SpringsHomes Blog

This is a true Briargate Beauty with extended hardwoods throughout the main level traffic areas. This house is SO immaculate; ready for new buyer to move right in! They've done some awesome upgrades, like Corian counters w/Travertine back splash, pendant lighting and walk-out to deck at the kitchen. The adjoining family room vaults and includes a beautiful fireplace! Upstairs there are 4 great-size bedrooms, including a master with walk-in closet & 5-piece bath. The basement includes a large laundry room, bedroom, bath, wet bar and walk-out to the patio. The interior & exterior spaces of this home really lend to great entertaining lay-out!

Check out more in this personalized web page - http://birnamwooddrive.com/

Well, if you lived here for any length of time... okay if you've lived here a week.. you know what a nuisance the miller moths are as they migrate through Colorado. But one thing most people aren't expecting is these annoying little creatures can cause traffic accidents?! I know driving at night, they are worse than previous years, dive-bombing our vehicles. With our open-top Jeep during these beautiful days, they often hit us in the head.

This morning one or more moths was the cause of a traffic accident in Briargate. A young woman was trying to shoo a moth from her vehicle and ran into a tree, wrecking her car.

On another note, some friends of ours were rear-ended last week, while sitting still to turn left into a parking lot a young man hit them going 50-60MPH and his car burst into flames afterwards. 5 people were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Going that fast rear-ending somebody, this young man was obviously distracted!

The moral of the story: whether it's a moth, a bee... or a meal, or a cell phone, try to remain calm and focused when driving. The moths ARE annoying, but they really can't hurt you, focus on the road.

Recent message sent to parents:

"DISTRICT 20 CHANGES SCHOOL START TIMES
TO IMPROVE STUDENT SAFETY AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Students will benefit from additional sleep and safer morning arrivals at school when Academy District 20 implements new start times for all schools for the 2012-13 school year. All traditional high schools will start at 7:45 a.m. compared to current start times as early as 7:05 a.m.  The changes result in a reduction from four to three transportation tiers and continue to increase efficiency in the district's transportation department.

"We are pleased to be able to implement these changes because we feel all students will benefit," said Academy District 20 Superintendent Dr. Mark Hatchell. "Many in our community have long been concerned about how early our high schools start.  A recent task force studied our transportation services and did recommend that start times be changed if transportation efficiencies could be gained."

Later morning start times for high school students are expected to improve attendance and academic focus. Those students will also benefit from more daylight to walk, drive, or catch buses in the morning to school.

The restructuring of the district's school start times will result in condensing all of the start times to within an hour from the earliest to the latest. Currently, there is a two-hour spread between the earliest high school start time and the latest elementary start time. With the new schedule, all elementary schools will start no later than 8:45 a.m. No elementary school children will be dropped off at the end of the day any later than 4:30 p.m.

The reduction in one tier of busing means that middle school and high school students in some areas will ride the same bus. This arrangement already occurs on some Challenger Middle School and Pine Creek High School bus routes. All Academy District 20 buses are equipped with cameras and drivers are trained to maintain student safety.

A complete list of all the new start and end times for each school is available at www.asd20.org/starttimes.

The following email was sent out to parents on the Academy School District 20 email distribution list on Friday, November 11:

Greetings Academy District 20 staff and families:

The Academy District 20 Board of Education voted during its regular meeting Nov. 10, 2011, to implement a fee for transportation services beginning in fall 2012. The board made its decision based on an eight-month task force study and recommendations by task force members in April 2011. The Academy District 20 Board of Education, in accordance with state law, conducted a public hearing Oct. 20, 2011, to hear comments about the proposed fee.

Special education students with individual education plans that require transportation and students who qualify for free and reduced lunch will receive free transportation services. The rate for most students will be 50 cents per ride. About 6,500 students in the district ride buses regularly. More information about the fee and the logistical process for providing radio frequency identification cards to all bus riders for fall 2012 will be communicated during the coming months.

