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Englewood Developer James Demetrakis Admits Role In Loan Scheme

james Demetrakis, 79, admitted his role in an elaborate conspiracy to illegally obtain loans from an Edgewater bank. (Image via Shutterstock)

ENGLEWOOD, NJ — A city real estate developer admitted his role in a loan scheme to try to deceive a Bergen County bank and the federal government.

James Demetrakis, 79, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false entries to deceive a financial institution and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Newark federal court before U.S. District Judge Jose Linares.

Demetrakis was arrested and charged as part of a related case against noted Edgewater Fred Daibes and Michael McManus. (See related: Major Bergen Developer Charged In Baking Loan Scheme)

Demetrakis and Daibes were longtime business partners. Daibes was the founder and, until April 2011, chairman of the board of directors, at Mariner’s Bank in Edgewater.

From January 2008 to December 2013, Demetrakis conspired with Daibes and others to run a loan scheme designed to circumvent the lending limits by ensuring that millions of dollars in loans flowed form Mariner’s Bank to others and Diabes. He hid from the bank and the FDIC Daibes’ beneficial interests in those loans, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

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Demetrakis was a nominee for a $1.8 million line of credit and got two of his relatives to be nominees for a $2.6 million loan. They gave the money to Daibes, who arranged to make both the interest and principal payments on the loans.

The loans became delinquent several times when Daibes failed to give Demetrakis and the others the money to pay the loans back, Carpenito said.

Daibes and the nominees also did not disclose to Mariner’s Bank that, in certain instances, Daibes pledged the collateral for the loans, while, in other cases, he arranged to make both the interest and principal payments on the loans, Carpenito said.

In order to convince Mariner’s Bank to approve two of the loans, Michael McManus, the CFO of Daibes Enterprises, signed and provided to Mariner’s Bank a false certification attesting to the profitability of gas stations that two of the nominees had pledged as collateral after purchasing them from Daibes in sham transactions, Carpenito said.

After the FDIC investigated one of the loans, Daibes, McManus, and others created and gave a backdated sales contract to them to make it look like one of the nominees had obtained one of the loans from Mariner’s Bank in order to pay Daibes for his interest in a real estate venture, Carpenito said.

Demetrakis’ plea carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2019.

Daibes and McManus were indicted Oct. 30, 2018 on conspiracy and bank fraud charges, which are pending.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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Colorado snow totals for April 10-11, 2019

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The following Colorado snow totals have been reported by the National Weather Service for April 10-11, 2019, as of 6 a.m. on Thursday.

Aspen Springs, Co — 5.5 inches at 8:30 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Avon Nnw, Co — 2 inches at 7 a.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Beulah, Co — 6 inches at 9:37 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Black Forest, Co — 4 inches at 8:12 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Boulder, Co — 4 inches at 10:30 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Breckenridge, Co — 4.4 inches at 10:05 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Castle Pines, Co — 1.3 inches at 9:12 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Cortez, Co — 4.4 inches at 1:57 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Crescent Village, Co — 9 inches at 8:16 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Denver Intl Airport, Co — 2.2 inches at 12 a.m. MDT

Denver, Co — 3.1 inches at 12:09 a.m. MDT

Edgewater, Co — 1.6 inches at 6:13 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Englewood, Co — 3 inches at 9:54 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Estes Park, Co — 7.5 inches at 1:25 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Florissant, Co — 4 inches at 8:43 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Fort Garland, Co — 10 inches at 3:53 a.m. MDT

Foxfield, Co — 1.5 inches at 4:44 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Greeley, Co — 2 inches at 6:40 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Jamestown, Co — 4.4 inches at 3:21 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Lafayette, Co — 2.5 inches at 8 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Lone Tree, Co — 5.3 inches at 1:20 a.m. MDT

Longmont, Co — 2 inches at 5:56 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Louisville, Co — 3.3 inches at 10:26 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Loveland, Co — 4.9 inches at 1:45 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Mancos, Co — 9 inches at 8:44 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Manila Village, Co — 4 inches at 7:41 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Nederland, Co — 8 inches at 9:35 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Niwot, Co — 2.4 inches at 7:40 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Ponderosa Park, Co — 4 inches at 5:34 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Rye, Co — 5 inches at 9:23 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Shaffers Crossing, Co — 2 inches at 5:16 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Silverton, Co — 4 inches at 8:20 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

The Pinery, Co — 4 inches at 5:45 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Vail, Co — 5.5 inches at 7:32 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Walsenburg, Co — 5.3 inches at 1 a.m. MDT

Windsor, Co — 7.2 inches at 7:30 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

Winter Park, Co — 9.5 inches at 1:35 p.m. MDT – 4/10/2019

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EPA Aims To Remove Polluted Soil From 167 East Chicago Homes

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to excavate lead- and arsenic-tainted soil from around more than 160 homes in a northwestern Indiana city. Ken Molestina reports.

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Englewood looks to regulate short-term rentals for the first time

Editor’s Note: ‘Our Colorado’ helps us all navigate the challenges related to growth while celebrating life in the state we love. To comment on this or other ‘Our Colorado’ stories, email us at OurCO@TheDenverChannel.com . See more ‘Our Colorado’ stories here.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Experts from surrounding cities will weigh in during a forum to discuss possible short-term rental regulations in Englewood. Currently, the city does not have any regulations surrounding these businesses, but staff believes approximately 100 homes are being advertised.

Cities across Colorado are trying to figure out how to regulate this growing business with varying degrees of regulations. Denver recently adopted new rules regarding insurance requirements. It also provides clarification about when a license application can be denied or revoked. Denver revoked a short-term rental license for the first time last month after neighbors complained about wild parties at a $5 million mansion turned boutique hotel.

"We haven’t had any issues, just minor complaints about noise and parking," said Erik Sampson, a planner with the City of Englewood.

