Claire Call asked:


A Description of Boulder Colorado Real Estate and the Surrounding Cities

Boulder Colorado, located around a half an hour Northwest of Denver, and 45 minutes Southwest of Fort Collins, is an excellent place to live. Right against the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Boulder Colorado has so much to offer residents. A Boulder Colorado home for sale very often is the most pricey in the area, but with good reason. For one; it is near impossible to build a new house in Boulder because of a moratorium on new housing developments. The restriction on supply has just made demand go up (and has caused prices to go up right along with that demand.) Different from communities in the surrounding area (which we’ll describe below), the city of Boulder has the most employment, the largest trail system, the most recreation facilities (4 city owned, and dozens of privately owned facilities), great schools, and certainly — “The Flatirons” which are located in Chataqua Park. The Flatirons can be seen for miles, are utilized by hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents every year, and are viewed worldwide as a Colorado landmark.

Boulder Colorado’s population is a little over 100,000, and the prices for homes in Boulder start at approximately $125,000 for a starter 1-bedroom condo. The going rate for single family houses start at about $250,000, which will likely get you a 900 square foot, 3 bedroom house. When you get closer to downtown Boulder, house prices tend to be higher.

If you have thought about residing in the city of Boulder, but aren’t thrilled with the prices for houses in Boulder, Louisville Colorado is as little as 10 to 15 minutes East of Boulder. There are four pretty easy routes allowing access to Boulder from Louisville; Arapahoe Road, Baseline Road, South Boulder Road, and Highway 36. In addition to easy access via automobile, Boulder County has a very effective system of transportation, with multiple city bus routes that go downtown if you’d prefer not to drive. A Louisville house for sale is on average up to 30% lower than Boulder house prices. While the starting price for a Louisville town home or condo is around the same as in Boulder, you get more for your money. It is the same with single family homes. A Louisville starter home will usually sell for around $250,000, but rather than a 900 square foot home without a garage, you will probably be able to get a home with 1000 to 1200 square feet with a one to two car garage. Louisville isn’t merely a suburb of Boulder either. Indeed, a lot of residents of Boulder often come to Louisville for the amenities the city offers patrons, such as big-box shopping such as Costco or Super-Target, a movie theater, or one of the many attractive small town eateries.

The second largest city in Boulder County, Longmont has a population of about 70,000. Longmont CO is located around fifteen to twenty five minutes Northwest of Boulder via hwy 119 (also known as The Diagonal). Unlike other Boulder County cities that are fairly intertwined with Boulder, a lot of families in Longmont like to think of themselves as a great deal more independent from Boulder. Longmont has large-scale employers, a transportation system, shopping centers, and has both an old town and a newer part of town. Longmont has lovely Victorian charmers, as well as dozens of stylish new home communities with a wide variety of building styles. Generally, Longmont Colorado real estate prices tend to be as much as 35 percent lower than in Boulder. Prices will largely depend on the section of town that homes are in.

Niwot Colorado is another city that is found near Boulder. Though Niwot is beginning to expand and seeing a lot of custom, and semi-custom home developments, it is primarily a bedroom community to Boulder. Real estate in Niwot is unusually limited, and the average price of a home varies a great deal. Home prices are so fluctuant mostly because at any given time, there are only fifty to seventy houses that are available for sale. With so few homes available, 2 or 3 sales on one side of the price scale can drastically shift the average price for that month. (It should be noted that most towns and cities have hundreds, if not several thousand houses on the market, and average prices are more constant than when there are just a few dozen houses for sale - such as with Niwot Colorado.) Overall, Niwot is a rather charismatic smaller town that is as close to Boulder as you can get without truly living in Boulder itself.

Just about 15 or 20 minutes East of Boulder via Baseline Road, Arapahoe Rd, or South Boulder Rd — is Lafayette, Colorado. Lafayette is one of the fastest growing communities in Boulder County, with the Indian Peaks Neighborhood as biggest part of that development. Lafayette home prices are usually up to 35% less expensive than Boulder prices. Along with getting more house for the money in Lafayette, Homeowners welcome the ambiance of a small town with benefits like fine antique shops, family run businesses, access to I-25, and of course, the Indian Peaks Golf Course - one of the most magnificent public courses in the area.