For those who enjoy a good run and maybe dinner & a beverage afterwards, there are a couple local places that have run clubs. Our favorite Briargate Mexican restaurant has a run club at both their Briargate and Rockrimmon locations and a cycle club at Rockrimmon. You can run at Briargate on Tuesday evenings, Rockrimmon on Wednesday evening and cycle from Rockrimmon on Saturday. No membership or purchase required, show up and meet some local outdoor physical fitness enthusiasts for one of these local run events. But I HIGHLY recommend enjoying some great food afterwards!!

I understand Jack Quinn's downtown also has a run club.

I am a parent in Academy School District 20 and took the opportunity to attend the October 20 meeting at D20's Admin building regarding possibly implementing a transportation fee for bus riders. A proposal was presented and then parents, students, community members were permitted to make public comment. Here are some of the arguments that were presented and my opinions... yes my opinions, not those of the administration, parents, students, residents of D20 or the opinion of Boylan & Company Real Estate and it's management (I hope that was enough of a disclaimer).

Proposal:

1. Non-choice in neighborhood school students $.50 / ride ($5.00/week for round-trip transportation)
2. Choice in District 20 $.60 / ride
3. Choice out-of-district $.70 / ride
4. Students only charged for rides that actually take.
5. This will save the district about $500,000/year in the first year and $700,000 in subsequent 2 years. (This is a small percentage of the total transportation budget. $6million total budget, we receive $4million from the state. Savings will then be 1/8 to 1/6 of the annual budget)

Arguments of those in favor:

1. Colorado does not require transportation to public school. Nominal fee can divert some of the expense.
2. The District, like everyone, has been impacted by the slight downturn in the economy, and the reduced property taxes based on reduced property values means less money coming in. School districts here and all over are having to find ways to make cuts; better to make them in transportation than in the classroom.
3. District advertises that 'choice' students get NO transportation, and then offer those students transportation from school to school. Choice students should pay fee.
4. Transportation reports only 10% reduction in ridership.
5. If IEP plan requires transportation or income qualifications, they will not require fee.
6. One dad, "Only a nominal fee to take my student across town to Air Academy, sign me up." (altered, not word-for-word quote).

Arguments of those in opposition:

1. Fees should not be charged to students going to their neighborhood school.
2. Estimated 10% reduced ridership could be inaccurate.  This will cause excessive additional crowding during drop-off and pick-up times.
3. If increased walkers, will district staff more crosswalks?
4. Details and expense of tracking ridership need to be worked out.
5. New 'walkers' become targets to potential predators as a result of routine walking routes to school.
6. Rising costs at school (sports, meals, activities, classroom needs) not met by school budgets are already coming out of parents' pockets. This is added weekly expense.
7. Some buses to sport competitions only drop off students and head back to schools; leaving a vacant bus heading back to district. Parents then wasting gas, time, money and adding impact on the environment because of additional drivers. Especially obvious in those schools emphasizing importance of the environment, recycling, and our "footprint" on the earth.
8. Reduced housing values.
9. Is this temporary? If the economy picks back up, will the district eliminate the fee, parent opinion is no.

Additional comments:

1. Transportation please REALLY evaluate rates, examples notes of wasted time, buses, drivers, etc.  Also, really evaluate transport for special needs (i.e. large bus with 1-5 students on board)
2. Expectations from some parents on schools to staff from 5am-6pm to accommodate dual working-parent families (particularly military).

Now begins my commentary and arguments why my family would be for or against the fee and/or the structure:

1. We live in district and choice to a school which is not our neighborhood school. The district indicates we do not get transportation. Then transportation is offered. I expect to pay a fee and am willing to, to divert child care expenses and transportation expenses of our own.
2. MOST families in our district are relatively well-off (I hope that's not a terrible term). We are all being pulled in new directions financially, along with our wonderful local school district. The fees to send a student on the bus each week could be equal to about 1 gourmet cup of coffee. I think we all have that in our budget.
3. My income is down as a real estate professional in a slightly down economy, and I am willing to pay it.
4. I think in-neighborhood students should have a drastically reduced fee and choice student should have an increased fee (yes, that includes me); something like $.25 for in-neighborhood ($2.50/week, like the change on your nightstand) and $75 for choice (doesn't matter if they are in or out of district, they have to get to a D20 school and go from there).
5. Transportation fees alone cannot be blamed for reduced housing values, I think that is a false and impossible to track claim. D49 may have some decreased housing values, but that cannot be tracked directly to the fee they now assess to their riders. Again, the economic downturn has lead to decreased values since 2006, and especially since 2008; short sales and foreclosures bringing down values for years... before D49 added transportation fee.
6. I sold a $350,000 house in just 8 days for only $5000 less than list price in D49 / Woodmen Hills. Things are not as doom-and-gloom as some television financial "experts" and real estate professionals want to make them out to be.
7. We make lots of choices as adults & parents. We chose to have children, and therefore have to feed them. If costs in the cafeterias have gone up, how can we expect our costs not to go up.
8. We choose to enroll them in sports and other extra-curricular activities. If the district increases their expenses, they have to pass the cost on to parents.
9. Income evaluations can be made to 'excuse' students from the fee.
10. Adding up to (one parent estimated) $2500 for a student's 12-13 year school career, is just a minimal fee in my opinion.
11. This may affect home buyers coming to the area, however I think if District 20 continues to remain a top-notch district in it's excellent teachers, activities, etc, the transportation fee will be so minimal to incoming buyers' decisions. District 49 has had crowding & budget issues for at least 8 years; these districts are very different in their overall make-up and conditions (rural, military, economic, etc.).
12. We evaluate frequently my commission income, working and paying for child care. Like I said earlier we ALL make decisions every day that affect ourselves and our children. We cannot expect the public school system to go beyond that and provide child care for our student from 5/6am-5/6pm; that is simply not the schools' responsibility. We are their parents.
13. Colorado does not require transportation to public schools.

I hope this was helpful to those who were unable to make the meeting. There was a lot of opposition, but I think people accepting of the fee don't often attend meetings such as this. I hope my opinions don't offend anyone. If they do, I reiterate they are solely my opinions, not that of the district, many parents, or my office.

More to come, as always, when we hear more from the district...

We just went to our family's second annual Wolf Ranch concert. A fellow Realtor.day care parent is in a band called Sofa Killers (hoping to get people up off their couches!). They play once a summer at Wolf Ranch's park (among tons of other gigs year-round). Little did I know this was Wednesday #13 in a 14-weeks series. Here is a list of the concerts from this summer courtesy of SpringsBargains.com) -

June 8 – Redraw The Farm (pop, rock, Americana, country)
June 15 – Double McGuffin (jazz and swing)
June 22 – Jim Adam Band (down-home, funky style blues)
June 29 – Flute Daddy with Joseph Liberti (jazz quartet)
July 6 – Promises with Bob Alexander (jazz)
July 13 – The Jake Loggins Do-It (blues, rock)
July 20 – Kort McCumber (Americana)
July 27 – Dick Cunico Little Big Band (big band)
August 3 – Ceol Ceili (eclectic Celtic)
August 10 – Allen/Rose Quartet (jazz)
August 17 – Jones and Raine (country western)
August 24 – Sofa Killers (rock, pop, cover music)
August 31 – USAF Academy Falconaires (jazz)

Wolf Ranch HOA also offers some free sodas, burgers and snacks. If you have a chance, maybe you should try to catch the final concert of 2011 next Wednesday, August 31.

I'll try to be more pro-active next summer so we can all enjoy some wonderful Colorado evening concerts courtesy of Wolf Ranch!! I'm excited to see some more of these local bands!

Just received this message from Cordera!

Jazz in the Park at Cordera!

Cordera is excited to host its third annual Jazz in the Park concert in partnership with the Pikes Peak Jazz and Swing Society! This is a wonderful community event and is free and open to the public! Bring your family and friends for an evening of great music in the park! Feel free to bring a picnic and enjoy the mountain views! 

