Secret Room? [Client Tour | 2935 13th Street]
Earlier this year, we did a remote tour for our clients of 2935 13th Street. Located in the Washington Village Cohousing Community. This home is a luxury three bedroom, four bath with about 3,500 F. SQFT. As the video below shows, the home had a number of unique and interesting features, including an unusual secret room. Originally listed at $1.75M, 2935 13th Street was available for about three weeks and sold for $1.71M in April. Note: we produce remote video tours for clients who can't attend showings in person, due to schedule or traveling distance, and are afraid of missing an opportunity. [...]
Washington Village Update [Pics!]
by Osman Parvez To help prepare for the upcoming meetup on development, I've been visiting local projects underway. Washington Village I last posted about Washington Village when they broke ground three years ago but the project actually dates back at least six years. The developer ran into community opposition and a market downturn, gumming up the works. Let that be a lesson to would be developers. In Boulder, it's smart to have community buy-in. Read more of my coverage of Washington Village HERE. Here are my favorite pics: The developer describes the [...]
Washington Village Update
by Osman Parvez ---- Here's another chance to speak up and get involved. Boulder's Planning Board is hosting a public hearing on the revised Washington Village site and use review application. It will be held at 6pm on Thursday, January 8th at the Municipal Building (1777 Broadway). City staff have reviewed the revised applications that were submitted by the developer on Nov. 17, 2008. The applications are now required to go to the Planning Board. If you can't attend the public hearing, feedback on the application can also be provided to Karl Guiler at 303- 441-4236 or guilerk@bouldercolorado.gov. ---- ---- [...]
Washington School Development – What’s Next?
by Osman Parvez ---- This just in from the City... ---------- Wonderland Hill Development Company (WHDC) will host a public open house to present the Washington Village revised site design from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, at Washington School, 1215 Cedar Ave. Representatives from WHDC will be available to answer questions after the presentation. The city will begin its review of the site review application on Monday, Oct. 6. At that time, city staff will post the revised site review application on the city Web site for public review. Interested parties will be able send comments to [...]
A Lot to Lose
by Osman Parvez ---- A quarter of the 9000+ signatures gathered by opponents of Washington Village were not registered to vote in Boulder. The group is just 86 short. With 10 days and their well organized efforts, there's no doubt they'll get the signatures needed to certify their petition. It's a given. So now what? It will first go to City Council, with four new members (of seven total), who can choose to reverse their decision to change zoning to allow the Washington Village project. There's a fair chance that the new members will help the Council's decision. If not, [...]
Washington Village Under Fire
by Osman Parvez ---- Neighbors of the Washington Village Cohousing Development filed a lawsuit today. From the Daily Camera: The lawsuit, brought by neighbors who live next to the former Washington School at 1215 Cedar Ave., alleges the Boulder City Council broke the law in changing zoning lines to accommodate a proposal to build homes, condominiums, commercial space and a "co-housing" community. The complaint lists as defendants the city of Boulder, the City Council and the Wonderland Hill Development Company, which brought the plan forward. The suit contends that the zoning change broke the law because it "confers a special [...]
The Washington Village Petition
by Osman Parvez ---- They're everywhere. On street corners waving signs, canvassing neighborhoods door to door. Their goal? Collect enough signatures to force a referendum on the Washington Village development. If you're a reader of this blog or participate in a neighborhood email list (highly recommended), you've already heard some of the debate. On Sunday, the developer was granted an audience via an opinion piece in the Daily Camera. I've already presented the views of the neighborhood association. Here's what Jim Leach thinks (an excerpt, trimmed): These neighbors ask you to sign in order to "allow the people to be [...]
You Can Fight City Hall
by Osman Parvez ---- Sharp eyed readers probably caught this picture in my recent slide show from the Farmer's Market. As you probably already know, the folks organizing against the Washington Village Cohousing Project have stepped up their efforts. That's right, in the face of City Council's ruling to allow the development, the neighborhood group is attempting to gather enough signatures to have a referendum on the matter. From the Washington Neighborhood Association: On October 23rd, 2007 the Boulder, Colorado City Council voted 7 to 1 (Crystal Gray, opposed) in favor of decimating the site of our neighborhood's most treasured [...]
What’s Next for Washington Village
by Osman Parvez ---- Now that the developer has conditional approval, what's next for the project? It seems a push for sales given an upcoming deadline for closing. From the Daily Camera: There are still details to be figured out. The City Council approved the project on the condition that Leach wait to develop two of the single-family housing lots to give the city — or another buyer — a chance to purchase them and convert them into park space. Leach said he's hoping neighbors — many of whom opposed the project — will urge the city to find the [...]
Washington School Update
by Osman Parvez ---- The Washington School Cohousing Project was granted conditional approval from the Planning Board on Friday. ~300 people showed up for the meeting which lasted 8 hours. From The Daily Camera: The decision to approve the plan with a series of conditions — including a requirement that the developer provide more open space — may not be the final one. The City Council could decide to review, and possibly revise or even overturn, the Planning Board's decision. and Among the most significant [conditions] is the development will be required to provide more open space to the neighborhood. [...]
A Storm Brewing on Washington Street
by Osman Parvez ---- It was about a year ago when I sat in a workshop directed at buyers of property at the Washington Street School development. I joined an interesting exercise directed at developing a vision for what this community would look like. Although I eventually passed on the project, little did I imagine the storm brewing today. The development is aimed at turning the former school property into a cohousing community, under the direction of Jim Leach and Wonderland Hills Development Corporation. The project, which gained some preliminary approvals from the City and has been in process for [...]
The Washington Street School Debate Rages
by Osman Parvez ---- Here's more open dialogue occurring around the Washington Street School Re-Development Project. This continues from my previous post. From Greg Sherwin: Hi John and Washington School Neighbors, Thank you, John, for taking the time to share your “neighborhood” perspective about Wonderland Hills, BVSD, the City government and yourselves as Washington School neighbors. I am receiving an education. The gift that you have given me, and ultimately perhaps yourselves, is detailing your reasoning for your chosen course of action to try and kill this Wonderland Hills proposed development of this site. I can now offer another perspective [...]
Boulder Development Map
by Osman Parvez ---- Although I planned to hike and camp this weekend, rain in the mountains and a leaky tent convinced us to cut the trip short. The good news is that the break allowed time to catch up on the latest Boulder real estate development projects. I rode around town on my bike, running errands and stopping by construction sites. The result is a custom Google map with photos highlighting projects. Green - Projects in some stage of the planning process. Purple - Projects underway. Blue - Complete or mostly complete projects. Click HERE to visit the new [...]
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Testimonials
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.
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.
