Antique Boutique

September 28, 2013 by

Antique Boutique

September 28 – October 6, 2013

Historic Boulder is hosting an upscale pop-up Antique Boutique this month at the corner of 9th and Pearl streets. We will offer fine furniture, lamps and lighting fixtures, and trunks from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as midcentury dishware sets and chairs, complemented by smaller collectables and other items, such as rare antique children’s books and silver flatware sets. Come find future heirlooms, the perfect holiday gift, or something “new” for your home! All proceeds directly support the next phase of the rehabilitation of the Hannah Barker House, Historic Boulder’s current focus and our most ambitious project to date. Find out more on our website here: http://www.historicboulder.org/the_hannah_barker_house.html.

 

Read the full article here: Antique Boutique

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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It’s Time to Rebuild Jamestown

September 27, 2013 by

 

It’s Time to Rebuild Jamestown

rebuild jamestown

It used to be nestled at the top of a decent bike climb. You could race your friends and swap stories all the way up about how out of shape you were or blame last night’s dinner for your molasses-like speed. You could peel left and head to Ward if you were a glutton for punishment or stay straight (or as straight as the canyon would allow) and find yourself in the idyllic mountain town of Jamestown.

On July 4th, you could join waves of other cyclists and be met at the top with the Jamestown volunteer fire department’s annual pancake breakfast (with bacon for an extra buck or two — ummm, yes?). You could also get suckered in by friends to ride the Super Jamestown route, taking you up and over Jamestown to the Peak to Peak Highway and back into Lyons.

Personally, I only let that suckering happen once. Six hours later. I never said I was fast.

But the floods. Criminy, the floods have wiped out Jamestown. A town is gone, a destination wiped from the map. The former owner of the Jamestown Mercantile even died when his house collapsed.

It’s time, however, to help rebuild Jamestown. So, if you love Jamestown like I do, head on over to Rebuild Jamestown. You’ll be able to read about what they lost and what’s left, along with how you can make a donation to help bring the town back on the map. You can also stop by their new Facebook page for updates.

And sure — they’re getting financial assistance from FEMA andBoulder County, but as their neighbors, it’s the least we can do to chip in and help. The whole town operated on a budget of $56,000 per year and most of us can’t imagine LIVING on a budget like that.

You can make an online donation directly here (be sure to designate REBUILD JAMESTOWN in the drop down menu). The Boulder floods won’t keep us down. Let’s do our part to help our neighbors up the hill we all loved to climb build back up once again.

 

By Erika Napoletano www.YourBoulder.com
 

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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The Goat at the Garage

September 16, 2013 by

 

The Goat at the Garage

laughing goatEveryone knows about The Laughing Goat on the east end of Pearl Street andcollege students frequent the Goat on the CU campus. But now, there’s a new member to the Goat family. The Baby Goat, also known as The Goat at the Garage, is adjacent to the Green Garage on the corner of 55th and Pearl. Those of us in the neighborhood, or waiting on car work at the Garage, couldn’t be happier. Or more caffeinated.

Along with the many tables inside, the Goat folk have built out a nice front patio, complete with benches and a swing. Sturdy wooden partitions give the area asense of space and the owners can be complimented on creating something relaxing out of a difficult location. It’s easy to ooze ambience on Pearl Street but a little harder in a light industrial setting. The Goat has a bike rack on the way and features lots of parking for cars. You can almost forget that a post office is right next door. Almost.

The coffee, roasted by the Kaladi Brothers of Denver, is just as delicious at this location as the Goat downtown, the baristas just as helpful and the gluten freepastries just as plentiful. At this Goat though, you don’t have to worry about fighting anyone to get a table.

The coffee shop has only been open since the beginning of summer so plans for nighttime entertainment are still in the works. While there are definite challenges to being located in East Boulder, the close proximity to the bike path and Valmont Bike Park make The Baby Goat most welcome in the growing scene out east. All the people drinking beer at all those microbreweries within a one-mile radius of the coffee shop are going to need to pep up if they want to keep drinking beer at all those microbreweries.

Tara Callihan, YourBoulder

 

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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98 Anemone Dr • Boulder, 80302

September 4, 2013 by

98 Anemone Dr • Boulder, 80302

Beautiful new listing!

98 Anemone Dr., Boulder

3 beds, 4 baths, 2628 square feet

Best lot in Seven Hills subdivision. It’s rare to find such an idyllic mountain retreat with its privacy & natural beauty just five minutes to the Pearl Street Mall! Set on a lot with fenced yard area and good usable land, you’ll enjoy the abundant outdoor spaces & marvel at the foothills and city views. Kitchen has granite counters & radiant heated stone floors, all bathed in southern sunlight. Hot water radiant floor heat, over-sized 2 car garage. A unique property in an incredible setting!