Please join us Wednesday June 8th from 6-8pm. This year's concert features the band the "Swing Connection"!! The Cordera Community Center and Grand Lawn Park is located off Briargate Parkway, just east of Powers. Please call 266-8581 for more information.

Visit their site for more info - http://cordera.com/CampaignProcess.aspx?A=View&VID=8719868&KID=138550

Most of us are wondering when the market is going to get "back to normal". Well, those of us in the industry are already seeing great signs that we are sell on the way to recovery, if not already a good part of the way there! Here are some sales stats for March & April 2011...

Available homes - 19 total   |  average list price $314,510 | range $189,900-469,000 | average days on market - 81

Under contract/pending - 11 total | avg list price $324,442 | range $235,000-399,900 (2 of these are short sales, so might be heavily discounted to sell) | average days on market - 90 (short sale average days on market is 287)

Now, here's the one I am excited to report on... drum rolll please... for just March & April in Gatehouse and Summerfield 17, yes SEVENTEEN homes have sold. That is a great sign for our market!! Ok, here is the break-down on the solds:

Sold - 17 total (5 FHA financed, 8 VA financed, 4 Conventional financing) | Average Sales Price $ 273,988 | Range $195,000-$361,400 | Average Days on Market 111  

If you appreciated these stats, but don't live in this area, we serve ALL of Colorado Springs, Monument, Teller County, Falcon, Fountain, Peyton, Black Forest; and we'd be happy to pull stats for your home... especially if it's time to think about selling.

Enjoy this gorgeous Colorado weekend... 70s in our area all weekend. Happy Mother's Day moms!!

Academy School district 20 sets an end date for their school year, often landing a couple days after Memorial Day. They also build in a handful of snow days. As most of you know, we had very little snowfall this year... in fact most of the cancellations/delays were for cold temperatures and not snow. So if the disctrict doesn't use all of their snow days, they will revise the last day of school. They announced today the last day of school for non-seniors is Friday, May 27. Senoirs' final full day of school is May 13... if they're anything like me, "senioritis" is already setting in!

Happy Spring students and parents!!

Side note, the next 2 school year calendars have also been approved for both the 2011-2012 AND the 2012-2013 school years. Check the district web site for more info... asd20.org.

This is an exact COPY of a notice I received from D-20. I think it's important to note that not only does Academy School District 20 place a high level of importance on educating students, they also believe in educating the parents. Here is April's monthly "Parent Academy" for the district. District 20 sees the improtance in helping parents with their parenting skills and working along side educators to cooperate in their students' education.  

The Academy District 20 Parent Academy offers a variety of courses for parents and families. For the most up-to-date course listings and full course descriptions, go to www.asd20.org/parentacademy. All courses are free. Below is the schedule for April 2011:

Date                    Course                                                                    Time                              Location

April 6            New Parent Orientation  (For parents who                 6:30-7:30pm                    Education & Administration Center

                       are new to our district or who are enrolled                                                        1110 Chapel Hills Dr, Spruce 1 & 2

                       for the next year

April 7             Special Education Advisory Council                                  5-7pm                          Education & Administration Center

                        (Extended School Year, Summer Services,                                                           1110 Chapel Hills Dr, Spruce 1

                         Graduation Requirements)

April 14            Drive Smart                                                                     6-7pm                        Education & Administration Center

                         (For high school parents & students)                                                                 1110 Chapel Hills Dr, Spruce 2

April 14            How to Listen So Your Kids will Talk                              9am-6pm                     Chinook Trail Elementary

                          (For elementary parents)                                                                                   11765 Grand Lawn Circle

April 18            New Parent Orientation (For Parents who                     6:30-7:30pm                Education & Administration Center

                         are new to our district or who are enrolled                                                      1110 Chapel Hills Dr, Spruce 1 & 2

                         for the next year

April 20            Understanding the Middle School and                           6-7:30pm                   Education & Administration Center

                         High School Individual Career and Academic                                                   1110 Chapel Hills Dr, Spruce 1 & 2

                          Planning (ICAP)                

Register at www.asd20.org/parentacademy

This Vantage 2 story shows like a model inside and out. As we all know the negative to buying new construction is having to do window treatments as well as the yard..done!

