Times like these have most of us rethinking our priorities. We’re questioning all sorts of things, including where we live and the house we live in. How can I use less energy? Less water? Can I park the car and walk or bike? What about healthier indoor air and protecting the environment? How can I do these things in a home we can afford?

Our answer?

A cottage community committed to lower energy consumption, environmental conservation and a more enriching way of life at prices you can afford. Silver Creek is your chance to Live Smart, for lots of reasons.

First, there’s location. A major factor in consuming less energy is driving less. Silver Creek is located near shops and services like grocery stores, banks and restaurants. Errands can be done on foot or bike. Parks, ball fields, trail access, the Lafayette Public Library and the Burger Rec Center are nearby. Historic Old Town is just down the street.

Second, every cottage and home at Silver Creek is BUILT GREEN® and ENERGY STAR® certified. Why does that matter?

• You use less electricity, gas and water so you pay less for utilities.

• Your carbon footprint, i.e. the pollution you create, is reduced.
• Your overall cost of ownership decreases.
• Your home is more durable, lasts longer and requires less maintenance.
• Your indoor air is cleaner, healthier and more comfortable.
• You’re conserving natural resources and protecting the environment.

Lastly, there’s the house itself, the most exciting part. We’re designing a series of affordable cottages and homes that speak as much to your heart as to your head. Your brain will love Built Green®, Energy Star® and great pricing. Your heart will respond to the window seats, dormers, gables, front porches, wooden beams and wainscoting.

But you love contemporary?

So do we, which is why we’re including some of our favorite newwest amenities:

• Open floor plans
• Unique finishes
• Plentiful windows of varying shapes and sizes
• Large sliding glass doors to your own BACKYARD!
• Metal roof accents and overhangs

Silver Creek is located in Lafayette, between Hwy 287 and 111^th Street, just north of Baseline Rd/Hwy 7. To find us, head east on Diamond Circle from Hwy 287, turn left on Cabrini Drive and follow to the sales center on your left. We’re open Friday through Tuesday, from 11-5 PM, starting mid November. Asa Welch, Sales Manager, can answer all your questions. Stop by or give her a call (303.449.0191).

Come out and join the fun at our Grand Opening Fall Festival! The date is Saturday, September 13, from 11-6 PM. We’re located off South Boulder Road at 95^th Street, close to trails, open space and downtown Louisville. Grab a friend and bike over. 

Delicious food from The Empire is on us from 12-2 PM (thank you Compass Bank and First Colorado Title. We’ll be pouring locally brewed Vic’s Coffee and handing out delicious homemade cookies from The Huckleberry — all against a backdrop of live music and breathtaking views.

While you’re here register for these prizes, and more, from Louisville businesses:

• Dinner at Waterloo Icehouse
• Free 3-month membership to Club Fitness
• $300 Hunter Douglas gift certificate from Oasis Interiors
• Free case of bottled Eldorado Natural Spring Water

Be sure to check out the 5 newly furnished MODELS from design-conscious Markel Homes. Every home, town home and condo at North End is Built Green® and Energy Star® rated, which means healthier indoor air, lower energy bills, reduced pollution and less water usage. Add that to Back Range views, winding footpaths and great trail access in the city Money Magazine ranked as one of America’s “Best Places to Live” two years in a row.

Come visit the first new neighborhood top-rated Louisville has seen in years.

Saturday, September 13, 11-6 PM

Questions? Call Michele Steward, Sales Associate, at 303.604.9196 or send an email to Michele@MarkelHomes.com.  

We’ve redesigned, added, enhanced, rearranged, revised, tweaked and kept what’s working on MarkelHomes.com. The result?

Bigger screen size, more pages, new images, more home styles, updated graphics and really useful information like Open House listings and addresses, email links to sales agents and a printable map.

We’re blogging about everything from summer fun in Lyons and new home interiors to an ex-professional mountain biker turned award-winning sales manager. Go to Snapshot for a useful at-a-glance overview of our neighborhoods, including location, featured home styles and pricing.

Available Properties is your link to all kinds of information about specific houses. Once you’ve selected type of home and location, you’ll find pertinent details like size, price and address as well as downloadable floor plans and brochures. There’s also an email link to the agent.

Wondering how we got our start? Check out About Markel Homes. In addition to our history, you’ll find links to Built Green Colorado and the federal government’s Energy Star site. We’re seriously committed to both programs. Their websites provide the particulars of each program, including the attractive benefits to homeowners.

Did we mention that this interactive and informative site is filled with beautiful photography? Enjoy the pretty pictures, get the Buzz, and come back often. About the time you think you’ve seen it all, something new pops up. Plans are already in the works.