Sampson said the city wants to be proactive in order to protect neighborhoods. As far as the specific regulations, those details are still being worked out. He envisions some sort of permitting process that will require a fee or renewal. The home would also have to be eligible based on city zoning code.

The forum will take place on Tuesday, April 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Englewood Civic Center. Residents will have the chance to ask questions and learn more about the proposed regulations.

Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Chicago’s Large Lot Program sowing change in inner-city communities

Residents who repurposed vacant lots through Chicago’s Large Lot Program reported in a new study that the projects made their neighborhoods safer, quieter, friendlier places to live. The study was co-written by U. of I. scholars, from left, …

Chicago’s vacant lot-repurposing program is enhancing not just the curb appeal of blighted properties across the city, but also the culture and safety of the surrounding communities, residents said in a new study.

Chicago’s Large Lot Program allows existing property owners to buy up to two vacant residential lots on their blocks for $1 each.

Nearly 200 people who purchased properties during the first wave of sales in spring 2014 participated in the study. Researchers from the University of Illinois conducted the project with Paul H. Gobster, a research landscape architect with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Northern Research Station, which funded the research.

Buyers can use their lots for purposes that comply with residential zoning codes, such as maintaining a green side-yard, social or play space, organizing a community garden or constructing garages or some types of extensions of their homes. The new owners are required to pay the property taxes, maintain the lawns and shrubs, and fence any lots that are not side-adjacent to their homes.

Working with city officials, neighborhood associations and the nonprofit organization the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the researchers surveyed and conducted focus groups with buyers in the East Garfield Park, Englewood and Woodlawn subdivisions about the costs and benefits of the program.

Prior to being sold, the empty lots attracted unwanted activities including drinking and drug use, illegal dumping and nuisance animals, residents said.

The majority (54 percent) of the lots purchased adjoined buyers’ existing properties, while 24 percent were less than five lots away. Some of the participants said that owning the properties strengthened their feelings of investment and pride in their community.

Residents who buy lots through the program are required to hold on to them for at least five years. That rule, along with restricting purchases to existing residents, prevents outside investors from entering the market, and protects longtime, low-income residents from being displaced by gentrification, said co-author Alessandro Rigolon, a professor of recreation, sport and tourism.

Visual signs that the lots were being cared for by the new owners changed the character of their communities, discouraging crime and making their neighborhoods quieter, safer, more pleasant places to live.

"Many of the owners developed an emotional attachment to these spaces," said lead author William P. Stewart, a professor of recreation, sport and tourism. "With the simple acts of mowing, building a fence or installing a garden, they cared for these lots in ways that increased the value of the block to people who lived there. They came to know their neighbors better because people would come to talk with them while they were working outside. There was increased social interaction that led to a desirable sense of place and community."

While some owners intended only to meet city codes by keeping the ground cover mowed and the trees and shrubs trimmed, other residents planted vegetables or fruit trees with the intent of sharing the produce with family members or neighbors.

Other owners told the researchers that they planned to create beautiful spaces with flowers, ornamental shrubs and seating or play areas that would encourage visitors to linger and enjoy their surroundings.

"It was inspiring that people had really passionate stories to tell," said co-author Carena J. van Riper, a professor of natural resources and environmental sciences. "They were enthusiastic about fixing up the neighborhood and committed to beautifying their homes."

While empty lots often serve as painful reminders of people, jobs and resources that are no longer there, resident-led neighborhood improvement efforts such as the Large Lot program "allow people within the community to dictate what the future is going to be," said graduate student John Strauser, who co-wrote the study.

Working with neighbors to care for urban gardens enables residents to "actively envision the transformation of bleak circumstances into places of opportunity for a better life," co-author Douglas A. Williams wrote in his doctoral dissertation, which examined the effects that repurposing vacant lots for urban gardens had on residents of one of the neighborhoods in the current study.

Williams’ personal ties to some of the residents may have fostered trust in the study that encouraged more community members to participate in the survey, the researchers said. Those personal connections, coupled with the public support of the other project partners, helped the team attain a 71 percent response rate on the survey.

The study was published recently in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.

More information: William P. Stewart et al, Resident-led beautification of vacant lots that connects place to community, Landscape and Urban Planning (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.02.011

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Former Broncos Q’back Chad Kelly Pleads Guilty To Trespassing

Kelly was fired after being arrested for entering a strange Englewood home dressed as Woody from Toy Story after a Halloween Party.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, CO – Former Denver Broncos back-up quarterback appeared in Arapahoe County Court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to trespassing in Englewood.

According to police, on Oct. 23, 2018 Kelly stumbled uninvited into a strange home in Englewood around 1 a.m., wearing a Halloween costume resembling "Woody" from Toy Story. He was beaten out by the homeowner with a vacuum cleaner attachment, according to a police affidavit.

Kelly was fired from the team after his arrest.

Kelly plead guilty to charges of misdemeanor second-degree criminal trespassing, the Denver Post reported. A judge sentenced Kelly to a year of supervised probation and 50 hours of community service.

The night of the Halloween party, police responded to a call about "a male standing outside a residence" in the 3200 block of South Lincoln Street in Englewood. A man and woman told police a strange man came into their home and sat down on the couch "mumbling incoherently."

Police searched the area and found Kelly sitting in a black SUV near the Gothic Theater at 3623 S. Broadway, where the Halloween Party had been held.

Kelly is from a football family, being the nephew of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly According to the Associated Press, Kelly was previously arrested in Buffalo in 2014.

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Breaking down Texans corner Bradley Roby’s $10 million deal

Newly-acquired Texans cornerback Bradley Roby’s one-year contract is worth $10 million, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly.

Roby has $9.5 million of the deal fully guaranteed.

Roby got a $4.5 million signing bonus.

ON TEXAS SPORTS NATION: How Tashaun Gipson, Bradley Roby fit with Texans

He has a $5 million fully guaranteed base salary.

Roby is also due $31,250 per game active in roster bonuses, worth up to a total of $500,000.