For more details or current market statistics on any of the areas that we have talked about in this article, or for reports on other communities in the Boulder County area, call your Benchmark agent or look at www.BenchmarkRealtyLLC.com.



KHALEEL

Malcolm Brown asked:


When you spend time with Mary Stengel Austen, you come away with one feeling. “That woman is affable.” After thinking it over, you might find other words which describe her: smart, realistic, enthusiastic, tough minded, determined, articulate, strategic, focused. But you’ll always include affable in your memory of her because that’s what she is.

Perhaps she has to be that way because of the two most significant challenges in her life: managing five small children and managing one of the largest ad agencies in this part of the country, Tierney Communications. Affable is good, perhaps necessary.

Having grown up in this area, she then graduated from Lafayette College and was directed to a job in sales for age copier company. Quickly convinced that she was not made for a direct sales role, she found her way into the former Spiro agency and found the career that challenged her, enthused her and excited her. Obviously, she loved what she did and, after a few other steps forward, she still loves what she does as president and CEO of Tierney and its 135 employees.

Mary sees great opportunity for the advertising business but she insists that success will come to those who understand that it’s a “time for new reality.” That’s her way to acknowledge and respect change which is happening faster and faster. She believes thatagencies must adapt more quickly to market changes, technology changes and even to the changing expectations of employees. More than ever before, she hopes that Tierney is understanding and respecting clients’ perceptions of their own needs which often change with the speed of light.

Her concerns for the overall health of the agency business are partially based on the pressures clients feel in these changing times. It’s not a new thought that solid relationships with clients are vital for ad agencies. However, those relationships are harder and harder to develop because of the pressures of time and the pressures of the bottom line. However, she says the key to a superb client relationship is no different today than it was ten years ago. Just remember that “It’s not about you, it’s about your client.” Good advice.

When pressed, she has some advice for clients, too. Directed to clients in just a few words, the “wisdom” of Mary Stengel Austen is simple to state. She would ask them to be careful about articulating the business plan and the marketing objectives to the agency. She would urge them to have realistic expectations about their marketing/advertising efforts. She would hope for an open, honest working relationship with the agency and a consistent viewpoint about image, brand and sales. She also fully understands that clients have their own pressures and sometimes are forced to abandon well thought out plans.

A consistent lesson has guided her in her home life, in college and in her career. She has learned the importance of being able to multi-task. She says that learning to “juggle” has helped her in her career and in her role as a Mother. According to her, “Kids and clients have helped me to learn how to prioritize and have forced me to remain focused.” She further explains, “Both clients and children need to feel as if they are the most important thing in your world.” In these two separate situations, they are, so it’s working out quite well for Mary, for Tierney and for her family.

Predictably, her hopes for her own career cover a broad spectrum of topics. When she thinks about her life in ten years, she first mentions her family and its importance. Then she talks about continuing to enjoy her work, about continuing to learn and grow and continuing to do the things she does best. She is quite comfortable and enjoys managing good people and hopes to continue that function. She also wants as much strategic involvement as possible, both in her own operation and in the operations of clients.

She gives an interesting example. When a client crisis occurs, she hopes to contribute to the strategy/solution and to “Slow things down when others are compelled to speed things up.” She seems calm and, apparently, is convinced that calm and smart is better than frenzied and active without a good plan.

Mary Stengel Austen is even more than a busy, successful executive at Tierney and a busy, effective family woman. She is also a committed supporter of the community, serving on many boards including the Please Touch Museum, Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia Ad Club, Lafayette College Advisory Council and as Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Economy League.

She lives in Radnor with her husband, Peter, who is an Insurance Broker and her five children: Thomas(8), Andrew (7), Christopher (6), John (4) and Sally (2).

Affable? Yes. Successful? Yes. A nice combination!



THWEATT