Spacious and elegant, private and serene, the Master Suite in our contemporary Sanitas from Markel Homes is one of the most beautiful we’ve seen in this price range. Generous vertical windows create a beautifully calm and natural effect. The room has access to a private outdoor patio with optional fireplace and trellis overhang. If you enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace in the bedroom, we provide that option as well.

The master bath features handsome tile flooring, a deep soaking tub, separate shower with bench, privacy toilet, double-sink vanity and more welcome natural light. The spacious master closet with built-in shelves is a real highlight with the folks who have already walked through the model.

We couldn’t sign off without one teaser from the soul of the home. Equipped with stunning maple cabinetry and coordinating hardwood flooring, the Sanitas kitchen with island/eating bar, full tile backsplash and generous counter space promises years of memorable times around the proverbial hearth.

Ready to have a look? Stop by North End between 11 and 6 PM any day of the week. For more information contact Michele Steward at 303.604.9196 or send an email to Michele@MarkelHomes.com. 

Nothing beats a personal tour but if time is short this week, here’s a teaser: the first interior photos of our 4-bedroom, 3-bath Eldorado model from Markel Homes. Features include an open floor plan and 10-ft ceilings. Large vertical windows across the front of the home satisfy your desire for natural light and create that wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.

Stunning interior accents, including the maple stair handrail, windowsills and mantel on the fireplace of the impressive Great Room, complement the beautiful hardwood flooring. This home is a dream when it comes to entertaining, thanks to the open and fluid floor plan. Guests move easily from kitchen to dinner to great room for dessert by the fire. The first floor is designed to be flexible and versatile, depending on your family’s needs and how you like to entertain. FYI—there’s a covered front porch and a large patio off the kitchen for those evenings you prefer alfresco.

The natural wood theme extends into the contemporary kitchen where the warm hardwood floor and sleek maple cabinetry set off the muted tile backsplash. Hang out at the kitchen bar with your laptop, read the paper with your morning coffee or give the kids a quick snack before soccer practice. Note the double windows above the stainless steel sink: natural light in the most popular room in the house creates the best surroundings for everything from cooking to entertaining.

There’s definitely more to the Built Green® and Energy Star® Eldorado (like a getaway corner loft and double-sink second bath vanity) but you’ll need to see for yourself. Stop by North End any day of the week. We’re here from 11-6 PM. For more information contact Michele Steward at 303.604.9196 or send an email to Michele@MarkelHomes.com. 

Reduced pricing at Yeager Farm is creating incredible value for buyers. We’re highlighting two homes in particular this month, the 3-bedroom Ridgeway and our Mesa ranch. Check them out now, before your family vacation, before the dog days of August, before the kids head back to school.

An open floor plan and 9-ft ceilings on the main floor give the Built Green® and Energy Star® Ridgeway a spacious look and feel. Designed for today’s family, the home features a large great room with fireplace, separate dining room, L-shaped kitchen with island/eating bar and rear patio. The master suite with its 5-piece bath and walk-in closet is a gem. A full bath accompanies the other two bedrooms on the second level. Add a laundry room, attached two-car garage and full, unfinished basement ready for build-out, and you’re looking at a great family home at an incredible price: $269,900.

If you’re a fan of single level living, the Mesa ranch is a must-see, with an open floor plan, 3 spacious bedrooms, large kitchen and inviting great room. Touches like French doors on the study and wood flooring in the kitchen, curved breakfast bar, pantry, 42-inch maple cabinets and granite countertops tell you this home is special. Folks really appreciate the extra-large walk-in master closet and the jetted tub. Thanks to the south-facing exposure, there’s an abundance of natural light. Like all homes at Yeager Farm, the Mesa is Green Built and Energy Star rated for maximum efficiency (code for lower energy bills) and greater indoor comfort. Just reduced to $389,900.

Visit the Yeager Farm sales center from 11-6 PM, 7 days a week, or give us a call: 303.678.1362. Pricing has never been better. 

Kate Lyons, professional mountain bike racer turned realtor, now Sales Manager at Northfield Commons, was recently named one of Realtor® Magazine’s 30 Under 30 national winners. More than 400 young professionals throughout the country applied for the 30 slots awarded in 2008. And we thought selling houses was competitive.

30 Under 30 is designed to identify rising stars with stellar sales figures. No surprise there. For the record, Kate’s sales climbed from $3.7 million in 2006 to more than $9 million in 2007. But back to the contest.

Realtor Magazine also looks for candidates who demonstrate unusual marketing ideas and exhibit signs of leadership in their communities and their profession. Unique stories about how the applicants achieved their success are taken into consideration, along with examples of ingenuity and creativity in the sales effort.