The former Denver Broncos first-round draft pick from Ohio State turned down a one-year, $9 million offer from the San Francisco 49ers and a three-year, $30 million deal from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Meanwhile, Texans wide receiver DeAndre Carter’s one-year deal is worth $570,000.

GO BEYOND THE GAME: Go inside the breaking news and box scores with insights, detailed analysis and metrics in our Texas Sports Nation newsletter. Subscribe here.

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Bleeding, suffocating dog found with mouth taped shut; deputies looking for owner

LEHIGH ACRES (WWSB) – Deputies in Lee County are looking for the person who used red electrical tape to tape a dog’s mouth shut.

There is now a reward up to $8,000 after PETA joined in contribution with Crime Stoppers who initially offered a $3,000 reward for anyone with information that would help lead to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of the person who is responsible for this crime.

The dog, a male Florida Cur, was found roaming through backyards of homes on the 3200 block of 42nd Street SW in LeHigh Acres. The dog’s mouth had been taped shut with red electrical tape.

The dog, a male Florida Cur, was found roaming through backyards of homes on the 3200 block of 42nd Street SW in LeHigh Acres. The dog’s mouth had been taped shut with red electrical tape.

Deputies say the dog was panting, drooling and reportedly suffocating. The dog was dehydrated, malnourished and bleeding from wounds on his left front leg and chest.

“A person that’s able to do this to an animal, later on can possibly do this to a human being,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

Deputies say the dog has been seen by a veterinarian and is resting comfortably at Lee County Domestic Animal Services.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who can identify the dog or its owner to call them with information.

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A retirement community with a communal touch

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Group of soon-to-be retirees dream of a retirement community that lets them own their own homes but share common amenities.

ENGLEWOOD — Marcia Carmichael loves to bake, but as a widow who lives alone it seems a little excessive to whip up pies and loaves of bread for one.

Marie and Bob Slauson sometimes worry about what will happen if one of them becomes ill and the other is overwhelmed.

In an ideal world, Carmichael might bake a loaf of bread for the Slausons and check up on them in their time of need.

But the Slausons and Carmichael live in separate communities where the neighbors mostly keep to themselves. Having just recently met, they are hoping to change that.

On Sunday, Marie Slauson, Carmichael and five other idealistic retirees and soon-to-be retirees spent an afternoon hiking through a dense piece of Florida scrub brush in Englewood and dreaming about how to turn it into their perfect retirement community.

“I don’t want to go into a retirement home,” said Marie Slauson, 72. “I want to be somewhere where people help each other to live independently and where there’s a real sense of community.”

She and the others in the group are investigating a new trend in retirement communities known as “cohousing.” If they are successful, the project could be the first of its kind in Florida.

A Colorado consulting group is trying to start an elder “cohousing” project on six acres in Englewood.

What: Cohousing is a Danish development concept in which a group of people live independently but share certain common areas and activities.

Why: Advocates say cohousing allows older people to live independently longer by providing them with a support group of like-minded neighbors.

What’s next: Paiss & Associates will conduct another tour of the potential cohousing site on Oct. 7 and hold several community forums. For more information, call Van Deist at 408-7440.

Spearheading the effort is The Elder Cohousing Network and Paiss & Associates, a consulting group based in Colorado that advocates cohousing as a means for older people to stay independent longer.

With cohousing, people own their own homes but they share certain common areas, like a clubhouse or community kitchen, and the development is designed to encourage more socialization and communal activities.

“That’s very attractive to me because I’m a single person who lives alone,” said Carmichael, 78. “I’ve been interested in something like this for many years. It’s a great way to share resources and have some company in your later years.”

While there are already many developments for seniors, most of them are large and the neighbors come together at random. In cohousing, the group decides how it wants the community to look and what kind of amenities it will have.

“The unique thing about this is that it’s intentional,” said Zev Paiss, owner of Paiss & Associates. “You intentionally choose to live in a certain area with certain people who have similar philosophies.”

Developed in Denmark about 30 years ago, only three elder cohousing communities have been built in the United States thus far, Paiss said.

Van Deist, Paiss’s representative in Southwest Florida, has been trying to organize a local cohousing development for the past two years but the projects have stalled, either because the location or the group dynamic was not right.

“Everything has to come together in just the right way for this to work,” Deist said.

Deist’s newest attempt involves up to 50 homes on six acres owned by Land Tech LLC across from the Englewood Sports Complex on River Road.

Land Tech owner John Goddard estimated the cost at about $50,000 to $60,000 per person to clear the land and provide utilities.

Each person would pay for their own home, and the group would pool their money to build amenities such as a clubhouse or swimming pool.

The community would operate under the same rules as a condominium association, with a board of directors and joint ownership of the shared facilities.

The Englewood project is simply a concept for now.

“We’re just trying to see if there’s enough interest to take this to the next level,” Deist said.

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Denver’s Whale sites: Englewood CityCenter Edition

This the eighth in a series on Denver’s “Whale Sites,” defined as extremely prominent and underdeveloped land parcels whose size and location will define Denver’s future growth and development. Examples include the Burnham Yard, Upper Fox, Elitch Gardens, the Broadway Station Area and Denver Design District.

Introduction and background

Steve Ferris, Founder and principal, Real Estate Garage, Denver

The city of Englewood began to grapple with the slow decline and eventual closing of the 1.3 million-square-foot Cinderella City regional mall in the 1990s. The city responded with a public-private planning and redevelopment effort that delivered the first of a new generation of transit-oriented “city centers” on the 55-acre mall site.

The centerpiece of CityCenter was the new 140,000-sf Englewood Civic Center building, adapted from a former department store. It became home to the city offices, courts and council chambers, as well as the city’s public library and the notable Museum of Outdoor Arts. The Englewood Civic Center also includes a plaza and fountain area at the base of the transit station.

