Between February 2011 and February 2012, the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area added 6,300 construction jobs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.  That’s more than anywhere else in the United States. 

Right now, about 137,000 Coloradans are working in construction.  Times are good.

“The first quarter of 2012, we will equal the construction volume and revenue that we had in all of 2011,” said David Sinkey, managing director for Boulder Creek Builders.  His company is hard at work developing the Steel Ranch neighborhood in Louisville.  But there’s a problem.  He can’t find enough construction workers.

“We’re very concerned about the labor force.  We’ve already reached a point in our construction that there’s a limitation on the number of framers and trades-people that are available,” he said.

The problem?  When the economy tanked, and building in Colorado all but stopped a few years ago, lots of construction workers moved away, or got out of the business entirely, because times got so tough.

“Extremely tough,” said Robert Lazarony, a construction workers who was out of work for six and a half months, after the construction company where he’d worked for more than a decade folded during the downturn.

“You’re not always sure what the outcome is going to be,” he said.

But now, he’s back to work, overseeing the building of Steel Ranch homes, and he’s desperate to hire good construction workers.  It’s tough to do, because they’re being snatched up by other builders. 

His advice?  If you’re looking to reinvent yourself… a job in the construction industry might be the way to go.  There are plenty of openings.  Just make sure you have a passion for building.  And make sure you learn how to do it right, before you apply.

“Let them get trained somewhere else and then send them my way,” he joked.

To learn more about jobs in construction jobs, click here:http://www.constructionjobs.com/index_eng.cfm

To learn more about the 6300 construction jobs in the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area, click here: http://www.agc.org/cs/news_media/press_room/press_release?pressrelease.id=1063

Article courtesy of Fox 31 News

Your free time is precious and you want to make the most of it.  If you live at Kingsbridge Townhomes in Longmont, you can ride your bicycle, climb a mountain or just relax, without the hassle of yard maintenance or outdoor upkeep. These new high-quality, energy-efficient, right-sized townhomes are built by Boulder Creek Life and Home, pioneers in residential development for the “active lifestyle” homeowner.

This well respected local builder has delighted Boulder County homeowners with quality-built, low-maintenance homes to accommodate people’s desire for active, easy lives.

Kingsbridge is set in a quiet area of west Longmont, within a mile of shopping and restaurants, with amazing recreational opportunities nearby– trails, hiking, skiing and tourist activities.

Two new Kingsbridge homeowners

A few weeks ago Nick Cunningham moved from a condo in north Longmont into his new Kingsbridge townhome. “I wanted to upgrade and also find a convenient location,” he says. An engineer, he works in the south end of Longmont, so the Kingsbridge location suits him well.

Cunningham was attracted to Kingsbridge by the home itself, a Florence model. “I liked the exterior design, layout and landscaping; on the interior, the floor plan, the attached two-car garage–usually, at this price, you would get a one-car detached garage. You go up the stairs into the house, and there are lots of windows, and sunlight going through the whole place. I really liked the ergonomics of the kitchen–the bar coming out separating the kitchen and dining room; it lends itself to conversation and socializing.” The Florence floor plan offers two bedrooms, each with its own attached bathroom. He is using one of the bedrooms as an office.

“The house is worth the price. It offered a lot of value. I found some other interesting places, but for the value, this was at the top of the list.”

He is enjoying life in his new neighborhood. “When I moved in, the people two doors down came over and introduced themselves. I met the people next door when they were moving in.” He especially likes the “little decks, or porches, off the living room. They give you some privacy, but they’re not so secluded you can’t wave to your neighbor going by.”

On his very first night, he was pleased to get a good night’s sleep. “It’s very quiet here.” Another plus: “The houses are built green. I hadn’t thought much about it, and then during the walkthrough the builder described everything–like the furnace and water heater. It’s a very efficient house. It’s the nice icing on the cake.”

Another new homeowner, Eriko Musselman, will be moving from Loveland into her Kingsbridge townhome later this month. “I work in Boulder, which is way too expensive. I really like the area where Kingsbridge is.” She has a new puppy, named Cooper. They scouted the neighborhood and were pleased to see the walking trails. “I needed to find a place that’s dog-friendly, that has a garage and storage space. Storage is hard to find with a townhome.” She, too, chose the Florence model. “I love the floor plan: It’s an open floor plan, with just a step down to the living room, and with two master bedrooms. It was affordable. Plus, the one I chose had all the upgrades.”

“One of the reasons I like this builder is because of the energy efficiency and the way the house is built. This is a good buy for the money– a brand-new place with everything they had to offer. Everyone wants to have a brand-new home. Price-wise it was a good buy.”

