In Southeast Denver, a fee-based retirement concept delivers the look and feel of single-family living

Posted January 18, 20100 comments

New studies show that no matter how old they get, couples will do anything to keep from giving up their single-family house, though retirement places have low maintenance and better recreation. “We never lived in an apartment and would never want to,” Gene Fischer says…while admitting that he and wife Lutie looked at retirement areas all over town as their home in Centennial aged.

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Gene and Lutie Fischer enjoy continental breakfast in their clubhouse at The Cottages at Dayton Place, a few doors from their home. Dayton Place’s Jennifer Davidson (left) and sales associate Bonnie Baker meet visitors to the project.

You can come see what they ended up doing…and get a Starbucks card and refreshments today, as well. The Fischers were the first residents to move into The Cottages at Dayton Place, a Southeast Denver enclave that has the advantages of a retirement community, but looks and feels like single-family homes…even down to the 2-car garage. more »

After year of tough sledding, weather ahead is chilly…but you wouldn’t want to be living anywhere else than Denver

Posted January 5, 20100 comments

By Mark Samuelson

So, what does the year ahead look like for our refrigerated town on the High Plains? After 12 months of tough sledding real-estate-wise, don’t expect a thaw anytime soon…but don’t pack your bags, either. People who make a living predicting the market are saying, all things considered, you’re better off here.

Jack O'Connor
Jack O’Connor, author of a market report for RE/MAX Professionals, sees chilly weather ahead for the highest price ranges, and solid appreciation for people who own homes under $250,000.

“I’m still very bullish on Denver,” economist Patty Silverstein told me this week. She’s president of Research Development Partners, consulting chief economist for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and for the Chamber. more »

In town of Erie, half-in, half-out of Boulder County, commuters find allure in the prices…and the lifestyle

Posted December 17, 20090 comments

When you drive through the town of Erie on your way to see a great looking custom ranch in an alluring neighborhood, you’ll pass right down County Line Road…Boulder County to your left, Weld to your right. “This is a town at the tipping point, coming into its own,” says Mayor Andrew Moore, who points out the new rec center, new library…new park where the Erie Lady Tigers will play. (They’ve played in the state’s 3-A division final game for all of the past 12 years, and took the title ten of those times.)

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Mayor Andrew Moore of Erie, left, joins builder-owners Cat and Kirk Velarde and their Kentwood Cherry Creek agent Paula King, in front of a 5-bedroom ranch on the re-sale market at $597,000.

And don’t forget new Erie High School, on the Weld side of town on the way out to I-25. A few years back Erie was losing students, due to open enrollment. Now ACT scores, Moore notes, are way up…and the school is actually drawing enrollments from other towns. “This is so much closer to downtown,” says Kentwood Cherry Creek agent Paula King, who lives in Erie Village, where she’ll show you the 2,699-foot, 5-bedroom ranch that has another 3,000 down in the basement, with movie screening room and other goodies. It’s at $597,000…a “steal” King says…all the more so if you live in Boulder proper, where, she adds, it would be priced well over a million. more »