City Park Golf Course will be opening soon

 

Rumor has it the City Park Golf Course will reopen this September. The City has been closely monitoring the establishment of the turf on the course and believes it will be able to withstand limited play later this year, with fewer rounds than normal to be scheduled in 2020 to promote the further establishment of the turf and protect this new community asset, creating a lasting legacy for future generations.

Denver closed City Park Golf Course in November 2017 to construct new features to manage the stormwater that naturally flows through this location, improves water quality, and reduce flood risks in neighborhoods north of the course. With extensive community input, the course was modernized and redesigned to improve playability, while maintaining its historic Parkland-style look and feel. The new course offers:

  • 18 holes of golf and a new full-size driving range
  • New clubhouse and returning nines
  • Dedicated 4-hole course for the First Tee of Denver program

For more information – click here for construction updates



 

TOP 25 Denver Neighborhoods

5280 is out with the
TOP 25 Denver Neighborhoods.
There are 78 neighborhoods in Denver. When making the list, 5280 took into account home values, school quality, safety, and those distinctive aspects that set a place apart. You can go to their website 5280.com to read the article and see neighborhood boundaries and highlights.

A big change from last year, South Park Hill was ranked 19th in 2019 and takes the top spot – 1st place in 2020.

2 neighborhoods that move into the TOP 10 from last year.
Wellshire moved from 21st to 7th
Hilltop from 23rd to 9th

4 Neighborhoods that went from not being on the list in 2019 to being in the TOP 10.
West Highland up from 37th to 4th
Cherry Creek went from 29th last year to 5th
Speer went from 43rd in 2019 to 6th
Highland went from 41st to 8th

9 Neighborhoods in the TOP 25 this year that were not last year.
Union Station was 61st and is now 12th
Hale went from 49th last year to 16th
Platt Park was 27th last year and now is 17th
Regis was 54th and is now 19th
Barnum enters the list from 44th to 21st
Cory Merrill was 48th and is now 22nd
Skyland enters the list from 33rd to 24th
And Sloan Lake from 46th to 25th
Central Business District is new to the list because in the past there were not enough home sales to qualify.

39th Avenue Greenway to open in 2020

We are excited to highlight this project that has been in the works for years. Denver’s newest greenway will be operational in 2020. The 39th Avenue Greenway is a magnificent 12 acres greenway that will start at Franklin & 39th Ave in the Cole neighborhood near the new 38th & Blake train station. The beautiful trail will run east all the way to Steele street with 4 plazas, 86 lights, 2 new pedestrian bridges, 1.8 miles of bike trail, 2.4 miles of new sidewalks, and 13 shade structures. It will connect to the 40th and Colorado train station and almost reach Colorado Blvd.

39th Avenue Greenway Draft Design Concept

The 39th Avenue Greenway and Open Channel will effectively and safely convey floodwater to the outfall at Globeville Landing Park. Outside of storm events, the area will remain mostly dry.This channel is an integral part of Platte to Park Hill: Stormwater Systems. It will be designed using a community-focused approach to provide the following benefits in addition to flood protection:

  • Add 12 acres of new recreational open space in the Cole neighborhood
  • Enhance community connectivity, including a biking/walking trail between Franklin and Steele streets
  • Improve the quality of stormwater entering the South Platte River

More information about the project can be found here.

Here are some photos of the project in progress.

Meet Laura Aldrete – 5280 Article

I was touched and inspired by Laura Aldrete’s story. I’ve never liked being called a “native” and reading her words gave me so much affirmation. She said it beautifully…”We are all from somewhere else.”
She is in charge of Denver’s Community Planning and Development Department. I’m currently in the midst of designing my own ADU which I plan to build this year. Policy from her department directly impacts every part of this project. It has been a fun process to think through the function and neighborhood context.
I hope our paths will cross soon, we seem to share many common interests that would make for great conversation.
Here is the link to the article by Kasey Cordell
Photo by Rachel Woolf

Aldrete with her son Aristedes and her husband in the dining room of their north Denver home.

DREAM TEAM – Living Room adds an Operations Assistant.

Meet The Team!

Kassidy Benson, Taylor Whitton & Lisa Johnston

 

We are 100% dedicated to helping our clients find their happy place while also building wealth. In 2019, Taylor and Kassidy helped 34 families and sold  $15M worth of a real estate. Living Room Real Estate has been open a little over one year and we just added our third Associate Broker/ Operations Assistant! Lisa Johnston gives our team greater capacity helping on the back-end as an Operations Assistant and also expands our expertise as a team with a wealth of knowledge around local schools and expertise in South Denver. 

About Kassidy Benson, Owner + Real Estate Advisor

In 2019 Kassidy was overwhelmed with the support of her clients as she made the bold decision to open her brokerage. She is 100% invested in her relationships with her people; clients are a mix of best friends, new friends, old friends, and she wouldn’t want it any other way. As many of her original clients are ready to trade-up into bigger homes, she has now become an expert at helping them navigate the challenge of buying and selling consecutively. In 2019 she purchased her second home and is still working toward her goal of owning five properties with passive income – in 2020 she plans to complete the construction of an Accessory Dwelling Unit (2 bed/ 2 baths, with a two-car garage). 

About Taylor Whitton, Associate Real Estate Advisor

Taylor had a wildly successful first year! With her background in leasing, she learned the ropes quickly and helped 10 families buy, sold one listing, and helped with 4 leases. She really enjoyed helping first-time-home buyers navigate the process and also worked with several investor clients purchasing properties to rehab. Taylor contributed an enormous amount to the brokerage with her event ideas, social media expertise, and killer open houses. 

