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Finding Historic Uptown Denver

Published
by
Jody Reale
on September 9, 2008
in Denver Homes
. 0 Comments
Denver, all grown up

Denver, all grown up

Historic Uptown Denver is the little area east of downtown, between Grant & York Streets
and Colfax & 20th Avenues.

What you’ll find there: Mostly luxury high-rise condos and townhomes from the 300s up to over $1M, but you’ll also find a few single family homes and a wide variety of condo and loft arrangements in the 80205 zip code.

How to get there:
From Downtown–Take 17th St. east, past Broadway, where it becomes E. 17th Ave.

From I-25 Southbound–Take exit 213 for Park Ave. and head towards Downtown. Pass Coors Field, then go 11 blocks to Tremont Pl. Turn right (south) at Tremont Pl. Veer slightly left to go straight at the light, onto Grant St. Turn left (east) at E. 17th Ave.

From I-25 Northbound–Take exit 210A to merge onto Colfax Ave. (going east). Turn left (north) at Logan St. Turn right (east) at E. 17th Ave.

Some helpful hints on getting around, from our friends at Mile High Business Alliance:

  • E. 17th Ave. is one way, going east.
  • There is plenty of parking on cross streets. Watch for restrictions.
  • The shops at Uptown Square are located on 19th & 20th between
  • Logan & Washington. From 17th, take Logan north to 19th.

What’s around the corner:

Antique Row
Berkeley / Tennyson St.
Capitol Hill
Cherry Creek North
City Park West
Congress Park
East Colfax
Five Points
Golden Triangle
Governors Park
Highlands Square
Larimer Square
LoDo (Lower Downtown)
LoHi (Lower Highland)
Olde Town Arvada
RiNo (River North)
Santa Fe Arts District
SoBo (South Broadway)
Writer Square
Historic Downtown Littleton

Living and Working in Fort Collins is Where It’s At

Published
by
Jody Reale
on September 7, 2008
in Fort Collins Homes
. 0 Comments
Old Town Fort Collins, photo courtesy of City of Fort Collins

Old Town Fort Collins, photo courtesy of City of Fort Collins

About an hour north of Denver is Colorado’s next sizable city before reaching the Wyoming border and its capital, Cheyenne.  It’s Fort Collins, home to the mighty Cache La Poudre River, Colorado State University, and about 131,000 people.  The city of Fort Collins has been the city of choice for many people, from retirees to young families, and of course, college students.  If you’re looking for homes on the market there, try starting with the basics, such as:  Fort Collins subdivisions, Fort Collins neighborhoods, Fort Collins streets, Fort Collins condos, or Fort Collins zip codes.

Fort Collins was voted in the CNN Money Magazine 2005 poll as one of America’s best places to live, but that’s old news. The new news is that home-to-work commute times are low in the Fort Collins/Larimer County area, and that carpooling is in.  Most Fort Collins residents work within thirty minutes of home, as opposed to commuting to and from outlying areas or the Denver Metro area, and that’s a factor that indicates a high quality of life for most.

If you’re interested in learning more about specific neighborhoods, and where they are in relationship to downtown, the university, the Hewlett Packard facility, and other employers in town, here are some popular Fort Collins neighborhoods:

  • Maple Hill- New starter homes from the mid 100’s to the mid 200’s
  • Fossil Lake- Luxury new homes on the southeast side of Fort Collins
  • Ridgewood Hills- Median home price $285,000, new homes and homes from late nineties.
  • Waterglen- Easy access to I-25 with newer homes 1500-2000 square feet
  • Old Town- Urban living in America’s number #1 rated small city

    • And if your search does take you outside the city limits of Fort Collins, the following is a sampling of neighboring communities in the Fort Collins and northern Colorado area.

    Tinmath
    Laporte
    Severance
    Windsor
    Ault
    Pierce
    >Nunn    		 Wellington
    Loveland
    Masonville
    Bellvue
    Drake
    Livermore
    Red Feather Lakes
    Greeley
    		 Evans
    LaSalle
    Berthoud
    Johnstown
    Milliken
    Gilcrest
    Campion

    The Sister Cities: Greenwood Village and Lone Tree

    Published
    by
    Jody Reale
    on September 4, 2008
    in Denver Homes
    . 0 Comments

    About six miles from each other are the Denver suburbs of Lone Tree and Greenwood Village, two municipalities that hem in Centennial, Colorado, a burgeoning locale south of center that’s popular with professionals and families.

    Lone Tree, known for its quiet, country-oriented surroundings with retail amenities within arms reach, is popular with repeat buyers. It’s known for its own symphony orchestra, and bears the distinction of being one of Money Magazine’s contenders for Best Places to Live 2007. Home prices here average in the 700s, with a wide cross-section of and variety in Lone Tree home styles, such as Lone Tree ranch/one story homes, Lone Tree two story homes, and Lone Tree three or more story homes.

