Land Swap: CU South for CU North?
At last night's Council meeting, staff revealed they are in discussions with CU for a land swap. This citizen inspired idea means that instead of investing tens of millions to re-engineer the flood plain, CU will trade mostly swamp land for nice, dry acreage (with a pretty view) in the Planning Reserve. Of course, CU South is not just swamp land. It's de facto open space, used by dozens of people every day to run, walk, and exercise their dogs. The wetland areas are also home to abundant wildlife. It's a scenic part of Boulder, although not on most trail [...]
The Cheap Doorbell Was A Clue [Red Flags]
How can you mess up a listing? Oh, let us count the ways. Last summer, I took the House Einstein team to check out a new high-end property. Seeing listings as a team is a great way to keep tabs on the market, and on a perfect Boulder day, it sure beats a stuffy office meeting. On paper, the home was impressive; the $3MM asking price set an expectation that we were about to see something quite special. It had been recently completed, and the photos showed a modern exterior coupled with an open floor plan and multiple indoor and outdoor living [...]
Tantra Lake Holds Steady [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez ---- With the future development of CU South in play, prices for condos at Tantra Lake have appeared to level out. A basic 2 bed, 2 bath closed this week for $425K. It was not remarkable, with average finishes and no views (listing detail). Will prices rise further this spring and summer? Talk to your real estate adviser. This is a good development to track for the impact of South Boulder CU campus. Here's the chart: note: Data for the chart above utilizes data from both IRES and REColorado. Comprehensive analysis requires a compilation of both [...]
Investing in Longmont? Consider the Strategic Risks and Rewards
by Osman Parvez ---- Longmont is the place to be. Downtown is booming and more trendy restaurants, breweries, art galleries, and boutique retailers are opening by the day. Longmont has beautiful family friendly community spaces and multi-use paths. It also has fewer transient issues and noticeably fewer tourists than Boulder. In short, it's attractive and affordable. From the southwest corner of town, it's only about a fifteen minute drive to Google's new campus. It's also about to get much better in the future. As House Einstein's business continues to expand throughout Boulder County, I find myself increasingly advising investment [...]
The Boulder Armory Project – What You Need To Know
by Osman Parvez ---- In North Boulder, sandwiched between Uptown Broadway, the Holiday Neighborhood, and a storage facility sits the Boulder Armory project. It's an 8.5 acre patch of land located at 4750 N. Broadway with derelict, long-vacant industrial buildings previously used by the National Guard. The long vacant National Guard Amory In May of this year, Armory Community, LLC exercised its option and acquired the property. The developer hopes to soon have approval from the City of Boulder for the issuance of permits. Previous plans included public art and community space but that idea was nixed when the developer [...]
Google Construction Update
by Osman Parvez ---- The construction of Google's new office building at 30th and Pearl is making excellent progress. We expect it will be ready for occupants by the end of 2017. Video below. ---- Want to get blog updates via email? Click HERE. Ready to buy or sell? Schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896. You can also like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.As always, your referrals are deeply appreciated. -- The ideas and strategies described in this blog are the opinion of the writer and subject to business, economic, and competitive uncertainties. [...]
Development Map Update | Food Truck Parks and Contentious Affordable Housing
by Osman Parvez ---- I woke up early expecting to shovel this morning. Sadly, there was no white stuff on the ground. Here's a Development Map update instead. Added 11/17/15 BHP's new affordable housing development - at 4525 Palo Parkway (44 tri-plexes, townhouses and apartment units in nine buildings. Units will consist of 13 one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units and 17 three-bedroom units). Tempers are boiling over and there are LOTS of negative comments from the neighbors on this project. Expect the planning board meeting on 11/19 to be contentious. Read the public comments in the 600+ page board packet. The [...]
Development Map Updates
by Osman Parvez ---- Time for updates to our development map. - S'park, located just North of Boulder Junction. Sutherland Park will feature 246 residential units spread across multiple buildings in a mixed use development. Only 25 residential units will be for sale. The rest are rentals of which 45 will be affordable housing and the remaining, market-rate. I wonder if the low rate of owner occupancy will impact financing and marketability. Time will tell. Pearl West Making Progress - Boulder Junction Townhomes, located next to Boulder RV on 30th Street. 32 row houses having 3 bedrooms each, surrounding a [...]
