Townhouse within walking distance of restaurants/stores (Denver, Westminster: fit in, for sale)

[WiW]

We are thinking of moving to the Boulder area next spring ('11). We would like to live in a townhouse that is within walking distance (15-20 min walk) of restaurants / stores or a town center. Our budget is around $350K, though we'll probably rent for a year before buying.

We would like to live in an area where people are welcoming, there is some diversity (racial) and there is strong sense of community. We do not have children.

We're planning a trip out there later this summer, and would like your suggestions on towns/developments that may have what we're looking for.

This is a wonderful forum and we've already learned a lot. Thank you.

[chilaili]

For that price you probably won't find anything close to the centre of Boulder. Maybe in the outskirts such as the Holiday development, Northfield or in Gunbarrel. Holiday and Gunbarrel have a few shops and Gunbarrel has a supermarket. But have a search in coloproperty.com and see what's available.

[dply]

350k in Boulder really isn't much. You might want to look into some of the towns around Boulder like downtown Louisville. You dollar will go much further.

[LisaBoulder]

I'm a fairly long-term lurker on this forum and longer term Boulder resident. I agree that at $350k, you probably won't find anything in down town Boulder but I do think that you'll have more options within the city if you are further from the center. You can walk to a supermarket and some restaurants from these areas, but they will be in s strip mall type of shopping centers. Most of these complexes are at least 20 years old.

Some areas to consider are:

In South Boulder, there are townhomes on Benthaven that are around your price range. You could walk or bike to the Table Mesa shopping center, which has a supermarket, other strip mall stores and about 1/2 dozen restaurants.

At 28th and Glenwood there are some other townhomes, which usually start in the mid 300s. They are near a Safeway and about restaurants at 28th & Iris and a 24 hr fitness. There is a Whole Foods further South at Pearl between 28th & 30th , which may be stretching the 20 min walk. North of Iris off of Palo is another townhouse development.

Another option, which is a little further out is the townhomes on MacArthur and Harrison in east boulder. This is about a mile east of the King Soopers (& requisite strip mall) on 30th and Arapahoe. The neighborhood isn’t as walkable, but it is on a bus line and there is a bike path, which takes you west on Arapahoe. As you head west, there are a handful of restaurants between 38th & 30th. Once you are at 30th, you are at the 29th St. Shopping center that has a movie theatre, restaurants, shops, Macy’s. etc.

There are probably other options that I’m forgetting but hopefully knowing where some of the shopping is will help you with your search. Most listings in Boulder do include an address, which makes it much easier to figure out what’s close to what.

Good Luck with your search, Lisa

[Scott5280]

2861 Springdale Ln, Boulder, CO 80303 (MLS# 627316) - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - ColoradoHomes.com

This is a very central location two blocks from Twenty Ninth Street mall, and practically adjacent
to the Boulder Creek Path....

[Neditate]

I agree with the previous posts, finding something for that price in central Boulder may be difficult.
The Steel Yards in NE Boulder is nice. IMO not really within walking distance of anything though I've seen it advertised as "a great downtown alternative".
Boulder Steel Yards Is a Great Downtown Alternative : Boulder Real Estate Blog
COhomefinder | Steel Yards Boulder Colorado For Sale and Sold Real Estate Listings

[Bradburn1]

If you are willing to look a little outside Boulder, you could find a great townhouse in my neighborhood, Bradburn Village in Westminster (20 minutes to Boulder) in that price range (or even a small single family home). Neighborhood is a new urbanist (mixed-use, walkable) neighborhood within walking distance to around 15 restaurants, several bars, Sprouts organic grocer, and a bunch of other stores and things such as dental offices.

Neighborhood is super, super social with a strong sense of community, so if you don't want to talk to your neighbors, not a good fit. Filled with lots of kids but we also have couples without and they fit in great too. Tons of neighborhood social events and everyone here knows each other, is like a small town really.

One thing we do lack however, is diversity. Neighborhood is economically diverse because we have a range of housing options, but it racially not very diverse I'm afraid--but that's rather common in most of the Denver/Boulder area.

[Katarina Witt]

Boulder is not *that* big that you can't walk to a lot of places, even if you don't live right downtown. You will get a sense of that when you come out to look around.

[WiW]

Thank you all for your suggestions. They give us a really good start. We'll be sure to check these places out on our visit. I love the walking score on the coloproperty.com site.

Bradburn1, I've been told to expect little racial diversity in the area. Thanks for confirming it. We'll see more first hand later this summer.

Are there any members who live in Townhouses in these areas? We would love to hear your first-hand experiences.

[Katarina Witt]

Don't put too much cred in that walking score quiz. It's not very accurate. Just take a look around when you're visiting properties. Go back and clock the distance between the property and downtown, if that's really important to you.