Family Friendly Denver Apartments (Arvada, Westminster: apartment complexes, rent, house)

[uncfannik]

I currently live in NC with my wife and 2.5 year old, but I've accepted a job a CU-Boulder and want to try living in Denver as we've lived in a big city before. I'm planning on using public transportation and would like to limit the commute to an 1 hour to an an hour and 15 minutes. We've been looking at apartments in LODO and they seem nice (and expensive) but I'm really worried that we'll be surrounded by younger folks who want to be loud and party hard on the weekends. We really like the idea of being able to walk to restaurants and other attractions like art museums. Does anyone have an suggestions for apartments that will be quieter than a dorm but still provide a nice walkability score. When you read the apartment evaluations it's pretty depressing because there are very few positive reviews for any of them. Thanks in advance!

[suzco]

Originally Posted by uncfannik

I. . .I've accepted a job a CU-Boulder and want to try living in Denver as we've lived in a big city before. I'm planning on using public transportation and would like to limit the commute to an 1 hour to an an hour and 15 minutes. We've been looking at apartments in LODO and they seem nice (and expensive) . . .!

If you've accepted a job in Boulder, even considering all of your other concerns, unless there's a consideration like a spouse working in Denver, try looking in Boulder first.

[Mach50]

Yeah if you work in Boulder, you should try not to live in Denver.

[davebarnes]

Look at Bradburn. Bradburn Village in Westminster, Colorado : UnSprawl Case Study : Terrain.org
Look at Olde Town Arvada. Olde Town Arvada

LODO is insane.
Do you really want to spend your life on a bus?

[uncfannik]

Thanks for the recommendation. There is in fact a good possibility that my wife will be working in Denver. I'm also very familiar with Boulder as that's where my in-laws live (perhaps one more reason to live in Denver if you you know what I mean). So for arguments sake let's pretend I've accepted a position at CU Denver. Are there any family friendly apartment complexes that you would recommend?

[tyler.rrrr]

Downtown with a child would probably not work so well. It's very loud well into the night. People, parties, motorcycles, music... the works. I'd strongly consider living in a NW burb, or half-way to Boulder, if you have a job in Boulder. Commuting 36 is notorious for being slow and painful, esp when the weather gets bad.

I used to live in Downtown Denver (4 years), even young and single, and even I wouldn't choose to live in the heart of LoDo. Living in LoDo is for partying and getting laid (crude, but serious). Living in downtown but not LoDo is for urban professionals working downtown or those that enjoy city life. Living in the burbs is for people who value sleep. I know you want to live in Denver (I still live in Denver proper), but commuting up 36 every morning is easier to rationalize looking at a map than when you're doing it.

As for specific apartment recommendations, I don't have any--sorry. All my friends/family live in central or South Denver. Don't even consider South Denver if you're commuting to Boulder. It'll take you 30 minutes just to reach I-70 from the Tech Center.

[davebarnes]

Welcome to greater Denver and increasing rents.

"The apartment vacancy rate in metro Denver was 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, the lowest year-end rate in 12 years...
Rents, meanwhile, continued to rise year over year. The median rent climbed to $870, up 2.8 percent from the $846 in the fourth quarter 2010...
Vacancy rate and median rent by county:
• Adams, 5.3 percent and $873 .
• Arapahoe, 6.8 percent and $840.
• Boulder/Broomfield, 4.4 percent and $993 .
• Denver, 4.8 percent and $834 .
• Douglas, 4.7 percent and $1,046.
• Jefferson, 4.4 percent and $836 ."


Denver-area apartment vacancies hit 12-year low for Q4 - Denver Business Journal


The full report should be at Colorado Division of Housing in a day or so.

[tyler.rrrr]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

increasing rent stuff

This is truth. My wife and I bought a house last year and when we moved out of our apartment they wanted to increase our rent 7.5%.

[uncfannik]

I know it's tight. In fact according to those numbers it's tighter in Boulder than it is in Denver . Does anybody know anything about Windsor at Broadway Station Apartments?