Boulder homes for sale

 

John Marcotte

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Colorado 26th for foreclosures

August 29, 2013 by

 Colorado 26th for foreclosures

 

Foreclosures may be dwindling in Denver, but they aren't totally gone. The Bank of New York Mellon acquired this 1,101-square-foot home in July in a foreclosure, according to public records.

Foreclosures may be dwindling in Denver, but they aren’t totally gone. The Bank of New York Mellon acquired this 1,101-square-foot home in July in a foreclosure, according to public records.

The era of Colorado being considered the poster child for foreclosure activity appears to be long over.

Colorado ranked 26th in foreclosure activity in July, according to a national report released today by RealtyTrac.

In fact, Colorado and a handful of other states are now either at or below foreclosure levels where they were before the housing bubble burst, according to RealtyTrac.

About a half-dozen years ago, when the national real estate bubble was peaking, Colorado and the Denver area experienced a flurry of foreclosure activity before it hit the rest of the country.

In those days, Colorado and the Denver area were often ranked in the top three foreclosure markets in the U.S., often being saddled with the unwanted distinction of being No. 1 in the nation for foreclosures.

Until the last year or so, Colorado was often still on the top 10 list for foreclosure activity.

The latest report by RealtyTrac shows that one out of every 1,515 households in Colorado was in some stage of the foreclosure process in July.

That compares with the national average one out of every 1,001.

Colorado’s foreclosure activity last month was down 49.53 percent on a year-over-year basis, compared with a national drop of 31.8 percent.

Foreclosure activity in July dropped 10.85 percent, while across the country it dipped an average of only 2.42 percent.

Most of the counties in the Denver area showed fewer foreclosures than that state, according to RealtyTrac.

The number of foreclosures by household units by county were:

  • Adams, one out of 1,031.
  • Arapahoe, one out of 1,315.
  • Boulder, one of 3,085
  • Broomfield, one out of 2,007.
  • Denver, one out of 1,830.
  • Douglas, one out of 7,023.
  • Elbert, one out of 2,960.
  • Jefferson, one out of 1,573.

Insiderrealestatenews.com

 

 

John Marcotte

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Stapleton senior housing

August 28, 2013 by

Stapleton senior housing

Greenway at Stapleton

Greenways at Stapleton

The first market-rate apartment community for active adults at Stapleton is officially breaking ground today.

The 108-unit development, called Greenways at Stapleton, is in the heart of Stapleton at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Ulster Street.

“Greenways is a smart choice for people aged 55+ who want to live a maintenance-free lifestyle close to all that Stapleton offers—shopping, dining, parks and events,” said John Thode, director of development for Wisconsin-based Horizon Development Group. “We’re already hearing from folks who want to live closer to family or retire in the area.”

The Greenways will feature 48 one-bedroom, 53 two-bedroom and seven two-bedroom plus den apartments.

They’ll offer a wide variety of floor plans, with apartments ranging in size from 700 to 1,200 square feet.

All apartments feature functional layouts, nine-foot ceilings, full kitchens, in-unit washers and dryers, energy efficient design and appliances and private balconies or patios. Rents start at $1,000 per month. For other senior living options, visit sites like https://www.carltonseniorliving.com/community/sacramento/.

Amenities for residents include a large clubroom with kitchen; outdoor landscaped plaza; fitness room; café with free WiFi; private dining/meeting room; activity room; and underground parking. A community manager will schedule on and off-site gatherings. Insidernews.com

 

 

 

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A Plea from a Boulder Cyclist to Motorists

August 25, 2013 by

 

A Plea from a Boulder Cyclist to Motorists

boulder cycling rules
On any day where the weather is even halfway decent, you can scan the roads of Boulder, Colorado and find them filled with cyclists. People move to Colorado for our over 300 days of sunshine and altitude, making it one of the top training destinations in the world for recreational and professional athletes alike. I mean, folks in Boulder take to two wheels like birds to flight. Unless you’re a penguin, but that’s neither here nor there.

But I’m asking — pleading, actually — the motorists: it’s time to re-prioritize bikes in your field of transportation-related vision.

This past Tuesday, another cyclist was killed while out for an early morning ride. Yes, he was wearing a helmet. And no, the truck driver didn’t stop. He failed to yield to an oncoming vehicle (read: the cyclist).

How many more stories like this do we have to read in the Daily Camera before Boulder-area motorists begin to see cyclists for the vehicles they are? I’d much rather read about Lucky’s Market branching out to a new Longmont location than about another dead cyclist who’s dead because people don’t afford bikes as much respect as gas-powered vehicles.

So, I have a bit for the motorists — some of which I covered earlier this year when I chatted about Bike to Work Day. And I also have a few choice words for my fellow cyclists.

