mall and the whole Glendale, Cranmer Park, Denver Country Club, Bonnie Brae area. When I lived in the neighborhood, it was one of my favorite locations for a library, as I was doing a lot of shopping then. Uh-hem.
Denver Public Library, Central branch–In the heart of Downtown Denver, you’ll find floors of materials, art, and meetings for people just like you and me…and her and him. The only downside to the DPL central branch is the parking, but if you catch it on a slow day, you’ll find the visit worth it.
I just can’t say it enough: I love libraries. If you you, too, tell me why.
It’s the moment some people have been waiting for. Former Denver Broncos head coach, Mike Shanahan, has put his Cherry Hills Village home on the market. If simple, compact living is your style, however, look elsewhere. Shanahan’s home is 20,000 square feet and sits on a roomy 2.5 acres.
Like it? Home owner’s dues are $4032 quarterly, but you’ll be glad for the security gate once the paparazzi come crawling. You’ll find photos and more information on the estate, priced at $17M, at its 20 Cherry HIlls Park Drive listing page.
I guess when Steven Wright said, “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it all?” he’d never been to dinner at Shanahan’s.
In the good old days in Boulder, you could slide into a parking spot downtown and cross your fingers as you approached the meter. Sometimes, by which I mean quite often, you could score a good fifteen or more minutes, courtesy of the last person who parked there. On occasion, the city would send volunteer goodwill ambassadors (a term I’m making up in the absence of knowing their real titles) around the streets with tokens that they could plunk into a meter that was about to expire. The note they left on the windshield said something like, “Why don’t you take the fifteen dollars we just saved you in parking tickets and put it back into the Boulder economy?” Again, I’m taking some liberties with the details, but you get the idea.
But lately, the city has installed the new-fangled kiosks that print a receipt that you put on the dash of your car. When you’re done with your spot, you drive off, leaving the next person to fend for himself. On the upside, you can pay for your parking with your credit card at one of the many stations along the sidewalks, and since your ticket also serves as a receipt, it makes life easier come tax time. This is a big bonus to the person (like me) who never ever carries coins on her person. On the downside, there’s no way to pull into a slot with time on the meter; unless someone gives you their parking stub with time on it, there’s no more free parking. And I guess to the person (like my husband) who finds poking buttons on a machine fussier than putting coins into a machine, it might annoy you.
But the times are a-changin’ even in Boulder, and if you ever find yourself nostalgic for the good old days, you can still find a few of the old-timey meters with a maximum limit of 30 minutes in front of the downtown post office at 13th and Walnut.
Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by Robin_Gallagher
As you’ve driven in and out of Boulder on 28th Street/Highway 36 at about College Avenue, you’ve noticed the rapid progress being made on two new developments just across the street from Folsom Field and the CU campus.
It’s typically an area that’s known for its buildings and architecture from the ’70s, the pinnacle of which being the landmark First Christian Church (right, as seen in the Jack Nicholson movie About Schmidt). And it’s either great or horrible seeing the kind of progress going up there, depending on how you feel about old things in Boulder vs. Boulder’s new-new things.
Looking out on the mountains and famous flatirons, there are two new-new things: One Penn Place and Landmark Lofts, both stylish and tasteful additions in my opinion, and both right next to each other.
One Penn Place–Four story building of 12 units total on Pennsylvania Avenue, plus top-notch amenities such as a workout facility, meeting room, and 2 parking spaces in a heated garage per unit. With a focus on luxury finishes and appliances, One Penn Place is a residential condominium building of units in the 2,000 square foot range, priced from the mid-500s to up over 1M. You’ll find 2 bedroom or 2 bedroom + study units with open living spaces and some storage.
Landmark Lofts–A larger development of 1, 2, 3, 4 bedroom and penthouse units with about 600-1800 square feet per unit. The difference here is this: What’s outside the units here is almost as important as what’s in. With pathways winding around the buildings, park benches, and casual outdoor meeting spaces, Landmark embraces a more social aspect to its architectural stylings. From the mid-200s to the 700s.
You can take virtual tours of both places, or see them up close and in person by contacting your favorite Boulder REALTOR.
Casey Middle School is getting an overhaul–with the exception of two of its original walls. The school building at 2410 13th Street in Boulder–near Sacred Heart of Jesus–was demolished recently to clear the way for a brand new educational facility. (Casey students will attend classes at Platt Middle School during the 18-month construction project.) The $31 million project is part of the $296.8 million bond program that was approved by Boulder Valley voters in November 2006 for facility improvements throughout Boulder Valley School Districts.
The Casey neighborhood is in north Boulder, near the Boulder Old Town, Mapleton, Downtown, Newlands, Melody Heights, and other Boulder neighborhoods.
Below is some (very) short video of the construction. Note the giant girders holding up the walls while construction crews work behind them.
Boulder’s Casey Middle School Construction from CO Homefinder on Vimeo.
Casey Middle School Construction 2 from CO Homefinder on Vimeo.
We thought it was the hip place to have coffee, drinks, or good vegetarian and organic fare back in the ’90s, probably because it was. And it still is. The Mercury Cafe has been doing good things for Denver and the Five Points area for years. Between being the go-to venue for poetry jams, swing dances, Denver’s hottest bands, community theater, and other celebrations of the arts, the Mercury is one of those places in Denver it’s hard not to root for.
Thanks to its matriarch, Marilyn, “the Merc” is going strong after it settled in the middle of Denver in 1990. She’s a patron and champion of the arts and letters, and it’s good to see there’s room for a place in Colorado like it. After all, who else is going to provide space for an event called Literary Death Match? 
The Mercury Cafe
2199 California Street (see a map of California Street)
Denver, CO 80205