Luckily the plan contemplated future redevelopment, and that time has come. This is due to a combination of factors, including: 1. The intervening full build-out of the Regional Transportation District FasTracks metro area network; 2. The tremendous interest of employers and the real estate industry in Denver area TOD sites; 3. Designation of the CityCenter, and most of Englewood, as a 2017 Tax Act Opportunity Zone; and 4. The surprising recent foreclosure on the three-square-block Weingarten Realty portion of CityCenter by special servicer C-III Asset Management. (C-III ultimately foreclosed and took title through an Arapahoe County Public Trustee’s sale in August with a bid of approximately $35 million. C-III will be marketing the property for sale this spring.)

Unique to many whale sites, the 55-acre Englewood CityCenter enjoys a central metro area location with proximity to both downtown Denver and the Denver Tech Center, strong existing infrastructure and significant land cost advantages.

In anticipation of the redevelopment opportunities at CityCenter and at other key sites in Englewood, the city hired Dan Poremba in 2018 as its first chief redevelopment officer. He brings expertise developing complex public-private partnership and TOD projects for both public and private-sector sponsors. The city is now poised to capture the current trend toward urbanizing the suburbs, with significant advantages over comparable suburbs.

Englewood backdrop

Immediately adjacent to Denver, the city of Englewood is a classic inner-ring suburb. It is an authentic small town, displaying surprisingly strong attributes and redevelopment opportunities (6.8 square miles in size with a population of 35,000).

It offers a relatively affordable housing stock of smaller single-family homes, prime for renovation and redevelopment. These are being discovered by both first-time millennial and empty-nester, boomer buyers.

Englewood also benefits from a thriving health care district anchored by two growing hospitals (Swedish Medical Center and Craig Hospital) and a locally oriented retail district along the South Broadway corridor.

The city also is home to a surprisingly diverse economy of entrepreneurial manufacturing, assembly, high-tech and maker firms combined with a notable community of artists and art-based businesses. Areas south of CityCenter served by the Oxford light-rail station have the look and feel of RiNo circa 2005.

CityCenter redevelopment opportunities

Per the site plan, there are two major TOD redevelopment scenarios at Englewood CityCenter, which may be combined to create a larger redevelopment. The “C-III Property” covers the former Weingarten property. Its 15.2 gross acres will be marketed by CBRE for sale within the next couple months. It sits on a ground lease from the city of Englewood real estate entity, the Englewood Environmental Foundation, with 57 years remaining.

The site could easily be redeveloped in phases with a range of mixed and higher-density uses. However, any buyer of the C-III Property will need to work with the city to extend and amend the ground lease to support redevelopment. A conversion of the lease to fee simple is not impossible but Poremba pointed out that in any scenario the city will be looking to revitalize CityCenter into a walkable “central place” for the city. It will also seek to generate a new long-term revenue stream for the city, as the current ground lease was fully paid as part of the original redevelopment.

The “City Property” shown on the map above is owned or controlled by the city and/or its real estate entity and totals 11.9 acres. It includes the 140,000-sf Civic Center building and two-level parking structure located on a high-profile TOD parcel. It could support the addition of substantial development with potential uses including hotel, office and multifamily.

The City Property also includes a 4-acre surface parking lot north of the station that could support additional development, likely multifamily. Shared parking agreements with RTD exist within one-quarter mile of the site and allow for parking to be reconfigured.

The city has engaged Tryba Architects for an initial phase of CityCenter re-visioning and to assess how various combinations of redevelopment can fit on both the C-III and City properties. Given Tryba’s large role in the original redevelopment and experience in densifying similar projects, it brings significant value-add ideas. Its history with the site also means it gets the details about such things as the RTD parking requirements and potential for, say, air rights.

A big-picture possibility is that a quality buyer proposes partnering with the city to plan the redevelopment of both the C-III Property and the City Property. Alternatively, the City Council is considering the adoption of an unsolicited proposal policy and other tools to expedite council consideration of the various redevelopment scenarios, including public-private partnership deal structures. The fact that all of CityCenter sits within a designated opportunity zone should help – it’s unusual to find projects of this scale in urban locations within opportunity zones.

In discussing the CityCenter redevelopment potential, Poremba emphasizes that the Englewood City Council, with ample public input, will drive what happens. He notes that while “the City Council is open to considering all the possibilities, the unique opportunity and the urgency created by the foreclosure must not be overlooked. Concurrently, the council and the community will be engaged in coordinating the timing and phasing of redevelopment in ways that are consistent with Englewood’s character.”

Deeper-dive opportunities

Between the C-III and City properties, two or more multifamily rental projects appear to be immediately feasible. Meanwhile, Englewood is also proving to have strong demand for multifamily condo product and even hotel uses. Office development will offer very competitive pricing to develop and lease compared to downtown Denver, along with proximity to public transit.

Moving along the spine of CityCenter on Englewood Parkway presents some challenges due to the presence of Walmart’s extensive surface parking and, further east, the large, dated retail properties owned by Kimco and Bristol. It’s anticipated that CityCenter redevelopment will involve one or more parking structures and/or shared parking within future vertical developments. Coincidentally, Walmart has recently taken steps nationally to bring more customer experience and small retail opportunities to its parking areas. That direction should help foster a collaborative redevelopment relationship.

The area between CityCenter and Broadway, including two high-rise office building owned by Situs, offers significant future redevelopment opportunities, perhaps even a formal expansion to the defined CityCenter area. This could be facilitated by expanding Englewood Trolley services. The trolley now runs every 20 minutes between Englewood Station and the Hospital District.

Conclusion

The core prospect for Englewood City Center combines cost-effective development sites with economically healthy surroundings, opportunity zone tax advantages and great mobility options. In addition, several options to manage costs exist via adjustments to control of the C-III portion, including combining it with the City Property. Numerous public-private financial arrangements could also make sense, such as creation of a downtown development authority and/or special districts.