The backyard is amazing…from the oversized covered deck to the fully landscaped back yard. Back yard features a fountain, stamped concrete, flagstone and perennials..roses, lavenders, lilies, daisies and hydrangea.

The floor plan is great for entertaining as the great room area opens onto the back deck. The kitchen is oversized with a LARGE island. Granite counter tops and stainless steel are among some of the many pluses. There is also a butler’s pantry between the kitchen and formal dining room.

Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms, a loft and the laundry room..The master is totally worth mentioning. It is large and open with plenty of wall space for furniture. A fireplace separates the master bath from the bedrooms. The closet is amazing with plenty of space.

District 20 schools..Ranch Creek Elementary is within walking distance..Challenger Middle and Liberty High School are both under a 5 minute drive.

With one of our newest listings hitting the market on Preacher's Hollow and the BEAUTIFUL 70 degree days coming up, I thought it would be a great time to share one of the best play date locations and family-friendly neighborhoods around!

Cordera is a wonderful neighborhood in northeastern Colorado Springs at the east end of Briargate Pkwy and Union Blvd, east of Powers. Cordera children can attend outstanding District 20 schools, families enjoy a community center with pool for residents and great shopping close-by. Not only can you enjoy these wonderful amenities, but drive right into the neighborhood to a clean Target superstore with general merchadise and grocery (on a side note... I am excited to see that Target seems to have been "price-shopping" Wal-mart and their prices have become very competitive, especially for such a nice, clean shopping experience!) There is a new Wells Fargo Bank location at Powers & Briargate Pkwy. In the past couple years, Cordera has also built some multi-family residences near Target.

The reason Cordera excites me the most, is because of their amazing parks & community center; and high-quality home builders in the neighborhood. Their original plan was to build 4 themed parks, with two built already I'm excited to see what's in store for the future parks. Pictured below are the Alice in Wonderland park with varying sized entry doors, tables, benches and more. Then to the east, just a quick stroll down neighborhood trails between the homes is the Charlotte's web park, complete with barn, spider web, swings, and of course Wilbur & Charlotte! Because of Cordera's prime location, these parks and MANY homes also boast amazing mountain views! Trails are integrated throguhout the community for bicycling, walking, running... just enjoying the sunny Colorado weather!!

Not only does Cordera have some of the best kid themed parks around, it's homes & development are being completed by some of the best builders around; builders like Keller, Symphony, Vantage, Saddletree and Campbell.  The community center is spacious with fitness center, community rooms and a 'zero-depth' entry to several feet swimming... enjoyable for all ages!! For more about some of the great activities they have done, check out the community web site - http://www.cordera.com/home  If you would like assistance with shopping for and purchasing an existing or great new homes in this area, please let us know, we'd love to help!!

For other nearby shopping, enjoy things like Lowe's Home Improvement warehouse, LifeTime Fitness Center, King Soopers center and more!

Do you know or wonder if your child has dyslexia? Academy School District 20 is bringing in an expert to speak on the subject... here is the district's message to parents:

"Susan Barton, an internationally known dyslexia expert, will offer a free presentation about dyslexia symptoms and solutions on Thursday, March 3, at Academy Endeavour Elementary School. Any parent in Academy District 20 is invited.
Barton's program begins at 6 p.m. She invites parents to learn the signs of dyslexia and what can be done to help dyslexic students learn to read, write, and spell.
Academy Endeavour Elementary is located at 3475 Hampton Park Drive. Register for this event and see what else is offered through the Parent Academy at www.asd20.org/parentacademy "

Academy School District 20 cares deeply about the topics that affect students, families and professionals in the district. Experts like these are brought in throughout the school year.