So Kate, does your competitive zeal, enthusiasm and energy for mountain biking transfer to selling houses? What’s your secret?

“Eat lots of sugar to keep you going through the 10-hour days and long weekends,” says our Boulder winner. “You have to be passionate and dedicated to your career. Each day brings a new challenge, which I love. And wearing a variety of hats keeps me motivated and always interested. I get my feet wet in all aspects of the business—sales, marketing, design, people, builders and the City of Boulder.”

Kate also discovered how to become unique and stand out as a realtor, something Realtor Magazine looked for in picking their winners. “I sell newly constructed, Built Green® and Energy Star® homes for a well-established builder. Working for a reputable builder allows me to target the environmentally conscious buyer and focus on sustainable living—features incredibly important to a Boulder buyer.”

Her words, not ours.

The resident superstar is available for autographs in the Northfield Commons sales center from 11-6 PM daily. In exchange for an autograph, she’ll show you a fabulous home, town home, duplex, row house or condo.

Hats off, Kate. We’re mighty proud. 

With the arrival of whitewater kayaking and bluegrass music comes Phase 3 at Lyons Valley Park. We’re taking reservations now for some of the best locations in the community, including four river lots along the St. Vrain and several on the Raymond Court cul-de-sac. Interior property facing the private community park and along the park’s walkway is also available, for a total of 19 Phase 3 lots.

Two lots have already sold and a third is on reserve. Get in now for prime lot choices. It’s also a great time to make the interior selections that truly personalize your home. Construction will commence in September.

On another note, Phase 2 is all but over, with 5 homes remaining. Two smaller Red Ridge two-stories are still available across the street from the ponds and the St. Vrain. Or opt for the beautiful Whitewater ranch, two-story Larkspur or two-story Staghorn, all with water views.

Our sales center (303.823.6814) and models are open 7 days a week, 11-6 PM. We’re located just south of the bridge along the St. Vrain at the east end of town. If you’re feeling ambitious, get on your bike for the 17-mile ride from Boulder. Lyons is a haven for outdoor summertime fun and eats, including a large scoop of ice cream and a piece of homemade pie.

Make that on a bicycle. June is bike month in Colorado, which is reason enough to ride over to Yeager Farm for a look around. There’s no better way to explore a neighborhood. Driving by doesn’t even come close. On a bike there’s time to pick up on the feel of a place, to tune into its ambience and neighborly atmosphere, maybe eavesdrop on the local chit chat at the park.

Arrive at Yeager Farm between 11 and 6 PM any day of the week and we’ll show you some great houses with outstanding value. The priced-to-sell two-story Ridgeway ($269,900) and the newly reduced Mesa ranch ($389,900) top our list during bike month. Built by Markel Homes, they’re definitely worth checking out. Why?

For starters, the standard features in a Markel home are usually upgrades from another builder. Our attention to detail, the care and expertise that go into our floor plans and the quality of our workmanship are evident on your first walk-through. Our homes are certified Green Built® and Energy-Star® rated, which means lower energy bills and improved indoor air quality. Plus you’re environmentally responsible when you live—and build—green.

Excluding cave dwellers, everybody knows the buyer is in the driver’s seat these days regardless of your mode of transportation. The Ridgeway and Mesa are the kind of homes — and the deals — to look back on five years from now and know you got in at the right time, for the right price.

If you’re out and about on a Saturday, stop by the Longmont Farmer’s Market at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. We’re rounding the corner on June, which means prime time for produce. The market is open from 8-1 PM every Saturday between now and the end of October. 

No one is surprised to hear that the views from Niwot Hills are superb. After all, we’re talking the foothills and Longs Peak. But what’s not as talked about but equally amazing is the night sky: a wide-open star-studded expanse offset by the city lights of Boulder. Breathtaking comes to mind. So do spectacular and stunning. You’re engulfed by open space below a sky that stretches across the plains to the Continental Divide. Add the mystifying ambience of night and this place deserves an overused but entirely appropriate adjective: special.

Speaking of special, with just 46 homes (all of them custom) on 156 secluded acres, it’s news when another family joins the neighborhood. So here’s a big welcome to our latest arrivals. We hope you love these surroundings as much as we do—day and night.

We’ve scheduled an open house at 9260 Shooting Star Court for Sunday afternoon, June 22^nd, from 1-4 p.m. If you prefer, call Kent and Diane at 303-444-7591 to schedule a private tour. This signature Colorado contemporary was built by Markel Homes, developer of the prestigious Niwot Hills neighborhood. The home is nothing shy of magnificent, and the setting, well, enough said.