Unlike many other whale sites, CityCenter is significantly controlled by a single public entity. With the forthcoming sale of the C-III Property, the city will enjoy a unique opportunity to partner with one or more developers to ride the next generation of mixed-use TODs. The ideal approach will capture the authentic character of Englewood while leveraging the surprisingly strong attributes of the site.

Ferris’ firm, the Real Estate Garage (http://realestategarage.net), focuses on maximizing the production of real estate plans, projects and approvals, including entitlement processing coordination and rezoning. Ferris previously served as an appointee of Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, running Development Services for the city of Denver. He also has engaged in $1 billion-plus of feasibility and development management work in the private sector, and served as director of planning and town manager for the town of Telluride. He holds degrees in civil engineering from Marquette University, urban planning from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Denver.

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What’s Old Is New Again: Why Townhouses Are the Latest ‘It’ Homes

Recent waves of outside-the-box ideas in housing have brought us teeny-weeny homes, converted shipping containers, prefab modern palaces, and co-housing apartments with luxe perks for millennials. But the latest "it" homes with builders and buyers have actually been around since the 19th century.

Townhouses, those classic rows of attached single-family homes that are a fixture in American cities and suburbs alike, got a second wind in the 1960s. That’s due to folks scooping up these existing, and often inexpensive, older abodes as they moved back into the big cities. And now the lovechild of a condominium and standalone house is back again and hotter than ever with both buyers and builders.

In fact, townhomes are now the fastest-growing segment of the single-family housing construction market, according to the National Association of Home Builders, a Washington, DC–based trade group.

Townhouse construction was up 17.8% from 2014 to 2015, according to the most recent data available from the NAHB. Meanwhile, construction on standalone homes rose only 10%, while co-op, condo, and apartment construction jumped 12.1% over the same period.

They made up about 12.4% of all new construction in the single-family home market last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The secret of their popularity lies with first-time buyers, who are typically younger and cash-strapped. Townhouses and row homessold for a median $198,000 in September—about 12% less than detached single-family homes, according to the most recent data available from realtor.com®.

About a quarter of current and wannabe homeowners plan to buy a townhouse this year, according to a realtor.com® survey released in October. It was the most popular form of housing after single-family homes. That percentage was even higher for millennials, about a third of whom plan to close on one in 2017.

"Townhouses are indeed the affordable solution to expensive land in more and more urban areas," says realtor.com’s chief economist, Jonathan Smoke. "For many people, it can be the most affordable way to buy a home and to get into a more desirable neighborhood."

Many baby boomers also see the charms of a home that doesn’t require strenuous outdoor maintenance. (Residents of many townhome developments can pay their homeowners association to take care of those chores.)

Whether they’re in the city or the suburbs, townhomes are often located in trendier, more walkable areas with good schools and shopping nearby, Smoke says. They also often tend to be close to employment and transit centers.

Using a townhome as a ‘bridge’ to better things

With a 16-month-old daughter and a baby on the way, Julie and Zach Pastko figured they would need more space than what they had in their two-bedroom, two-bath Chicago condo.

So, like many a young family, they looked to the suburbs, settling on Palatine, IL, known for its excellent schools. But instead of plunking down all their cash on a traditional single-family home with a yard, they made a more modest purchase: a four-bedroom, 3.5-bath townhouse.

"We never had a dining room table before," says Julie of their additional living space. "And we have two more bedrooms to furnish. We were so cramped [in the condo] that my daughter’s toys were all over the living room."

Buyers like the Pastkos see townhomes as "a bridge" between a cramped apartment and a standalone house with a white picket fence and a yard, says the NAHB’s chief economist, Robert Dietz. The Pastkos have plenty of room to breathe in their 2,200-square-foot townhouse, but it’s still not their ideal situation.

"We want to buy a [standalone] house eventually, in five to seven years," says Julie, explaining that that purchase would be too much to handle financially right now. Julie, 33, works in sales for a health insurance company, and Zach, 35, is a consumer marketing consultant. The couple spent a little more than $400,000 on their townhouse, which isn’t that much for the Chicago suburbs.

Chicago-based Lexington Homes, which is building the Pastkos’ 24-unit townhouse community, has seen a big change in its clientele in just the past six months. Nearly all of Lexington Homes’ buyers are millennials, and most of them are either recently married or about to wed, says Lexington’s principal, Jeff Benach.

"We’ve seen a big shift since the recession," he says. "Before, it was mostly empty nesters or divorcees with kids."

Townhouses are a win-win for builders

For builders, townhouses are a win-win, says Dietz. They take up less space than standalone homes, enabling builders to construct more of them on smaller lots. This is a big deal in metro areas and older suburbs, where land is scarce and expensive. By keeping the land costs down, the builders are able to offer townhomes at a lower price than single-family homes.

"You tend to have really nice townhouse developments built in areas that are running out of land," says realtor.com’s Smoke. "They should be gaining in popularity as [more] people realize they’re more affordable alternatives to renting."

This article, "What’s Old Is New Again: Why Townhouses Are the Latest ‘It’ Homes" appeared first on Real Estate News and Insights from realtor.com.

Image credit: Andriy Prokopenko/Getty Images; realtor.com

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AP Source: Broncos to acquire Joe Flacco from Ravens

FILE – In this Dec. 30, 2018, file photo, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco warms up before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, in Baltimore.

ENGLEWOOD, CO (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to trade quarterback Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a fourth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because neither team announced the deal, which was first reported by ESPN. NFL rules prohibit teams from discussing trades until the start of the league year on March 13.

Flacco, the MVP of the 2013 Super Bowl following a miraculous win at top-seeded Denver, became expendable in Baltimore with the emergence of rookie Lamar Jackson, the former Louisville star who led the Ravens into the playoffs after Flacco got hurt.

The Broncos again need an upgrade at QB after Case Keenum’s middling debut in Denver, where a 6-10 finish led general manager John Elway to turn to Vic Fangio , his fourth head coach in six seasons.