Built for the way you live

With four floor plans to choose from, the townhomes range in size from 1,400 to 1,793 square feet, each with three bathrooms and either two or three bedrooms, and a private attached two-car garage. The architecture is stylish and imposing, with attractive stonework and columns, and a courtyard concept. Among the many included features are maintained landscaping throughout the community, 8-foot to 11-foot ceilings on the main floor, birch hardwood cabinets, low-VOC paints and carpeting for healthier indoor air, and Rinnai whole-house tankless water heaters for added energy savings.

“We are selling really well,” says Karen Sanders of the sales team. “Despite the current market, we are selling three homes a month. In Boulder County we are still in first place in townhome building permits and sales.” The buyers are a mix of baby boomers, empty nesters, people who want a right-sized, low-maintenance, lock-and-leave home so they can pursue their interests, grandparents moving here to be near grandchildren, families including children, and single professionals. The low maintenance and lock-and-leave lifestyle give them time to pursue their activities. The central location affords easy access to Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and I-25. Quality-built, green and efficient

Kingsbridge townhomes are constructed to Built Green standards and qualify as Energy Star homes. Each home boasts dozens of green features, such as an Advanced Insulation Package that goes beyond the building code to provide a more comfortable home and results in lower energy costs; and certified composite wood trim and decking materials to reduce the use of natural materials. Homeowners never cringe when their Excel bill arrives. In fact, they look forward to seeing how much they saved on energy costs.

Visit Kingsbridge Townhomes

Learn more about Kingsbridge Townhomes at www.LiveBoulderCreek.com/Kingsbridge. Kingsbridge is located at 1656 Venice Lane in West Longmont just off Airport Road in Boulder County. The sales office is open Tuesday though Saturday, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Monday 1-6 p.m. For more information, call 303.502.5338.From Boulder: Head northeast on CO-119 (Diagonal Highway) for 8.7 miles. Turn left (north) on Airport Road. After 1 mile turn left (west) onto Venice Lane. Look for the blue flags. The Information & Sales Center is on the north side of Venice Lane.

From Longmont: Head southwest on CO-119 (Diagonal Highway). Turn right (north) on Airport Road. After 1 mile turn left (west) onto Venice Lane. Look for the blue flags. The Information & Sales Center is on the north side of Venice Lane.

From Denver: Head north on I-25 to exit 240. Turn left (west) on CO-119. Head west through Longmont for 10 miles. Turn right (north) on Airport Road. After 1 mile turn left (west) onto Venice Lane. Look for the blue flags. The Information & Sales Center is on the north side of Venice Lane.

Tuscan-style patio homes built by Boulder Creek Builders of Louisville enjoy a perfect setting alongside the lake, just a stone’s- throw from open space and nature trails.

“All homesites back up to the lake and, beyond that, 130 acres of open space, “ says sales representative Jim Lettis.

The value of lakefront property, high-quality construction, and working with a well-known local builder make Quarry Lake a unique opportunity for savvy homebuyers. This is an intimate enclave, with just 30 paired patio homes – that is, 15 buildings. They range in price between $355,000 and $375,000. Boulder Creek Builders is currently building the model home and one home for sale, with more homes coming.

“We build for downsizers who want something very nice that’s the right size,” Lettis says. “Besides being energy efficient, these homes are low- maintenance, with snow and trash removal, so you can spend your free time enjoying your Colorado outdoor lifestyle instead of taking care of the yard.” 

The homes at Quarry Lake

These homes are designed for easy living. The main floor features a master suite, laundry, study and Great Room. Each home includes a large walk- out lower level with recreation room and additional bedroom. The four floor plans to choose from range from 2,402 to 2,670 finished square feet; bonus rooms further add to the finished square footage.

“The architecture is beautiful, outside and inside, with stunning exterior materials, nine-foot ceilings, and master bedroom at the back of the house to enjoy the peace and quiet of the lake,” Lettis says. “In these patio homes everything people need day to day is on one floor, with a finished lower level for company or entertainment. Our homes allow people to live the Colorado lifestyle that everyone wants – with lock-and-leave convenience, and a low-maintenance lifestyle with no more weekends mowing the lawn or shoveling snow.”

A key element of the building process is protecting the environment and making homes as efficient as possible. All homes  at Quarry Lake are built using green building technology that results in, for example, better indoor-air quality and lower utility bills. With 2 x 6 exterior wall construction, formaldehyde- free blown fiberglass insulation, R-24 exterior walls, R-49 attic spaces, and many more high- quality construction practices, the homes are built for comfort and durability. 