Meet Lisa Johnston, Operations Assistant and Associate Real Estate Advisor

Lisa grew up mid-west, received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in Design. She moved to Denver and lived in Park Hill for ten years before moving to Southmoor (I-25 and Hampden) for better schools and more space when her girls were younger. Her daughters are now at Arapahoe High School.

Lisa has been helping with Living Room’s marketing since April 2019. After interviewing many people, it was clear Lisa was the right person for the role because she submitted the best design and she was passionate about real estate. Last summer, Kassidy had the opportunity to help a family that was focused on finding the right school for their kids and Kassidy immediately enrolled Lisa’s help. Kassidy wrangled Lisa, knowing that she had insight into the best schools and neighborhoods for families to come along for the showings. It proved to be really important info and impressed the clients. It also motivated Lisa to finally get her real estate license, something she has wanted to do for years. 

Lisa will be helping Living Room Real Estate with marketing, scheduling, client appreciation, and team accountability part-time. She is also a licensed broker with one sale already under her belt and is now gaining the valuable experience and knowledge in her role as Operations Assistant to excel in her role as a Real Estate Agent.

Reshaping Denver – 5280 Article

5280 Magazine did an outstanding article on a development that will reshape Downtown as we know it today. Below are the highlights, but you should take the time to read this one!

“The new River Mile atop the Elitch Garden site is the most ambitious private urban redevelopment plan Denver has ever seen… Duggan thinks of central Denver “like a giant doughnut,” with the River Mile as the piece that will fill the hole in the middle.”
 
  • 62 – prime acres adjacent to a prospering city’s downtown 
  • 9.5-acre, $500 million to redevelop Union Station for comparison
  • $140M – the land deal 
  • $3.4B – the cost of Stapleton redevelopment
  • 25 years to build River Mile
  • 12M sf of commercial/residential property to the city center
  • 20% increase in the available space that currently exists downtown
  • 15,000 residents accommodated 
  • 53 year old Duggan is leading the project
  • $9.7 billion is the net worth of “Mr. Kroenke”, Duggan’s equity partner
  • 49th-wealthiest person in the world (Kroenke)
  • 20% increase in Denver population since 2010
  • 1,000 residents per month moving to Denver
  • 90,000-square-foot Meow Wolf building is the first official building within the neighborhood and is projected to open in 2021
  • 2045 is the goal for the project for completion 
  • 2018 when the City Council approved the rezoning on the land 
  • $600 million in metro-district taxes for infrastructure to be footed by the neighborhood’s future occupants
  • $60 million dredged and deepened the South Platte
  • 250 public and private meetings over the past two years for community input
  • 200-foot height cap eliminated by the city on River Mile buildings, essentially giving unlimited vertical access in parts of the development
  • 15% of the River Mile’s 8,000-or-so planned residences would fall below market rate

Here is a link to the article.

https://www.5280.com/2020/01/inside-one-of-the-largest-redevelopments-in-denvers-history/

Would you rather rent or buy a micro-unit?

Micro units are a new trend in Denver. The Circa West building on Colfax and Vrain is a revamped old motel that has been converted into micro condos. They are offering three different floor plans: a 372 sq ft studio for $165K, 469 sq ft studio for $180K, and 715 sq ft 1 bedroom for $330K. We calculated the PITI for the purchase price of $190,000. With 5% down at 3.8% interest rate, plus HOA dues each month, the estimated cost would be $1,400/month. Tune-in our IG stories on Wednesday for a tour!

You can also rent micro-units. 5280 published an article about micro-apartments. In the article, they featured the new RIDE building in RiNO. There are 84 units in a five-story complex. The micro-apartments range in size from 369 square feet to 849 square feet of flexible live-work space. Rent for these units start at $1,239 and go to $1,899 per month.

 

You can follow this link to read the 5280 article 

Living Room Real Estate Featured in Denverite

One thing that sets Living Room Denver apart of other real estate firms is our knowledge about Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) — also known as granny flats, carriage houses or casitas. LivingRoomDenver.com is the only website that identifies ADU zoned properties. Most real estate agents don’t even know what an ADU is, let alone the specific zoning codes and lot size. It was an honor to get recognized by Denverite for this contribution. This is an exciting time for ADU enthusiasts as the city of Denver pushes forward on a plan to make ADUs allowed throughout the city with the new Blueprint Denver planning tool which will be reviewed by city council on April 22nd. Being on top of policy, understanding the zoning code, and being a leader in developing better ways for our clients to find properties are a few ways we stand out!

Read the Denverite Article

5280 says “Deal With It”

I’ve been patiently awaiting my May issue of 5280 Magazine because they always do a big feature on real estate this month. Last year, their reporting blew me away and I have every new client read the article before I even meet with them. The gist of the story this year is “… desperate protagonists resigning themselves to paying more than expected for a house that – because it’s smaller, or in a dicier zip code, or less quaint than the house they envisioned  – definitely isn’t the home of their dreams.” It dawns on me, this frustrating market is all I know. I’m now a professional at helping people find that compromise, boost their budget by considering a roommate and looking at the tax benefits that they will see in April. It’s not all as desperate as they make it out to be. I’m overjoyed as I see those dicier neighborhoods revitalized. A smaller house can be a blessing if it means you can live a simpler life with less stuff and spend more of your time enjoying camping and hiking. The big benefit that I’m finally starting to experience – my clients who bought 2-4 years ago are now starting to sell. While they have been out camping, getting married, and enjoying all the new restaurants in Denver, their homes have appreciated significantly; giving them a leg up on their counterparts who have been renting. Definitely take the time to read “The House that Love Built” in this year’s issues. It taught me a term “wabi sabi” the art of embracing imperfection. Like the author, I see my clients fall in love with their home and all it’s imperfections after fighting hard for the honor of owning a place they can call their own.

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We pair people with the right place for a prosperous life.

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3997 Haddon St. Denver
303-720-8491