To our state’s lawmakers

Operators of motor vehicles are under your auspices. Until law enforcement officials begin to cite motorists in accordance with Share the Road rules, motorists are only going to continue seeing bikes and their operators as annoyances instead of the vehicles they are. It’s also time to start citing more cyclists for acting like jerks when they blow stop signs, intersections, and traffic signals. Not all of us ride like this, but the ones who do make the rest of us look like the problem when we’re truly asking for a solution.

Perhaps it’s also time for tests on cycling rules to accompany Drivers Licenserenewals. This way, there’s no excuse for anyone to say they didn’t know about how they’re supposed to treat cyclists on our state’s roadways.

To our state’s motorists

I get it. Bikes move slow — much slower than your Subaru and definitely much slower than your SUV. But the impact of your car against the unprotected body of a cyclist (even though we’re wearing our helmets) is a battle of ratios you never want to be involved with. Having been hit by a car that blew a stop sign, I know what it feels like first hand no not win. So, here are a few key details you need to remember when you see a bike on the streets of Boulder — or anywhere in Colorado:

  • Bikes have the same priority as cars. Legally, cyclists must obey alltraffic signals and signs. Just because you paid $30,000 for your SUV doesn’t make it more important than the $700 to $7000 a cyclist paid for his or her bike.
  • Three feet to pass. When you pass a cyclist on the road, you must give that cyclist a berth of 3 feet to legally pass. And yes, sometimes that means slowing down because you can’t swerve around. But it’s the law.
  • Stop seeing us as annoying. I know that there are cyclojerks, cyclists who act like jerks and make the rest of us cyclists look bad. By and large, though, we’re good people who just have an inexplicable love for self-powered transportation. We might be slower than your car, but we’re not riding our bikes to ruin your day.

To my fellow cyclists

Only a few words here:

  • Stop riding like jerks. Three-wide ain’t cool and blowing traffic signs and signals makes you no better than the drivers who see us as a problem. Stop being a part of the problem. Obey traffic laws and stop letting your power meter run your life.
  • Wave. When drivers are nice, wave. Say thank you. Reinforce courteous driving. Quit it with the flip-offs. Instead, start taking photos of license plates and situations. Call the cops or State Troopers.  Yelling only continues to make us look like the problem.
  • Learn the law. Head over to Colorado Bike Law and read up on your responsibilities as a cyclist. We’re not better than cars — we are cars and have to start acting like cars. We also have to start acting like law-abiding operators of vehicles.
By  YourBoulder.com 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Boulder Neighborhood Guide: Dakota Ridge

August 21, 2013 by

DakotaRidge001 Boulder

Dakota Ridge is a fairly new area, located north of Wonderland Hills and alongside the Boulder foothills. The streets are wide and the houses have a modern feeling. With the energy-saving enhancements and eco-conscious building, Dakota Ridge gives homeowners the best of green living.

 

History: Before it was a desirable place to live, Dakota Ridge was an area on the edge of town that was almost consumed by a wildfire in November of 1990. Then again, in 2009, fires the foothills north of Dakota Ridge got very close to the homes built there. Aside from the brushes with destruction, as one of Boulder’s youngest neighborhoods, there isn’t much to report in the way of history. Only years of people traversing the trails on foot and animals hunting for prey.

Housing: Dakota Ridge is made up of single family homes, townhomes and apartment units. The neighborhood is still under development as there are a few dozen homesites left to be built and a 3-acre park that is under construction. When finished, the park will provide sheltered picnic tables, a children’s play structure and fields for throwing balls with the dog. Homes in Dakota Ridge start at the mid-$600′s and go up to several million dollars. There is affordable housing allocated in the area.

DakotaRidge006 boulder

Restaurants & Shopping: There is an interesting mix of industrial and retail space located on both sides of Broadway in North Boulder. Businesses run the gamut from tattoo parlors and glass-blowers to the upscale Amante shopping center. Not only is Amante the meeting place for spandex-clad cyclists, the baristas here also make a mean cup of coffee. Other North Boulder favorites include the restaurant 4580, as well as a top quality bike shop, Boulder Cycle Sport. With a popular bus line servicing Broadway, Pearl Street is never more than a fifteen-minute ride away.

Family & Fitness: Outdoor play is the big draw of living in this neighborhood. With many hiking and biking trails within minutes of your doorstep, Dakota Ridge offers unparalleled access to all the beauty and adventure that Boulder’s Open Spaces have to offer. Additionally, there are trails up Lee Hill Road and a Gateway Fun Park open a few miles down US 36. Between the miniature golf, the batting cages and the food truck roundup, there is something fun for everyone.