Now, he’s landed his seventh quarterback since Peyton Manning’s tearful retirement following Denver’s win in Super Bowl 50.

The others all bombed: draft picks Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly, trade acquisition Mark Sanchez and Keenum, who threw for 18 TDs and a career-high 15 interceptions last season to go with a career-high 34 sacks.

Flacco’s contract, which has three years and $63 million remaining, could be reworked in Denver. So could Keenum’s deal, which guarantees him $7 million this season, if the Broncos keep him as a backup, although they could save $11 million by jettisoning him.

Either way, Elway’s deal for Flacco continues his build-but-don’t-rebuild ethos. The Broncos have a solid core of young stars and a still superior defense led by Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr. that Elway believes can keep up with the Chargers and Chiefs in the AFC West with the right quarterback leading the way.

Facilitating his deal for Flacco was the extra fourth-round pick he had at his disposal from the Demaryius Thomas trade to Houston last fall.

In Flacco, the Broncos are turning to a quarterback who broke their hearts six years ago in what’s arguably the lowest point in franchise playoff history.

Denver was the top seed after going 13-3 in Manning’s first season in Denver and the Broncos took an 11-game winning streak into their divisional round playoff game against Baltimore.

In the waning seconds of regulation, Flacco connected with Jacoby Jones on a 70-yard touchdown pass to force overtime in a game the Ravens won 38-35 in double overtime. Safety Rahim Moore went for the interception instead of the tackle and mistimed his leap, allowing Jones to catch the ball at the 20-yard line and trot into the end zone with the tying touchdown.

Flacco, who turned 34 last month, has played all 11 of his seasons with the Ravens after being selected 18th overall in the 2008 NFL draft. He started immediately as a rookie and was Super Bowl MVP after the 2012 season, guiding the Ravens to a victory over San Francisco in the championship game during a playoff run that included that "Mile High Miracle" in Denver.

Flacco was the starter last season until he injured his right hip in a loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 4. The Ravens had a bye the following week, and Jackson took over for the still-ailing Flacco on Nov. 18 against Cincinnati. Jackson produced wins over the Bengals, Raiders and Falcons before a 27-24 loss to Kansas City on Dec. 9.

Flacco was healthy enough to return the following week, but coach John Harbaugh said Jackson would be his starter in a matchup against Tampa Bay. Jackson retained the job, going 6-1 to get the Ravens into the postseason before coming up short in a first-round loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Ravens went 106-72 with Flacco as a starter, including the postseason. He is the team career leader in attempts (5,670), completions (3,499), yards (38,245) and touchdowns (212). His 10 playoff victories since 2008 rank second behind Tom Brady among active quarterbacks.

Flacco and Harbaugh arrived in Baltimore together in 2008. They proceeded to reach the playoffs in each of the next five years. Flacco was the first starting quarterback since the 1970 merger to win a playoff game in each of his first five years. Russell Wilson duplicated the feat from 2012-16.

During Baltimore’s 2012 run to the Super Bowl, he threw 11 touchdown passes without an interception, his most notable being the 70-yarder to Jones in the double OT win.

The Broncos eventually recovered from that devastating defeat to win a Super Bowl in Manning’s final game. But they’ve gone just 20-28 since then while churning through quarterbacks, coaches and offensive coordinators.

The Broncos lost their final four games last season to finish 6-10, marking their first back-to-back losing seasons since the Nixon administration.

Afterward, Elway said Keenum was "probably a short-term fix," something Keenum insisted last week didn’t bother him as he prepared for the upcoming season.

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Wood Partners to Break Ground on 306-Unit Luxury Apartment Building in Englewood

Wood Partners

280,000-Square-Foot Alta Cherry Hills to Open for Lease in August 2014

ENGLEWOOD, CO–(Marketwired – Oct 17, 2013) – Wood Partners will break ground this week on Alta Cherry Hills, a 306-unit luxury apartment complex adjacent to one of Denver’s most affluent neighborhoods. The project, which will include two five-story buildings on 4.6 acres, should be complete and open for lease by summer 2014.

Residents will have access to a rooftop deck, dog park and dog wash, bike and ski shop, resort-style pool and spa, state-of-the-art clubhouse and fitness center. The complex is being built to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

"We’re excited to be bringing a project of this promise to Englewood," said Tim McEntee, Wood Partners Director of the Rocky Mountain and Midwestern region. "The site’s prominent location and topography lends to a very special project with landmark identity. The pent up demand for new residential development was evident early on with such a well located infill type project."

In 2012, Colorado-based Solidcore Partners LLC acquired the property from the Englewood School District. The former Flood Middle School, which first opened in 1920, had been closed since 2007. Solidcore re-zoned the property and completed the demolition of the existing structure in the summer of 2013. Wood Partners acquired the property from Solidcore in September 2013.

"We are very pleased that Wood Partners has chosen Englewood for the firm’s Alta Cherry Hills project," said Englewood Mayor Randy Penn. "This national developer is taking a long-vacant former school site and turning it into a residential community that will add to the vibrancy to our entire community."

Studio PBA designed the complex, which will house 191 758-square-foot one-bedroom units, 103 1,160-square-foot two-bedroom units and 12 1,368 square-foot three-bedroom apartments with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, vinyl plank flooring and sophisticated technology packages.

"We were fortunate to attract Wood Partners, one of the top multi-family builders in the country, to design and execute the vertical development of the site," said Edward Barsocchi, a principal with Solidcore. "We know that the City is very pleased to have such an exceptional builder investing in Englewood, and we share their excitement over the onset of Wood’s construction."

Alta Cherry Hills’ residents will have easy access to major local employers, including Swedish and Craig Hospitals and Sports Authority national headquarters, as well as numerous entertainment and recreation venues. The Gothic Theatre, Moe’s Barbecue and Englewood shops are within easy walking distance. The Museum of Outdoor Arts, Englewood Public Library and the Englewood light rail station are a short shuttle bus ride away. Located on a prominent hilltop, Alta Cherry Hills offers outstanding views and an abundance of recreational opportunities, including tennis, swimming, golf, an extensive trail system and vast expanses of open space.