    Greenwood Village is a renowned center of local and national commerce, and is also home to a loyal following of folks who will claim the area as their primary residence, retirement respite, and family reunion site. With generous inventory, it’s where life and work meet for most, at a price that’s on the high side. To get a glimpse of Greenwood Village’s geography and listings hot spots, see the collection of Greenwood Village neighborhoods with interactive maps.

    Boulder and Estes Park Run Wild

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on September 2, 2008
    in Estes Park
    . 0 Comments

    Just because the world-famous Bolder Boulder race is over this year, it’s not time to hang up your sneakers. Because, as if there wasn’t enough to do in Estes Park this summer, the Estes Park version of the Bolder Boulder–the Sombrero Trail Run–is taking place on Saturday, September 13, 2008.

    All the running, hiking, climbing, and outdoor frolicking aren’t the only things that Estes and Boulder have in common, however. For starters, take a look at the geography of Boulder (map of Boulder homes) and Estes Park (map of Estes Park homes.) Among other things, they’re both sweetheart towns with a quality of life standard that includes great natural scenery and surroundings, a laid-back, down-home atmosphere, and scads of arts and culture experiences. In both Boulder and Estes Park, downtown is where the action is, with most full-time residents taking to the outskirts of town to build their nests.

    In Estes Park, today’s most active neighborhood markets include:

    Carriage Hills
    Fall River Village
    Fall River Estates
    Park River West
    Kiowa Ridge
    Windcliff Estates
    Meadowdale Hills
    Country Club Manor

    In Boulder, today’s most active neighborhood markets include:

    Landmark Lofts
    The Walnut
    University Place
    Pine Brook Hills
    Northfield Commons

    If you’re a homebuyer who’s considering either town, take your own private tour with either an Estes Park REALTOR or a Boulder REALTOR for an expert opinion on the market and lifestyle of these two Colorado keepers.

    Denver’s Historical Neighborhoods: Clement’s Addition

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on August 31, 2008
    in Denver neighborhoods
    . 0 Comments

    If you mentioned the name “Clement’s Addition“ to anyone under the age of sixty, you would likely be met with a confused look. No, Clement’s Addition is not the name of the contracting company your friend hired to pop the top on his two-bedroom bungalow. Although it’s one of Denver’s more interesting, celebrated, and historic communities, Clement’s is not always recognized by name. Much like a lesser-known working actor, you’ll recognize Clement’s Addition when you see it; you just didn’t know its name.

    Where It Is: Southeast of Lower Downtown (LoDo) between 20th and 22nd Streets (see map of 20th Street), from Tremont Place (map of Tremont) to Glenarm Place (map of Glenarm).

    What It Is: Clement’s Addition is a little sliver of old Denver; it’s the oldest intact block of housing in the city, along with Curtis Park, which remains remarkably intact north of 23rd Street (map of 23rd Steet). South of the line, however, there isn’t much residential remaining with any regularity. The exception is the Arapahoe Square area, with what is becoming a less sparsely-housed neighborhood just west of Clement’s. Clement’s Addition proper is the one surviving block that staved off the bulldozers and wrecking balls of the mid-70’s that made way for the 1976 Winter Olympics Housing.

    What’s Nearby: The arts and lit scene, eg the Thomas Hornsby Ferril House on 2123 Downing Street, now home to the Lighthouse Writers Workshop and formerly other fine nonprofit organizations in service to Denver and its people (Ferril was Colorado’s Poet Laureate from the late ’70s until his death in 1988). Also Benedict Fountain Park, Curtis Park, Arapahoe Square, Ballpark, Central Business District, LoDo, Park Avenue Addition, and numerous lightrail stations.

    What’s to See: A new 32-story luxury high-rise at 1950 Welton Street, historic single-family homes, historic office conversions, brand-new, one-of-a-kind brownstones at 2137 Glenarm Place, and more.

    Also Known As: A part of the greater neighborhood area known as Uptown.

    The Peleton: Boulder’s New New Thing

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on August 29, 2008
    in Boulder Condos
    . 1 Comment
    A New-New Kind of Peloton

    A New-New Kind of Peloton

    For those of you who were around Boulder during its first tech heyday, you may still refer to the area around 33rd and Arapahoe as the former site of the Exabyte campus. No more.

    Because now with an undeniable presence, including a 22,000 foot community center that was finished and fully functional even before the first residents had set foot in their homes, The Peloton is going to teach you a lesson in what’s new at 3601 Arapahoe.

    What’s There: Brand new single-floor condos with high-end finishes, such as slab granite counter tops, maple cabinets, and stainless steel appliances. Top of the line landscaping, private courtyards and a dog park. And that community center everyone’s been talking about - think movie theater with leather seats and heated rooftop pool for year-round shenanigans. Secured underground and surface parking and lobby bike lockers in a mixed-use environment. Choose from sixty different floor plans ranging from about 800 to 1900 square feet, each with a private patio or balcony. Oh, and did somebody say mountain views?

