Boulder Colorado

Located at the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder is the jewel of the Colorado Front Range. With its outstanding climate and healthy economy Boulder provides an excellent quality of life for the nearly 100,000 that call it home. The University of Colorado founded in 1876 gives Boulder its vibrant “college town” feel. The new economy has a firm hold in Boulder and the surrounding area. Firms such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Ball Aerospace, StorageTek, and Level 3 Technologies have recognized the benefits of living and working in this area. Statistically, the citizens of Boulder are the most highly educated per capita in the country.

In the 1970’s Boulder devised a plan which eventually allowed for the purchase of key land in and around Boulder. These acquisitions over time have created a greenbelt that now surrounds the city. The open space plan has served to provide recreational opportunities, preserved the view and
separated Boulder from its neighbors. The beautiful backdrop of the flatirons has been preserved for many generations to come.

People coming in from other parts of the country perceive Colorado as being cold and rugged.
Although Colorado including Boulder is ruggedly beautiful, our climate along the Front Range is wonderful. It can get cold during the winter but it is common to be sunny and warm just a few days later. It is not uncommon to have 60 degree weather following a snow storm. During the summer the heat is made more comfortable by the low humidity and the cool nights. We have all four seasons and sun over 300 days per year.

Overall, Boulder is a great place to live, work and play. The population enjoys the outdoors and
everyday of the week you will find runners and bikers enjoying the miles of bikeways and walkways within the city.

Just the Facts:

Population: 95,000 plus ~30,000 students

Area: 25 square miles surrounded by open space and mountain parks.

Founded – 1858

Altitude – 5,430 feet

National Honors and Accolades

“Ten best cities for the next decade” – Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
#1 “Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index- 2011
Best Quality of life for Mid-Sized US Cities – Portfolio.com
#9 Overall Cities; #1 Recreation Cities; #4 Earth Friendly Cities- RelocateAmerica.com
#2 Healthiest Town in the US – Men’s Health Magazine
#1 “America’s Foodiest Town” Bon Appétit Magazine
Americas Brainiest Cities – Portfolio.com
Americas Top 25 Arts Destinations (#9 among smaller cities) American Style Magazine
Top 10 Winter Towns – National Geographic Magazine
#1 “Best Places to Raise on Outdoor Kid” Backpacker Magazine 2009
TripAdvisor.com #19 “Top 25 Destinations in the US”
#1 “America’s Top 25 Towns to Live Well” Forbes.com 2009
#2 “Top Ten Best Midsize Metropolitan Areas” Bizjournals.com 2009
#4 “ Eleven Most Bicycle Friendly Cities in the World” Virgin Vacations 2009
#20 “Best Places for Business and Careers” Forbes Magazine 2009
#1 “Most Educated City in America” Forbes Magazine 2008

Major Employers:

IBM, University of Colorado, Ball Aerospace, National Institute of Technology, Covidien, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Amgen, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, MicroMotion, Google, Crocs

Schools:

The City of Boulder is served by the Boulder Valley School District. A headline in 2010 read “Boulder Valley Schools Tops State Rankings”. The article went along with the release of school testing proficiency scores as a result of CSAP and ACT testing completed last year. BVSD had 26 “excellent” ratings awarded to 23 individual schools which was more than any other Colorado School District.

I talk to many people around the country and having a strong school district is such an asset to our community and helps preserve real estate values. However, there is a downside to this type of reporting. Many parents use this information exclusively to judge the merits of a school. The soul of a school does not show up in a rating. Locally, we have many students who speak Spanish as a second language. These students are at a big disadvantage when they take standardized tests in English. Many of the schools with lower ratings have a large ESL (English as a Second Language) population. The schools who have many ESL students have high diversity and many times have more teachers who are able to split students into small groups based on skill level. The Lafayette schools recently have made many innovative efforts to attract students to their neighborhood schools. They have created specialized engineering programs and created magnet schools focusing on math and science. The bottom line is for parents to check out the schools in person to see what they have to offer, not just relying on the test scores. For more information on each of the schools in Boulder please follow the links below.

High Schools (9th – 12th grade): Fairview High School, Boulder High School, Boulder Preparatory High School, Boulder Universal, New Vista, Justice

Middle School (6th – 8th grade): Casey, Centennial, Manhattan School for the Arts, Platt, Southern Hills, Summit Charter.

Elementary Schools (K – 5th grade): Bear Creek, Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies, Columbine, Community Montessori, Creekside, Crest View, Douglass, Eisenhower, Flatirons, Foothill, Heatherwood, High Peaks, Mesa, University Hill, Whittier International School.

For scores for individual schools go to http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/CommandHandler.jsp

Real Estate Statistics:

Median Price: $404,000

Average Price: $496,442

Total number of Sales: 1,260

Sales $0 – $250,000: 314 (25%)

Sales $250,001 – $500,000: 504 (40%)

Sales $500,001 – $750,000: 266 (21%)

Sales $750,001 – $1 MM: 86 (7%)

Sales > $1 Million: 90 (7%)

Sales data is for the one year period ending August 31, 2011. For updated sales data please click on the “Statistics” menu item above.

The chart below shows the median price of single family homes in the City of Boulder between 1997 and 2010. We have had a 118% return since 1997 and 183% since 1993!

Recreation:

Boulder and recreation are synonymous. Wherever you look you will see people exercising. Bike riders take advantage of the ample bike lanes and also venture out to the rural land to the east and into the hills to the west. Hikers have many options for close in hiking. There are sports leagues for young and old. In the winter Eldora Mountain Resort is just a 45 minute drive up Boulder Canyon and when there is snow on the ground you can cross country ski right in town at North Boulder Park. Flatirons golf course is an old park land type, tree lined golf course right in Boulder. For other golfing options around the area check out this list.

Just start walking around Boulder and you will start feeling the urge to kick it up a notch so that you are keeping up with the pedestrian traffic. There is an energy out there ready to be tapped into.

For more ideas here is a link to The Boulder Community Networks recreation page.

Restaurants:

Boulder is renowned for its ample and diverse collection of restaurants. We definitely have more quality dining options in Boulder than most other towns of similar size. Whether it is a quick bite with the family or a destination restaurant for a memorable occasion, Boulder has the spot that is just right. Much of the dining is centered around the downtown district and the Pearl Street Mall. It is fun to park at one of the easy parking structures within a block of the Pearl Street Mall (between 11th and 15th Streets) and find what looks good. Here are a few online sources to find a great place to eat in Boulder. Boulder Colorado Visitor Guide, Boulder Downtown Dining.

Shopping:

There are two major shopping districts in Boulder; the Pearl Street Mall and the 29th Street Mall.

The Pearl Street Mall is in the heart of downtown Boulder. It is a pedestrian mall created in 1976 and is four blocks long. The mall itself is lined by shops and restaurants and is made of brink pavers. All summer long and during weekend nights all year long you will find street performers all along the mall. There are a number of festivals and art shows throughout the year. It is the center of activity in Boulder.

The Twenty Ninth Street Mall is a recent addition. It replaced the old style Crossroads Mall. It is a modern open air mall with covered walkways and diagonal parking serving small specialty shops as well as larger stores served by large parking areas. This is a great place to get a quick bite to eat. The shopping area is bordered by Aprapahoe on the South, 28th Street to the west, 30th Street to the east and Pearl Street to the north. My offices are just across the street on 30th Street.