The Sky is Not the Limit | A History of Boulder’s 55′ Height Limit
by Osman Parvez Close your eyes. Imagine what Boulder would look like with 300 foot buildings stretching from downtown to 33rd street. Believe it or not, once upon a time, Boulder City Council was seriously considering allowing this to happen. a future that didn't happen in Boulder In November 1967, CU law school student Ruth Wright wrote a seminar paper called "History of Height Control and Environmental Aspects." It sparked a movement which led to the passage of an amendment to the city charter limiting the height of buildings to 55 feet. The amendment saved historic buildings in [...]
Come, Get Your Fall On [Events]
by Osman Parvez UPDATE: The Community Harvest Festival has been postponed until next Wednesday, October 8th. Are you ready for fall? Here's an event you should put on your calendar: Growing Garden's Community Harvest Festival Bring on the pumpkins! It's a family friendly event with pumpkin and face painting, live bluegrass, a beer garden sponsored by Post Brewing, and Oskar Blue's Chuburger Bonewagon (food truck). It's also held in one of the nicest autumn spots in town, the Growing Gardens Urban Farm on Hawthorne Ave. When: Wednesday October 1st 8th, 4pm to 7:30pm. Where: Growing Gardens, 1630 Hawthorne [...]
Boulder, Can We Talk?
by Osman Parvez Here's how last night's meeting went. Sam Weaver withdrew his ill considered proposal for a 9 month emergency moratorium and Council narrowly voted against a comprehensive development strategy. The vote was 5-4 against and interestingly, fell along gender lines with male council members against the measure. Construction Continues at the Wencel Building (9/17/14) As I mentioned in recent blog posts, Boulder needs an efficient public process that results in a shared vision for our future but enacting emergency powers to halt all new permits (of substantial size) wasn't the right approach. I'm glad City Council [...]
More on the Moratorium
by Osman Parvez A few additional thoughts to my post yesterday on Council Member Sam Weaver's proposal for a moratorium on building permits. 1. I'm not against additional study and public process. I'm for that. I'm against using emergency ordinances as a policy tool. 2. If you're against the emergency moratorium, consider signing this petition. You can also email Council directly at Council@BoulderColorado.gov and attend tonight's public meetings. 3. Erica Meltzer's Daily Camera article is informative. Here's an excerpt from my favorite comment: If we don't like how a few buildings turned out -- that, by the way, house [...]
Council Seeks 9 Month Ban on Building Permits [Aspenization]
by Osman Parvez Heads Up. Boulder City Council is preparing to vote on another emergency ordinance on Tuesday. The proposed ordinance is below. Links and bold text are my additions. The proposal is from Council Member Sam Weaver and of course, Plan Boulder supports the measure. ----- (a) the City Manager be directed to not accept applications for any Site Review as defined under BRC 9-2-14, or any review where land use intensity modifications or height modifications are requested, nor issue building permits for structures not already approved under such reviews except as provided in (c) below, and not [...]
Fed Releases Rental Study, Surprises No One
by Osman Parvez Can the next generation afford to buy? Short answer: not so much. That's one of the not so surprising conclusions from a recent Fed study. Income has not kept pace with real estate appreciation while the cost of higher education has continued to rise. Meanwhile, the majority of people - including most renters - think buying is a smart idea. From the WSJ: Why More Renters Aren't Buying (Hint: Weak Incomes, Savings): Around three in five respondents think that buying a home in their ZIP Code is a good investment, compared with one [...]
Full Steam Ahead: 1707 Walnut Street
by Osman Parvez Framing is nearing completion at 1707 Walnut Street. This new 3 story building will feature 26 units and underground parking. The permit pulled on 12/16/13 was for $3.7MM. The developer has begun pre-leasing with move in dates beginning in 1Q15. These modern urban lofts will feature interior finishes that include hardwood flooring, hardwood cabinets, solid surface counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Parking and storage are available. Here's what rent looks like. Additional Resources: Boulder Development Map --- Like this analysis? Subscribe to my research. Ready to buy [...]
End of Summer Boulder Market Wrap Up [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez Ready for another look at market conditions in Boulder? Straight to the charts... This chart shows total inventory for houses (blue) and condos and town Homes (orange). Total inventory (which includes pending, active/backup, and active listings) has been dropping from late June through Labor Day. There are now 25% fewer houses on the market. Condos and town homes have fallen 33%. If you're a regular blog reader, you know that this seasonal pattern is normal for Boulder. Inventory grows in January and peaks in June before reaching a bottom in December. What's [...]