Boulder Creek Builders

Boulder Creek Builders is an award-winning, Louisville- based homebuilder that creates innovative communities across the Front Range. The company builds homes designed around how people aspire to live, appealing to the active lifestyle homeowner, including professionals, empty nesters, semi-retired and post-children “Baby Boomers,” through the creation of low-maintenance, single-family and multi-family residential homes. Boulder Creek’s communities vary in size, price and concept, but have a common thread: they embrace quality craftsmanship and green building practices and provide an unmatched lifestyle. 

Managing Director/Principal David Sinkey says of the new Quarry Lake community, “With the lake, this site is so compelling. These ranch homes are designed for this site, with back patios and walk-out lower levels. The Tuscan-inspired architecture is distinctive and upscale, with a low-maintenance stucco exterior, concrete roof tiles, lower-slung roof pitch, cupola and arches.

“These homes, on a lake, are a tremendous value if you’re willing to drive north. They would be significantly higher-priced in communities south of Loveland.” 

Contact information

Join the Quarry Lake interest list to receive additional information as it becomes available. And stop by for a tour of the property. The sales office is at 464 Split Rock Drive in Loveland. It is open daily except Tuesday and Wednesday. Hours are: Monday 1-6 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call Jim Lettis at 970.458.4440, or e-mail jlettis@livebouldercreek. com. For more details and to sign up on the interest list, visit www. LiveQuarryLake.com

Whether you call them aging baby boomers, empty nesters, or active adults, 50+ home buyers are a powerful market segment that many builders would love to tap — although getting them to buy is more difficult nowadays. The economy is largely to blame; according to a study of the 55+ market by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the National Association of Home Builders, the housing downturn and the recession of 2008-09 made buyers more practical, with increased importance on financial rather than aesthetic reasons for choosing a new home.  Read More…

Louisville’s Steel Ranch development received the Silver Achievement Award for “Best Detached Home On the Boards” from the National Association of Homebuilders earlier this month.

The NAHB 50+ Housing Council awarded Boulder Creek Builders, in conjunction with KGA Studio Architects and Osmosis Architects, with Steel Ranch’s award during the 2012 NAHB’s International Builders’ Show Feb. 8-11 at the Orlando Convention Center, in Orlando, Fla., according to a Boulder Creek press release.

Read more…

 50+ Housing Council Awards local Builder and Architect with “Best Detached Home On the Boards”

 (Louisville, CO)—Boulder Creek Builders www.livebouldercreek.com   in conjunction with KGA Studio Architects http://kgarch.com and Osmosis Architects http://www.osmosisarchitecture.com are proud to announce that Steel Ranch www.livesteelranch.com, in Louisville, has won the prestigious Silver Achievement Award for “Best Detached Home On the Boards,” by the 50+ Housing Council during the 2012 NAHB’s International Builders’ Show. The winners of the 2012 Best of 50+ Housing Awards are recognized for building stellar communities during incredibly challenging economic times. The homes at Steel Ranch fit this criteria—offering right-sized, single family patio homes, with main floor living and generating incredible interest and demand from buyers across the front range.

“This award celebrates the best homes in the country for people over 50 and we are proud that Boulder Creek at Steel Ranch is being recognized nationally for its strong innovation in the category,” said David Sinkey, Principal of Boulder Creek Builders. “Boulder Creek worked closely with the community to identify their wants and needs in their next home and to provide living and style choices in response to this input. Our unparalleled success indicates that we’ve pinpointed the right combination of home style and exceptional location.”

The 50+ Housing Awards enable builders, developers, and other industry professionals to gain recognition as the “best of the best” in the 50+ housing industry. Boulder Creek at Steel Ranch won the Silver Achievement Award for “Best Detached Home on the Boards,” which considers the individual floor plans, renderings, and design of the community when selecting the winners. KGA Architects designed three of the five floorplans for the community and Osmosis Architecture designed the other two.

Steel Ranch will be the last large scale residential development in town. Boulder Creek Boulders will be building 68 patio homes in the community, which are in short supply in the area. The lack of patio home inventory available has resulted in numerous sales, significant interest and the need to release lots far more quickly than originally expected. .

About Boulder Creek Builders

Boulder Creek Builders www.livebouldercreek.com is an award winning, Louisville-based homebuilder that creates innovative communities across the Front Range of Colorado – communities that embrace green building practices, energy efficiency and a true sense of place. Boulder Creek’s mission is to build homes that are more than just bricks and mortar, homes actually modeled around how people aspire to live, thus appealing to the active lifestyle. Each of Boulder Creek’s communities varies in size, price and concept, but has one common thread: they embrace quality craftsmanship and green building techniques and provide an unmatched low-maintenance lifestyle.

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There is no precise timeline for progress in the Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology project, but the area surrounding the business campus has sparked hope among residential developers.

Two housing developments are under way in the area next to the former Agilent Technologies campus, and the developers are anticipating that the hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs created by the project will help them find buyers.