About Wood Partners Wood Partners is a national real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages high density and mixed-use communities. It was ranked the nation’s No. 2 multifamily developer in 2012 based on 5,100 unit starts. Through quality construction, responsible land development and intelligent design, our communities reflect the aesthetic and social fabric of the community and provide a luxurious living experience at a fair price. The company has been involved in the acquisition and development of more than 47,000 homes with a combined value of more than $7.0 billion nationwide. The company currently owns 77 properties with a combined total of 20,200+ units. Wood Partners has offices in 16 major markets nationwide including Atlanta, Baltimore, Delray Beach, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, Newport Beach, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. To learn just more about Wood Partners, please visit our website www.woodpartners.com

About Solidcore Partners LLC Solidcore Partners (formerly Barbury Holdings) is a Denver-based developer and owner of real estate. The firm’s core business includes long-term income producing assets and opportunistic development and re-development of strategic sites. In addition to the Flood property, the firm owns four properties in the central Denver metro area.

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Treating customers like family: That’s the Englewood Homes way

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Open the door to your new home, carefully crafted by Englewood Homes.

We have just heard so many horror stories about the building process!”

That’s what the folks at Englewood Homes hear the most when first meeting with new potential customers. It’s no wonder that the idea of building a new home can be such a daunting task, given the “not so great” experiences that are commonly shared among family, friends, co-workers, etc…

“I can only imagine how frustrating that can be,” said William Kelley, president of Englewood Homes. “Folks are trusting their builder with one of the most important and expensive decisions in their life. It should be a very exciting and fun experience for the whole family.

“If you have a builder that does not have the customer’s best interest in mind, it can be a long and trying experience. We take a different approach. We want our customers to feel like family.”

Kelley said many of his company’s home owners are building the last home they are likely to live in and many times on land that has been in their family for years.

“We don’t take that lightly,” he assured. “It has to stand the test of time. It needs to be well thought out and planned to fit their lifestyle now and later.

“It is important to all of us at Englewood Homes to know that when we hand those door keys of a newly finished home to our customers, they are 100% satisfied and excited and proud of their new home.”

“We always build every home like we ARE building for family. We work very hard to make sure that their building experience is overall a very pleasant one. I think you’d find that our references reflect that.”

“I think it’s the team approach,” Kelley said. “Everyone on our team from sales to punchout and everyone in between is interested in making our customers happy. We all work together to make sure every detail that is important to our customers is also important to us. It’s not one size fits all.

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Farm-to-lunch-table program shows Colorado kids where food comes from

BOULDER – Natalie Condon smiled as young consumers of her Lafayette farm’s winter squash harvest compared notes about the vegetable’s texture and taste.

“It’s orange; it tastes like orange,” said a kindergartner at Columbine Elementary School in Boulder. “It’s squishy in my mouth,” said a classmate.

Condon couldn’t have been happier with the reviews. “This is wonderful for us and the kids,” she said. “This builds a real connection to the food that they eat. A lot of kids don’t know where their food is grown. And this helps change that.”

Condon is part of a national movement started in 2009 by Chef Ann Cooper aimed at helping schools get access to fresh, healthful food. Cooper began the Chef Ann Foundation to head-off a national obesity epidemic among school kids and to ensure they avoid diet-related diseases.

“We just wanted to try and make sure every kid has access to fresh and from-scratch meals,” said Cooper, who also is also director of Food Services for the Boulder Valley School District.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Cooper has 40 years of experience as a chef, including 17 years in school food programs. She speaks nationally about efforts to change how school districts feed students.

Cooper uses programs such as Project Produce to provide tools, training, resources and funding to alter school lunches so they offer more fresh alternatives. So far, the Chef Ann Foundation has reached more than 7,000 schools and 2.6 million children in all 50 states.

In Colorado, 23 schools and 12,771 students have participated in Project Produce, which provides $2,500 grants through its partner Healthy Skoop to help kids better understand that food comes from local farms and not only from the supermarket. Local farmers are enlisted to help.

Centennial Elementary in Denver last year put on a Wellness Fair where students penned fruit and vegetable poems, recipe books and artworks.

At Charles Hay World School in Englewood, once-a-month tastings were offered for vegetables that are easily found in stores but might not be considered a kid’s favorite.

“Students not only learn about healthy foods, they are able to smell, taste and touch the fruits and vegetables they are learning about,” said Cooper.

In November, beets were offered for a tasting at the Flagstaff Academy in Longmont.

At Columbine Elementary School, squash was on the menu, courtesy of the Condons, who run Isabelle Farms.

“Some kids really like it; others don’t,” Cooper said. “But that’s OK. Tastes change as kids get older, and we just want to expose them to something different.”

Parent Krista Torvik said her second-grader has indulged in other Healthy Skoop tastings and came away with mixed feelings. “He’ll talk about what he ate, and sometimes he really enjoyed it. And other times didn’t even try it,” she said.

“But I tell him, ‘Well, at least thanks for thinking about it.’” she said. “Who knows? He may change his mind about these things as he gets older.”

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Englewood CO EBA Exclusive Buyers Agent Real Estate Experts Services Launched

Colorado Exclusive Buyer Agents Association expanded its services to help prospective home buyers interested in the Englewood area find the best properties for their needs and budgets.

Founded in 1999, CEBAA is a group of real estate agencies where all agents work exclusively with property buyers.

(Newswire.net — January 15, 2019) — Colorado Exclusive Buyer Agents Association (CEBAA), a non-profit trade organization based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, announced an expansion of its services for clients interested in purchasing properties in Englewood and the surrounding areas. The Colorado brokers work exclusively with home buyers to avoid potential conflicts of interest resulting from the representation of both buyers and sellers, thus helping its clients find the ideal home for their needs and preferences and negotiate the best price.

