SEE VISION

district’s unhoused population. Only 5% of 215 open-ended comments were against closing streets.

The city team and Dig Studios identifi es four guiding principles for the project vision; a vibrant, resilient, connected and distinct Olde Town.

“We hear loud and clear that the community wants a cohesive space that’s designed as a whole that doesn’t feel like things have been added piecemeal,” Sotorakis said. “Things that are integrated, versus movable furnishings.”

Of the three street closure alternatives, the most popular — with 79% positive responses — being an option to close Olde Wadsworth Boulevard all the way to Ralston Road and keep the other street closures largely the same.

Concerning streetscape, overhead lighting, eco-conscious elements, integrated seating and curb-less streets topped survey respondent’s preferred additions.

Differing views on how to best utilize Olde Town Square invited plenty of council discussion, especially in support of the Splash Pad.

“The Splash Pad has been very successful,” Arvada Mayor Marc Williams said. “I know it needs renovations, but there’s nothing better than seeing kiddos on a hot summer day playing and laughing. So, try to keep that.”

“Winter activation of the Splash Pad would be great too,” Councilmember David Jones added.

Councilmember Randy Moorman highlighted accessibility concerns in the historic district.

“One thing I want to keep bringing up is accessibility,” Moorman said. “As we think about continuing to close these streets, that we look at the city investing in some sort of shuttle that could help people who cannot walk get to those parts of the street that are closed.”

Through November and December, a draft plan will be in the works. From January to March 2023, the draft plan will be refi ned, followed by another round of community engagement in March 2023. A fi nal plan and conceptual design will be completed between March and May 2023.

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BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A brand-new synthetic ice rink in Arvada’s Olde Town Square opened to the public on Nov. 18 and will be available for holiday skating until Jan. 29.

This year’s rink — purchased from Minnesota-based manufacturer KwikRink by the Olde Town Arvada Business Improvement District — marks the second time Olde Town Square has hosted an ice rink after a pilot program in 2020.

The rink will be open 3-7 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 3-9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-9

p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays. Skate rentals will be available and Olde Town BID Director Hengstler cautioned against using your own skates due to the nature of the synthetic rink. The fee to skate — which includes skate rentals — is $10 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under. Synthetic ice differs from real ice and is typically made by polyethylene plastic to replicate the feel and glide of real ice. Many skaters compared the new rink favorably to the pilot rink from 2020 due to the smoothness of the tiles, though gliding on the rink Wednesdays, 3-9 p.m. Thurs- seemed to take some getting days and Fridays, 11 a.m.-9 used to.

The tree in Olde Town Square starting to get decorated for the holidays.

A family tries out the new synthetic ice in Olde Town! PHOTOS BY RYLEE DUNN

ADVERTISEMENT NAR’s Annual Survey of Home Buyers & Sellers Shows Deviations From the Past

Every year the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys buyers and sellers of primary residences on a variety of topics. Usually, the changes from one year to the next are fairly minor, but the most recent survey (for the period from July 2021 through June 2022) produced some big statistical deviations from prior years.

Here are some of the findings that stood out to me. 1) The percentage of first-time buyers dropped to a record low of just 27%, beating the previous record low of 30% in 1987 — 35 years ago! In the prior year it was 34%. The age of first-time buyers jumped from 33 to 36. The age of repeat buyers also rose — from 56 to 59. 2) 88% of all buyers were White, the highest percentage since the 1990s. Meanwhile, the percentage of buyers who were Black or Asian/Pacific Islander dropped by half, from 6% to 3%. The percentage of buyers who were Hispanic/Latino rose slightly from 7% to 8%. 3) Buyer’s moved an average of 50 miles from where they lived before, up from 15 miles the prior year, which was as high as it had been since at least the 1980s. (See chart below.) Where did they move? Suburbs took a big hit, plunging from 51% to 39%, while rural and small town destinations jumped by half — 12% to 19% for rural areas and 20% to 29% for small towns. NAR’s report attributes that change to the pandemic’s effect of encouraging work from home. “Zoom towns were boom towns.” 4) While only 3% of first-time buyers paid cash for their homes, 27% of repeat buyers paid cash, up from 17% the prior year. The report attributes this to the surge in equity which homeowners had experienced in recent years, especially during the pandemic, providing them with lots of cash to spend on their replacement homes. 5) How long buyers expect to remain in the home they just purchased had held steady since 2009 at 15 years for repeat buyers and 10 years for first-time buyers. When I entered the business in 2002, it was even lower. The NAR survey showed a huge jump in that expectation for first-time homebuyers — from 10 years to 18 years. The expectation of repeat buyers remained unchanged at 15 years. 6) The percentage of first-time buyers who had been renters plunged from 73% to 64%, while the number who moved from living with family or friends jumped from 21% to 27%. (See chart above.)

I’ve posted a link for a summary of the NAR report at www.GoldenREblog.com.

Updated & Sustainable End-Unit Townhome

This south Golden townhome at 414 Anvil Way is cutting edge in terms of sustainability. Its gas $550,000 forced air furnace was recently replaced by a Mitsubishi heat pump system which heats and cools the home far more efficiently using electricity. This townhome is in Heritage Village, a community off Heritage Road and 4th Avenue — and it’s an end unit. It has been nicely updated in other ways too, including dark wood laminate flooring. Like the other townhomes in this great subdivision, it has a tuck-under 2-car attached garage. Take a narrated video tour (including drone footage) at www.GoldenTownhome.info, then come to our open house on Saturday, December 3rd, 11am to 1 pm, or call me at 303-525-1851 to see it.

Drop Off Unwrapped Toys at Golden Real Estate

Golden Real Estate is pleased to be a drop-off location for Golden Rotary’s “Miracle Shop” project. Bring your unwrapped toys to our office at 1214 Washington Avenue between 10 and 6 any day through Dec. 9th.

The Miracle Shop, housed at Calvary Church in downtown Golden, is a pop-up holiday toy store where financially struggled parents, grandparents and guardians in the Golden area can shop for the perfect gifts for the children they love. The store is not a handout. Instead, customers select toys and buy them, not for their list price but for a price of their choosing. It could be pocket change, or much more. The idea is that they have the dignity of buying the toys, not getting them for free.

The goal is to provide an opportunity for them to feel empowered by their ability to take care of themselves and the children they love.

Toys can also be purchased on the Amazon Wish List at TheMiracleShop.org. Cash donations can be made on that website, too. Thank you for joining us in supporting this fine project. The difference you make is real.

Price Reduced on Downtown Denver Loft

If you're looking for loft living, this is as good as it gets! Walk to everything in Downtown $595,000 Denver — Coors Field, Performing Arts Complex, 16th Street Mall, Lodo, Union Station, shopping, restaurants, and light rail, including the A-line to DIA. The 12-foot ceilings and four massive pillars, plus huge windows with views of nearby skyscrapers — this is the loft life you’ve been looking for! It comes with three garage spaces, which is probably more than you need. Rent them out for $150-200 each to create a nice cash flow! This is a rare opportunity, so act fast. No open houses. More info & pix at www.DenverLoft.info.

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851 Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com

1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401

Broker Associates:

JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727

CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855

DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835

TY SCRABLE, 720-281-6783

GREG KRAFT, 720-353-1922