Boulder

After spending $40,000 to electrify her Boulder home, which included installing heat pumps, K.K. DuVivier was ready to disconnect from natural gas and have her meter turned off. Then she got the bill to flip the switch: $5,333. The bill marked due Dec. 12 arrived after what DuVivier described as frustrating rounds of calls and emails as she tried to stop the gas service she no longer needs from Xcel Energy. The bill didn’t say why she owed more than $5,000. When she contacted Xcel again, DuVivier got an email saying the…

Many community members who turned out to a Boulder Planning Board hearing last week voiced strong opposition to a developer’s concept plan that would tear down the historic Dark Horse Tavern and build a mixed-use commercial and residential development on the property. The Dark Horse has been a Boulder landmark since 1975, known for its selection of bar food and drinks as well as its assortment of Colorado Buffaloes memorabilia, unique décor and fun atmosphere, according to its website. Not to mention the bar’s infamous…

Conditions are looking up for tenants in metro Denver and Boulder as more new apartments keep rolling into the market, keeping rents in check and providing more options for those looking for housing, according to a quarterly update from the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. The average rent for an apartment in the seven-county metro area, including Boulder, was $1,870 in the fourth quarter, which is down from $1,888 in the third quarter and not much above the average of $1,838 a year earlier. Two years ago, the…

A former Colorado tenant has sued real estate giant Greystar — the nation’s largest apartment management company — over hidden charges and “junk fees” charged for items including pest control and valet trash service. Nichole Collins, a tenant until April in a Lakewood apartment complex called The Hamptons, filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court on Jan. 9. She and her attorneys hope to join forces with other Greystar renters statewide in a class-action case challenging the fees and other billing charges tucked within…

The top 10 luxury home sales in 2023 in the Denver metro area included six Boulder properties, two Denver homes, one Cherry Hills Village mansion and a ski resort turned luxury ranch above Golden. Let’s begin the countdown. No. 10: $9.3 million: 400 block Westwood Drive in Denver Listing agents: Helm Weaver Helm with Compass-Denver Buyer’s agent: Blake O’Shaughnessy with LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Details: TDDK Revocable Trust spent $9.3 million to win a bidding war for this Country Club mansion listed for $8.5…

A Front Range property management company has agreed to pay about $1 million to the state after illegally billing tenants for standard apartment services like repairs, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday. Boulder-based Four Star Realty reached the settlement with Attorney General Phil Weiser after an investigation by the Colorado Department of Law exposed multiple instances of the company charging renters for unnecessary work, unrelated damages and other fees not outlined in their leases. The…

The news of potential interest rate cuts next year could leave would-be homebuyers with visions of lower mortgage rates dancing in their heads. But it’s too late to take advantage of more favorable terms on that $13 million house in Boulder or the $14.7 million, nine-bedroom home in Golden. Those two made the list of some of the priciest home sales across the state in 2023, a year in which higher mortgages certainly didn’t hinder the luxury home market. There’s luxury, and then there’s Aspen luxury. The most expensive…

A nearly 4,000-square-foot home in Boulder’s Knollwood neighborhood sold for $8.3 million, topping November’s home sales in the Denver metro area. The 3,917-square-foot home with three bedrooms and four baths at 2200 block of Knollwood Drive was designed by Surround Architecture and constructed in 2019. Compass-Boulder listed the home for owner Todd Barrett for $8 million in September. Milehighmodern-Boulder represented the buyers, Robert Phares and Victoria Di Savino Phares. The home features high ceilings, wide-plank…

Many companies use raises or bonuses to motivate employees. But, new research suggests it doesn’t always work. Tony Kong, professor of organizational leadership at the University of Colorado Boulder, found that performance-based pay can backfire, causing decreased productivity and negative attitudes among employees. The factor that determines whether pay for performance will work relies on the leader being competent and personable. “A leader’s competence … is beneficial for employees engagement and performance under pay…

Colorado is in a heated battle with Illinois to win designation as the nation’s top hub for quantum technology, with potentially $1 billion in federal support, not to mention multiple times that in economic activity, at stake. The CHIPS and Science Act directs $52 billion in federal dollars to boost U.S. competitiveness in semiconductors and restore the country’s leadership in chip manufacturing and other advanced technologies. The Biden administration announced Monday that it would make the first award under the act by…