More information can be found at https://homebuyerscolorado.org/about-us.

Finding a real estate agent that works exclusively with property buyers – also known as an exclusive buyer’s agent, or EBA – is the ideal option for prospective home buyers, as it ensures that the agent is 100% dedicated to the interests of the buyer, rather than representing both the buyer and the seller.

Colorado Exclusive Buyer Agents Association specializes in helping home buyers find the best properties for their needs, budgets and preferences. The agency works with clients interested in Aurora, Centennial, Englewood and other locations in the Denver-Aurora metro area.

By connecting prospective home buyers with a dedicated EBA, the agency offers its clients access to an extensive range of services to help them find their ideal new home. From thorough market analysis to home visits, negotiation and documentation assistance, CEBAA agents provide all the necessary services to streamline the process of purchasing a new property.

Founded in 1999, CEBAA is a group of real estate agencies where all agents work exclusively with property buyers. The organization has worked with thousands of satisfied home buyers, having established a reputation as one of the best real estate groups in the Denver area.

A satisfied client said, “Norris M and his team worked out really well with us. The team has been very helpful in finding a place, they have been flexible despite the market being crazy and extremely helpful in keeping me organized while under contract and being on top of deadlines. I would definitely recommend CEBAA’s services!”

Interested parties can find more information by visiting the above-mentioned website.

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Englewood vote means Grandpa can live out back for cheap

A renovated carriage house in the backyard of Brian and Jenn Superka on Jan. 6, 2016, in Denver.

With the cost of housing still on an inexorable rise in the metro area, Englewood architect Randal Friesen sees accessory dwelling units as a key to solving the area’s affordable housing puzzle.

The only problem is that new ADUs — think “granny flats” or “garden cottages” that are often used to house an aging parent or a child not quite ready to fly the nest — weren’t allowed in Englewood.

Until now.

On Monday, the city council narrowly approved an ordinance allowing ADUs to be established in more than half of Englewood’s residential zoned areas. The suburb of 35,000 follows in the footsteps of several metro-area communities that have loosened rules on accessory dwelling units, including Denver, Arvada and Golden.

Englewood’s vote is good news for Friesen, whose adult daughter can now live in a small alley house on a lot he owns in the city, just a few feet from a full-size home he would build there.

“Affordable living is what’s not available out there,” he said. “My daughter can’t afford apartments at the rates apartments are renting for.”

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller survey pegged Denver’s home price increase at nearly 7 percent from late 2017 through late 2018. In an Apartment List report released last summer, median rents in Denver clocked in at $1,050 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,330 for a two-bedroom unit.

In the suburbs, the rates were higher: Englewood’s median rent was $1,220 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,540 a month for two. Two bedrooms in Parker and Thornton had medians above $1,800.

But ADUs are not the answer for a number of Englewood residents, who fear the infill units will invite congestion, generate parking headaches and fundamentally change the nature of neighborhoods in this inner suburb. While ADUs are often used to put a roof over the head of a relative or friend, in Englewood they will be able to be rented on the open market as well.

Renting to strangers, opponents argue, brings to the neighborhood a greater risk of crime.

“We’re already having trouble, and they’re trying to bring more density to our residential areas,” said Cynthia Searfoss, a 22-year resident of Englewood. “It’s going to be impactful.”

Those arguments played out at last Monday’s council meeting, where both those touting and lambasting ADUs took to the microphone to persuade their elected leaders to vote their way. In the end, the ordinance passed on a 4-3 vote. The measure takes effect Feb. 9.

John Voboril, a planner with Englewood, said the city has been dealing with the ADU issue for nearly five years, holding multiple open houses and council study sessions designed to nail down the details before regulations were passed.

The new ordinance mandates that the owner of the primary residence on the property where an accessory dwelling unit is built live there for at least nine months of the year. It limits the size of an ADU, be it a unit built on top of a detached garage or a cottage placed in the backyard, to 650 square feet. The location of the unit is also restricted to the rear third of the lot.

The rules stipulate that an off-street parking space be provided for each ADU.

“We’re going to have the strongest ADU enforcement mechanism for ADUs in the state of Colorado,” Voboril said.

Not that Englewood is a complete stranger to the concept. Because the units were popular across the country before World War II in response to a housing shortage, the city says nearly 200 ADUs already exist in the older part of Englewood and are grandfathered in.

Voboril said the city is projecting that six to seven new ADUs a year will come online in the city over the next decade.

Nearby Arvada invited ADUs back in 2007 and city spokeswoman Allison Trembly said there are now 20 permitted units in the city, including basement conversions.

Trembly said Arvada’s ADU stock is evenly split between use as a home for a family member and a rental. The city’s intent with ADUs, she said, is to offer “a market-based housing option that would allow property owners to reinvest in their property and provide a more affordable option for other people such as seniors and young adults while also protecting the character of existing neighborhoods.”

As to whether another 60 to 70 accessory dwelling units in Englewood by 2029 will put much of a dent in the affordable housing crunch being experienced in the state, where it’s estimated that there was a deficit of nearly 128,000 affordable units last year, that is an open question.

Renee Martinez-Stone, director of the West Denver Renaissance Collaborative, said ADUs should be a part of any affordable housing strategy, but they are not the complete solution. Her organization is in the midst of a two-year pilot program that gives low- and middle-income households in southwest Denver neighborhoods access to loans to build ADUs, for which the city established a regulatory framework in 2010.

Martinez-Stone’s goal is to get 10 backyard homes into the pipeline by this summer, with a 5-year goal of 250 ADUs. Despite their smaller size, ADUs are expensive to permit, build and hook up, she said. A garden cottage in Denver can run from $95,000 to $150,000, depending on size. A unit over a garage is even more.

But she praised Englewood for even making ADUs an option, something many other communities have not yet done.

“If you’re not zoned for an ADU, you’re never going to get it,” Martinez-Stone said.

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