Long’s Urban Oasis
by Osman Parvez ---- If you're new to Boulder, you've probably wondered about Long's Gardens - a patch of land visible from Broadway, just North of the North Boulder Rec Center. It's a third generation Iris farm founded in 1905 with a long history in Boulder. Check out this video: From a real estate perspective, this patch of land is unique in Boulder. It's the city's only urban farm with 15+ acres of land being utilized by Long's Garden, the Mountain Flower Dairy, and Growing Gardens. I would like to see this land protected by a permanent conservation [...]
Short Term Rentals and Over Occupancy Enforcement [Council Watch]
by Osman Parvez ---- We attended last night's City Council meeting. Council approved an ordinance limiting short-term rentals to primary homeowners for up to 120 days. Rental licenses would be required. Once implemented, second home owners will not be able to rent their property legally. Implementation won't begin until January. Council's supposed intention is to encourage long term rentals. While council members considered the impact to second home owners, and acknowledged it would catch some people in the net they didn't want, they passed the ordinance anyway. I expect the impact will be a new revenue stream for the [...]
Boulder Junction, What’s Your Function?
by Osman Parvez ---- Mayor Matt Appelbaum unveils Boulder Junction Last week, we attended the long awaited grand opening of Boulder Junction. Hard to believe we've been covering this development for a decade. Back when it was originally called Transit Village, the concept plans involved many thousands of units and massive amounts of new jobs. What Were We Promised? - 8,000 future jobs - 5,000 housing units (1,000 affordable) - Light rail to Denver What Did We Get? - Solana (319 high-end rental apartments) - RTD bus station - Hyatt Place Hotel (150 rooms) What's Next: - Depot Square (71 [...]
Pop Or Not?
by Osman Parvez ---- Martin Acres is one of our favorite Boulder neighborhoods. Everyone from growing families to college students put their roots down, making the area a diverse part of town. Many of the original owners are still residing in the neighborhood. Martin Park is one of the locations best amenities, along with close access to the rest of South Boulder and its many retail and recreational offerings. Over the years, many owners within the neighborhood have chosen to "pop the top" and expand their homes from the typical original 1950's ranch style. A unique group have completely [...]
Civic Area Design Initiative
The Boulder City Council is working on a plan to implement new designs and updates in Downtown Civic Area Park to better suit the City's needs. They have decided to turn to us, the citizens, for creative ideas! They're calling it the Civic Area Design Inspiration Initiative. Artists, architects and creative thinkers of all types are encouraged to submit their thoughts, pictures, drawings and ideas HERE in this three part survey. They are running three phases of the design initiative, and the deadline for phase one is July 10th. Since the passing of the Community, Culture and Safety tax initiative in November 2014, [...]
The Plutonium Dust Bowl | Rocky Flats
by Osman Parvez ---- A few months ago I met with prospective clients moving from California. They said they needed at least three bedrooms, a decent size garage, and preferred something newer so they could spend less time dealing with maintenance. They didn't know much about Boulder and were open to location, including "the L's" (Louisville, Longmont, and Lafayette). After our meeting, I gave them our neighborhood guide and sent them out on a driving tour. I also set them up with MLS listing alerts (much better than Zillow, Trulia, Redfin) that matched their search criteria and price [...]
Turkey Plant Re-Development [Pics]
by Osman Parvez ---- Demolition at the former Butterball/ConAgra plant in downtown Longmont continues. As discussed previously, this 27.5 acre development is a massive indicator that Longmont is set for significant and rapid change. The mixed use development will feature 250-300 residential units, commercial, and industrial spaces. Wibby brewing space for an 8,300 SF brewery next door which will include a substantial taproom and outdoor patio. Plans are not yet final but the litigation cloud that slowed the process has been lifted. Here's a few pics from our photo set. Here's our development map. Other indicators of [...]
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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.