Opened in 1988 Pine Creek golf course is the sole golf course in Briargate. The entrance is off Chapel Hills Dr on Divot Trail, north of Briargate Pkwy and south of Old Ranch Road... but the course spans from Chapel Hills & Lexington over to Royal Pine Dr. The course is surrounded by beautiful semi-custom single family and patio homes from the upper $300,000s to the mutli-millions.

It is a public course, open year-round depending on weather. Pine Creek is a challenging course, surrounded by natural grasslands & creeks. Golfing here, you'll also enjoy amazing views of the front range and Pike's Peak. You can golf from $27 (9 holes after 1pm weekdays) up to $595 Platinum Punch to golf whenever you please, including cart & range.

http://www.pinecreek.com/golf-course

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to "hit the links' in the coming months... Happy golfing!

In following with Joe's recent blog, I thought I'd provide an update for D-20 as well.  Academy School District 20 also has their choice enrollment open from January 7-February 25, 2011. Some schools place no priority on time of enrollment and do it completely like a "lottery", some invite students to take a choice enrollment based on time of application. I encourage you to visit www.asd20.org for more information about the school that you are interested in and more information about the process.

The school board at Falcon School District 49 officially voted last night to stop running buses throughout their district. This change will save them approximately $3.6million to help curb an almost $4million deficit in next year's budget. There are arguments for both sides, of course.  The school district decided that they didn't want to have educational cuts, and opted for transportation. I don't know for sure when this will go into affect. This board meeting overflowed out of the administration building, and some discussions were heated. Bus services are needed by many families! Here is the Colorado Springs Gazette article on the meeting last night - http://www.gazette.com/articles/meeting-111111-board-district.html 

I am sure you are wondering why I am posting about this in a Briargate blog post, well... I have received notices via email as an Academy School District 20 parent and D-20 seems to be headed to the same conclusion in their budget. I'd love to know how will this affect you, your family, your job flexibility??

Both of these districts (and maybe others will follow suit) will be presenting options. The top choices are: 1) charging families individually for bus rides, 2) mill levy vote (tax increase), or 3) no return of bus service. District 49 passed a pretty hefty mill levy increase a couple years ago, so maybe voters will pass another in support of buses returning to the district. I'll keep you posted as I know more.

Happy New Year all, I hope this year provides many new opportunities to improve yourself and your life!!

Between the Gatehouse Village & Summerfield neighborhoods 49 homes sold in 2010! Currently there is 1 pending and 27 homes on the market.

As people prepare for moves in the Spring & Summer (while the weather is nice, the sun is out longer and the kids are out of school), we will start to see inventory increase in this and other neighborhoods around town. 

After living and working all over Colorado Springs, my favorite locally owned Mexican restaurant in Briargate has got to be...Salsa Brava.  There is nothing quite like the authentic Mexican food from Pueblo, however years ago I discovered a small Mexican restaurant on the west side of town in Rockrimmon, called Salsa Brava. They have a very unique taste, including a pineapple salsa (yes, they still have a traditional pico salsa and a spicy 'restaurant-style' salsa). Well, as shopping and businesses expanded just on the edge of Pine Creek, Salsa Brava capitalized on the opportunity and opened a newer location at Briargate Pkwy & Chapel Hills Dr. The food is delicious, the location is great, the service is excellent! They also have an enjoyable patio with mountain views and excellent atmosphere inside & out. Drop on in, but note they are very busy so you might call ahead for seating and they are closed Sundays & holidays.  Happy dining! http://salsabravaonline.com/briargate.htm

Focus on the Family ministries located in northern Colorado Springs is a noticeable set of buildings off I-25. FOTF is a publisher, with its focus on people, Christian values, and family. They have several ministries that branch out from there... publishing radio programs and books. Colorado Springs houses their headquarters, located off Briargate Pkwy and Explorer Dr. From the interstate you can see their beautiful brick buildings and facilities, which include offices, a large book store and “Whit’s End” children’s play area designed after some of their children’s book characters. For more on their services and ministries, please visit - http://www.focusonthefamily.com/about_us.aspx