DakotaRidge008 boulder

Schools: Foothill Elementary, Centennial Middle, Boulder High

Quirks: Be sure to keep your eyes open if you live in this neighborhood. Hang gliders fly overhead and land in Foothills park. And, as with every up and coming part of town, Dakota Ridge does indeed have it’s own Neighborhood Association and Facebook page. You’ll never miss out on the action here.

Major Street Boundaries: Lee Hill Road on the south, Broadway on the west and bordered by sprawling foothills on the north and east.

By  YourBoulder.com

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John Marcotte

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Trader Joe’s Boulder Opening Potentially Delayed

August 15, 2013 by

Trader Joe’s Boulder Opening Potentially Delayed

trader joes boulder

Finding another market-like purveyor of grocery goods in Boulder can happen in pretty short order — throw a rock, hit an organic vendor. We have everything from Whole Foods to the farmer’s market and everything in between.

But like many others, I’m waiting for that mythical Trader Joe’s going in at the 29th Street Mall.

Having lived in California and Nevada prior to moving to the Front Range, the extent of my Sad Face when I realized there was no Trader Joe’s in Colorado can’t be expressed. I missed the darling little mochi ball Trader Joe’s brand ice cream treats. Their veggie breakfast patties. Aisles filled with chocolate-covered-somethings that would justify my gym membership. Well, there’s a Trader Joe’s going in down in Denver on the Colorado Blvd. corridor (in a location that dismays many local residents traffic-wise). A contract has just been signed for a location in Greenwood Village, too. And we’re supposed to be getting one in Boulder.

Rumor has it.

But the location at the 29th Street Mall sure doesn’t look like much progress has been made for a reported 2013 opening. Bueller?

This morning, The Daily Camera took a look at the reported delays as word had cropped up that the store was being pushed to a 2014 opening. Officials from the 29th Street Mall say that the location is still on-target for a late 2013 opening date. That means, however, going from ground zero where the old Applebee’s stood (demolished in May 2013) to a fully open 14,000 square foot store in under 4 months. And with Boulder’s startup culture, I have no doubt that’s doable — Techstars is getting serious stuff done and in less time, but I’m doubting those cohort companies have to deal with city building permits and multiple vendors.

So — if you’re like me and craving a giant bag of sesame sticks and small-purchase produce from Trader Joe’s, it looks like we might be in for a longer wait than anticipated. In the meantime, I’ll be hitting up the farmer’s market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I’m sure our local vendors won’t mind this teeny delay in welcoming a small- to mid-box retailer to Boulder County.

YourBoulder.com

 

 

John Marcotte

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Obama to back mortgage finance reform to speed housing recovery

August 14, 2013 by

 

Obama to back mortgage finance reform to speed housing recovery

U.S. President Barack Obama smiles as he returns from a birthday weekend visit at Camp David to the White House in Washington, August 4, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

By Mark Felsenthal and Margaret Chadbourn

WASHINGTON | Mon Aug 5, 2013 8:03pm EDT

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama will propose overhauling the U.S. mortgage finance system in a speech on Tuesday, weighing in on a tangled and polarizing problem that was central to the devastating financial crisis in 2007-2009 and that continues to slow the economic recovery, the White House said.

Obama will propose eliminating mortgage finance entities Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac over time, replacing them with a system in which the privatemarket buys home loans from lenders and repackages them as securities for investors, senior administration officials said. The mortgage securitization process is deemed essential to the smooth flow of capital to housing markets and the availability of credit.

The government’s role would be relegated to providing some form of insurance or guarantee, and to providing oversight, according to officials and a White House statement.

The departments of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development have been working on an outline for housing finance reform. They outlined several options in a white paper to Congress in 2011.

After plunges in home values that wiped out an estimated $7 trillion in homeowner equity and wrecked many Americans’ finances, housing markets are staging a modest recovery. Obama, as part of a series of speeches pushing for steps to boost tepid economic growth, is focusing on housing issues in a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, in one of the regions hardest hit by the housing bust.

The president generally agrees with the bipartisan Senate proposal that would replace Fannie and Freddie with a system that would allow private firms to securitize mortgages, a senior administration official told reporters in a conference call. A government reinsurer of mortgage securities could backstop private capital in a crisis, the official said.

Obama would want the Senate measure to go farther in helping first-time home buyers and in making sure affordable rental housing is available, the official added.

The Senate bill, though, remains at odds with the bill advancing in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives that would liquidate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over five years and limit government loan guarantees.

RESTRUCTURING MORTGAGE SYSTEM TO TAKE YEARS

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became dominant players in housing finance when private lending to home-buyers declined after the financial crisis. The government-backed companies own or guarantee more than half of all U.S. home loans and are critical to keeping capital flowing to lenders and borrowers.

 

 

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal and Margaret Chadbourn; editing by Jackie Frank)

 

John Marcotte

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