    How much: Priced from the mid-300s to the mid-900s and up, 38 of the 385 units will be part of Boulder’s affordable-housing program.

    Other attractions: Walking distance to 29th Street Mall (with transit to Village coming soon), easy commuter access to highway 36 via Foothills Parkway, University of Colorado, the Foothills Campus of Boulder Community Hospital, downtown Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, and NoBo area neighborhoods.

    Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by cmrowell

    What Estes Park, Boulder and Evergreen Have in Common

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on August 27, 2008
    in Colorado Homes
    . 0 Comments

    Bear Warning

    Fair Bear Warning

    This isn’t one of those jokes that starts with a rabbi, a priest, and a minister walking into a bar. It does involve bears, however.

    Into the Wild (Kind of)
    When relocating to Estes Park, Boulder, Evergreen, Lyons, and other towns with lots of lurking wildlife, new residents find themselves charged with the task of making slight lifestyle changes to accommodate their more rugged environment.

    To wit…
    The Bear Wagon recently made the rounds in the South Boulder neighborhood, or SoBo as we’ve been known to call it. It’s mission: educate residents and renters on what kinds of attractants can lure bears and other wildlife, such as mountain lions, into the neighborhood, thus endangering people and the bears themselves.

    Why?
    Bears who are found making a nuisance of themselves in residential areas are transported back into the wilderness, unless they become repeat offenders, in which case they are eventually destroyed. To prevent such a lose-lose situation, residents in areas with high wildlife populations are encouraged to leave their trash containers inside garages and sheds, or to bear-proof them.

    The Bear Basics
    Leaving food out is always a no-no, and in towns farther into the mountains, such as Nederland, it’s recommended that residents take extra precautions to protect not only their disposables, but their domestic animals and livestock as well.

    Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by ground.zero

    Estes Park Accolades

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on August 24, 2008
    in Colorado Homes
    . 0 Comments

    Estes Park, CO

    View of Estes Park looking west

    In the spring of 2008 Estes Park homes and property owners were thrilled to learn that the town had won four different and important honors as a top place to spend a day or a vacation. They were: The Weather Channel, Kids Pages, the Greeley Tribune and TripAdvisor.com, all of which touted Estes as a top travel destination. It would stand to reason, then, that Estes Park is a pretty nice place to live, too. (Here’s a map of where the 100 newest Estes Park home listings are.)

    Geographically, it’s not far from Fort Collins, which was named as one of Money Magazine’s best places to live in 2006. And with the Estes Park climate, amenities, and accessibility to Boulder to the south, Fort Collins and Windsor to the north, and Loveland and Greeley to the east, Estes Park lives at the residential intersection of outdoor recreation, the arts, and business. By the way, how many towns can say they’re home to a 14-thousand-foot-peak and a national park (Rocky Mountain National Park) full of the flora and fauna Colorado is known for?

    Take a spin by some Estes Park homes and real estate, and see its surrounding areas for a virtual taste of what the press and visitors have known since before the (in)famous Stanley Hotel broke ground: that when it comes to accessible mountain living, Estes Park marks the spot.

    Photo by –Creative Commons, by rjones0856

    Down to the Grout with Home Improvements

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on August 22, 2008
    in Home Selling Tips
    . 0 Comments

    If your bTile and groutathroom, kitchen or floor tiles are looking a little rough, consider renewing the grout, especially if re-tiling an area is out of the question. Considering that grout is dramatically less expensive than tile, your main decision has to do with choosing a grout color, which was recently simplified at Ask a Floor Guy.

    There are hundreds of grout colors, it’s true, but according to everyone’s favorite flooring expert, you can simplify your choices in grouts by:

    • matching your tile color
    • choosing contrasting grout color
    • choosing a neutral grout color

    Keep in mind that darker grouts tend to hide stains better, while lighter colors can showcase the tiles or accent a design. In any case, re-grouting is bound to improve and freshen the overall look of your home, and therefore is a great addition to any home seller’s strategy. Happy home selling.

    Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by juhansonin

    Getting to Know SoBo

    Published
    by
    Lane Hornung
    on August 19, 2008
    in Boulder Homes
    . 0 Comments

    SoBo

    If you’ve never been to South Boulder, or SoBo as Boulderites have started to call it, it’s the end of Boulder off closest to Golden, and is also sometimes referred to as the smaller neighborhood components of Table Mesa, Martin Acres, Devil’s Thumb, Shanahan Ridge, and others.

    Here’s who lives in SoBo, according to Zillow:

    • Fab Families - High-income, high-profile couples with children.
    • Corporate Cats - High-income, high-expense, “upwardly mobile” urban singles.
    • Bright Lights, Big City - Very mobile, well-traveled singles from the city.

    That’s pretty interesting, considering:

    • The high concentration of retirees there.
    • A higher concentration of residents hailing from the Northeast.
    • SoBo-ites tend to get to work by bicycle, and make good use of the South Boulder Recreation Center.

    Take a personalized tour through SoBo and draw your own conclusions.