Million-dollar babies

Many of the luxury properties on the market in the Boulder Valley that go for about $2.5 million feature spacious 6,000- or 7,000-square-foot homes oozing with amenities, all to the tune of $450 per square foot.

So what exactly do you get when you pay around $1 million?
Million-dollar homes in the Boulder Valley are still laden with special effects, and what you get varies with where that house is. The farther you go outside the city of Boulder, the more you might be able to get for your money, area Realtors say.

“For $1 million in Broomfield, you can get closer to 5,000 square feet, as opposed to 3,000 in Boulder,” says David Carner, manager of the Boulder-based Bodin Team of Coldwell Banker. Broomfield prices are more moderate than Boulder, starting at around $200 per square foot, he says. Higher-priced areas in Lafayette and Broomfield tend to be newer construction and often are located in subdivisions, he added.

“There are areas of Lafayette where, for $1.5 million, you can get 8,500 to 9,000 square feet, with all the bells and whistles,” says Karen Bernardi of The Bernardi Group of Coldwell Banker in Boulder.

Custom design is an important factor that drives the million-dollar home market.
A look around the living room might reveal limestone fireplaces, ceilings with crown molding and custom built-in shelving. Window treatments often include wood-casement type automatic blinds. Designer lighting is recessed, using halogen hand-blown globes.

Hardwood floors are a must, and all agree that ceramic tile is completely passe. Popular tile options today are natural stone, slate and marble.

The most popular feature in a luxury home has proven to be the home theater. Realtors say that, while these have been around for the last decade, they are practically standard now for a home in this price range. For nearer the $2 million mark, you can expect to find your home theater already fully-equipped with about $25,000 worth of equipment, including plasma TVs recessed into the walls, prewired and built to specifications with surround sound. Special home-theater seating may be built in, with the added attraction of a wet bar nearby.

Upstairs, which can be reached by private elevator, will have three or four bathrooms, each equipped with two sinks, double-headed steam showers, separate jetted tubs, and sometimes the addition of bidets and double-sided bathroom fireplaces. Separate indoor spas are also popular.
Popular, too, are underground wine cellars, with climate control and adjoining tasting rooms, furnished with tables and finished off in milled woodwork.

And just for those four-legged family members, some homes come equipped with dog-washing rooms.

“It’s a little tiled area with a sink and a ramp, usually near the utility or laundry room,” Carner says. “You walk your dog up on the ramp, and you wash him.” You can wash your cars, too, in four-car garages complete with high-pressure hoses.

Landscaping is another important factor – particularly in the scenery-rich Boulder Valley, where the breadth and expanse of a view often can dictate price. Land not taken up by swimming pools, tennis courts and private putting greens may be graced with waterfalls and fountains. Stephen Sparn, president of Sparn and Associates in Boulder, cites a current favorite: a fountain of water bubbling out of a granite boulder, flowing into a stream.

Other specialized rooms can include music, art and pottery studios, exercise rooms, catering rooms and, for larger families, a nanny room, as well as an apartment for the in-laws.

“You may not get all of this at a mere $1.5 million – at least not in Boulder,” Carner warns. “But at $2 million and above, these amenities become more common.”

And contrary to the popular image of prairie palaces and huge mansions, not everyone thinks bigger is better.

One innovative development in urban upscale housing is Boulder Brownstones, luxury residences built in the style of townhouses. These are priced in the $450- to $500-per-square-foot range, with a 2,000-square-foot unit going for $1 million.

Sparn, developer and architect of Boulder Brownstones, has had success with VIA Broadway, a mixed-use development near downtown Boulder with seven residential condominiums. Most of these condos sold for three-quarters of a million dollars. The most luxurious of these lofts sold for $1,040,000 and was on the market for only four days.

“My clients look more for quality of design than for size,” Sparn says “Space is not just space – we carve it into a wonderful environment.

“That’s the stuff I like to do, and the sky’s the limit these days,” says Sparn, who is working on 14 million-dollar-plus projects.

Among luxury amenities, Sparn cites kitchen finishes as a prime example.

“Stone, granite and marble countertops are becoming popular, as well as European cabinets with custom finishes, such as tinted lacquer on top of natural maple,” he says. Sub-zero kitchen appliance packages are popular, too.

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