Council Looking for Ways to Increase Hobos Downtown
by Osman Parvez This is a controversial topic. I'm probably going to offend some people. I'm still diving in... Last week, the Daily Camera published Message to Boulder Council: Fight homeless with more housing. Here's the lede: The solution to homelessness is housing. That was the message the Boulder City Council heard from a series of speakers... If that's the primary message Council is getting, no wonder they're tone deaf to the community's outrage. The comments section nails it. Here's the top rated one: Oh give me a break. My wife can't even walk [...]
Narrowing the Gap [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez Boulder real estate is cheap. What's that you say? Huh? Oh sure, it's pricey when you compare it to places like Omaha and Kansas City. Try comparing it to places you'd actually want to live - communities with fantastic public schools, a healthy economy, amazing weather and outdoor rec opportunities, a highly educated population, a research university, and proximity to a major airport hub. It's a short list. It's no secret why Boulder keeps attracting new residents (here's why). Despite the relentless demand, we're not building significant amounts of new housing within city limits. [...]
Violet Park – What’s the Vision?
by Osman Parvez What does the future of this park look like? Wait - where is Violet Park, again? If you don't know, you're not alone. It's located on Violet Avenue, just east of Broadway. It's directly adjacent to Violet Crossing. Here's a map of the area. For now, Violet park is city owned open space. It's slated for a future park, however. For nearby residents, the park has the potential to add serious value. It's also directly adjacent to the North Boulder Sub Community and Nobo Arts District. The 2014 approved budget shows $500,000 going into the [...]
How Tight Can You Squeeze? [Development]
by Osman Parvez Earlier this week, Boulder City Council enacted a moratorium on building permits for multi-family housing on University Hill. Did you catch it? The (cough) emergency moratorium runs through March 18, 2015. Sound familiar? Long term blog readers may recall this was the very same tactic Council used in their opening salvo against view blocking large houses in Newlands. It eventually led to the Compatible Development Ordinance - rules limiting house sizes and certain architectural design elements such as so called "looming walls." In economic circles, this is called squeezing the balloon. CU plans to expand [...]
City Budget Swells to Supersize
by Osman Parvez So - just how big is the City of Boulder's budget? I don't know about you, but I find myself wondering every time I see our municipal fleet rolling around town. specialty vehicles for all! In case you don't have time to sift through hundreds of pages of budget-ese, I'll tell you. The total 2014 budget is $269.5 million, or about $2,700 for each and every Boulder resident. 84% is for operating purposes, the rest allocated to capital improvements. Here's something that should concern you. Boulder's budget has grown an average of 6.2% over the past [...]
Sorry Boulder Sellers, You Blew It.
by Osman Parvez Ahh... Autumn's in the air. If you're a boulder real estate seller, I've got bad news for you. The summer selling season is OVER. The following charts show the percentage change in Inventory from about two months ago. As you can see in the charts above, active listings - those you can actually buy - have dropped nearly 10% for houses and a whopping 25% for attached dwellings (condos, townhomes, etc). Listings that are pending (about to close) or under contract have fallen a massive 38% for houses and 30% for attached dwellings, respectively. note: [...]
It’s Time to Preserve Long’s Gardens [Speak Up!]
by Osman Parvez The Hawthorn Community Garden is located on Long's Farm Long’s Gardens is a third generation, family owned and operated iris farm in the middle of Boulder. This near 100 year old farm is situated on about 25 acres at 3480 Broadway, essentially the heart of Boulder. It's also home to Growing Gardens, a Boulder-based non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich the lives of our community through sustainable urban agriculture (Full disclosure: I serve on the Board for Growing Gardens) City Council has a public discussion scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm on preservation efforts at Long's Gardens. [...]
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Testimonials
We can highly recommend Sophie. Her attention to detail and communication skills are great. Our home was in area that most realtors are not familiar with, but Sophie took extra time to get to know the neighborhood in order to give us quality service. She also brought in a professional photographer to make our home look its best. Even though the listing was in winter, the house sold quickly. With Sophie’s business and people skills, we have no doubt she will be a top realtor in the area.
Osman was a refreshingly honest realtor. He stressed through the entire process that his goal was to make me happy with my home purchase. I greatly appreciated the fact that he never shied away from pointing out the negatives as well as the pluses of different places while leaving the final decision up to me.