Read More…

Louisville builder resurrects Loveland Quarry project

Six years have passed since Loveland developer Jeryl Benner launched The Quarry, a residential project that arcs around a 20-acre pond east of Taft Avenue between First Street and Carlisle Drive.  Read more…

By Judy Finman, At Home Colorado
Article courtesy of Boulder Daily Camera – At Home

Your free time is precious and you want to make the most of it.  If you live at Kingsbridge Townhomes in Longmont, you can ride your bicycle, climb a mountain or just relax, without the hassle of yard maintenance or outdoor upkeep.

These new high-quality, energy-efficient townhomes are built by Boulder Creek Builders, pioneers in residential development for the “active lifestyle” homeowner. This well respected local builder has delighted Boulder County homeowners with quality-built, low-maintenance homes to accommodate people’s desire for active, easy lives.

Kingsbridge is set in a quiet area of west Longmont, within a mile of shopping and restaurants, with amazing recreational opportunities nearby – trails, hiking, skiing and tourist activities.

Interview with a new homeowner
In December Kurt and Lisa Anderson moved from a single-family home in Erie into their new Kingsbridge townhome.

“We’re downsizing. Our kids are out of the house, and we definitely wanted to be in a place where we could just drop our bags and travel. We don’t have to do any landscaping or maintenance or anything outdoors here; they clear the driveways of snow and make sure we can come and go. We have a very flexible lifestyle, and Boulder Creek Builders understood that and have exceeded our expectations.”

The Andersons chose to move to Kingsbridge for several reasons.

“We became familiar with Boulder Creek Builders and tracked what they have been building. They’re good stewards of the environment, and that’s important to us.”

Location was key. They like west Longmont. And Kingsbridge is near Boulder and I-25 and close to hiking and biking trails. “The location they chose for this community is outstanding,” says Kurt Anderson, who is “an avid runner.” Lisa Anderson bikes and walks, and she works nearby at Avista Hospital. “A lot of people here work for IBM and other high-tech companies – our little Silicon Valley,” she says.

The green-built and energy-efficient features played a big role in their choice, too. “The quality of the home is tremendous. We are noticing already that our energy bills are lower. It’s really quiet in the home, even with the common wall; we have yet to hear our neighbors.”

The quality and beauty of the homes attracted the Andersons. “We were fortunate, because this Venice model already had upgrades in it when we bought it: gorgeous wood floors, the banisters, appliances. The builder had chosen very tastefully. We bought this model because it is lovely and one of the best townhome models we’ve seen. It’s an exceptional home. We hit it out of the park on quality and location.”

Kurt Anderson notes  that “I’ve never, in all my years contracting and building, seen the builder at a closing. But a Boulder Creek executive was at our closing; he handed us the keys. They kept to all the dates, were good about communicating with us, and everything was done on time.”

Built for the way you live
With four floor plans to choose from, the townhomes range in size from 1,400 to 1,793 square feet, each with three bathrooms and either two or three bedrooms, and a private attached two-car garage. The architecture is stylish and imposing, with attractive stonework and columns, and a courtyard concept.

Among the many included features are maintained landscaping throughout the community, 8-foot to 11-foot ceilings on the main floor, birch hardwood cabinets, low- VOC paints and carpeting for healthier indoor air, and Rinnai on-demand hot water.

“We are selling really well,” says Karen Sanders of the sales team. “Despite the current market, we are selling three homes a month. In Boulder County we are still in first place in townhome building permits and sales.”

The buyers are baby boomers, empty nesters, people who want a low-maintenance, lock-and-leave home so they can pursue their interests, grandparents moving here to be near grandchildren, families including children, and single professionals. The low maintenance and lock-and-leave lifestyle give them time to pursue their activities. The central location affords easy access to Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and I-25.

“The $175 monthly HOA fee is not like living in a single-family home, where every month you can have surprise costs,” Sanders says.

Quality-built, green and efficient
Kingsbridge townhomes are constructed to Built Green standards and qualify as Energy Star homes. Each home boasts dozens of green features, such as an Advanced Insulation Package that goes beyond the building code to provide a more comfortable home and results in lower energy costs; and certified composite wood trim and decking materials to reduce the use of natural materials. Homeowners never cringe when their Excel bill arrives. In fact, they look forward to seeing how much they saved on energy costs.

Visit Kingsbridge Townhomes
Learn more about Kingsbridge Townhomes, visit their website www.LiveBoulderCreek.com. Kingsbridge is located at 1656 Venice Lane in West Longmont just off Airport Road in Boulder County. The sales office is open Tuesday though Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Monday noon to 9 p.m. For more information, call 303.502.5338.

Congratulations to our iPad winner, Bill Allen.