Stunning stone fireplace in great room, formal dining, spacious master suite with adjoining 5-piece bath and walk-in closet.

Lower level walk-out with family room, gas fireplace, wet bar with granite counters and wine cellar.

Related posts:

1. Gorgeous 4 bd/4 ba Ranch on 2.5 acres in Flying Horse will impress you! 16229 Forest Light Drive Gorgeous Ranch floor plan with 4 bedrooms and 4 baths...
2. Price Reduced on this 5 Bed/6 Bath Elegant Home on 2.5 Acres in Monument New price on  this 5 Bed/6 Bath 2-Story home in...
3. Stunning 6 Bed/4 Bath home in Peregrine! 2635 Kittridge Avenue Stunning 6 Bedroom / 4 Bath home in Peregrine with...

Open and sunny kitchen with pantry, walk-out to deck on main level is perfect for those family and friends get togethers.

Property is landscaped with fenced back yard and patio, unfinished basement so you can finish to your specifications!

Related posts:

1. Immaculate 3 bed/3ba home with over 2800 sf! – 5110 Whip Trail – Pending Immaculate and gorgeous 3 bedroom, 3 bath home  with over...
2. 4665 Sandstone Road, Monument, CO 80132 Awesome 3 Bedroom, 3 Bath home on a little more...
3. Upgrades galore in this Impressive 4 Bed/4 Bath Home in Flying Horse! 13894 Lazy Creek Road Over 5000 sq. ft. and upgrades galore in this impressive...

Main level master retreat features a sitting area with fireplace, custom California Closet Shelving, 5-piece bath with granite counter, glass block shower and soaking tub with picture windows.

Hearth room off kitchen is a great place to enjoy your morning cup of coffee by the wood stove!

Finished basement has large game room with a wet bar area, media area, excercise room and a bathroom with steam shower.  Water purification system, water softener, 2 insulated water heaters, 4 car attached garage and so much more you have to see to believe!

Related posts:

1. Price reduced on this Amazing 4+ Bed/4 Bath Custom Home with Views of the City & Mountains -1770 Colgate Drive Beautiful Custom Home with City & Mountain Views!  4+ Bedrooms,...
2. Price Reduced over $2,000,000 on this 5 Bed/8 Bath Custom Estate with almost 9800 sq.ft. on 35 acres! Price Reduced over $2,000,000!  Ask about special 3.99% Special Financing...
3. Stunning 5 Bed/4 Bath Ranch Home on 2.5 acres in Kings Deer with Pikes Peak Views! 740 Lancers Court                                                     Stunning 5 Bedroom, 4 Bath Ranch home on 2.5...

Related posts:

1. Gorgeous Custom Home on Over 5 Acres with special bank financing at 3.99%! – SOLD Gorgeous 5 bedroom/7 bath new home in Black Forest on...
2. Gorgeous 4 bd/4 ba Ranch on 2.5 acres in Flying Horse will impress you! 16229 Forest Light Drive Gorgeous Ranch floor plan with 4 bedrooms and 4 baths...
3. Stunning Home in High Forest Ranch – 15950 Forest Light Drive Stunning 4 Bedroom/5 Bath home on 5+ acres in High...

The following article shows one of the many reasons that I love living in Colorado Springs and helping people find homes by working as their Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent.

The economy shed 651,000 jobs in February and 4.4 million since the recession began in December 2007. Only a handful of metro areas have escaped falling employment over the past three months. Yet there are still some places out there that remain attractive to businesses.

“Austin, Boulder [Colo.], Fort Collins [Colo.] and to a lesser extent Raleigh all have a lot of high-tech investment,” she says. “We think that is one of the first things that comes back once the economy does recover.”

Our 11th annual ranking of the Best Places for Business and Careers features clear winners in North Carolina and Colorado, home to a combined 10 of the 20 top metro areas.

Leading the way is Raleigh, N.C., which grabbed the top spot for a third straight year on the strength of strong job growth (both past and projected), low business costs and a highly educated workforce.

Employment is expected to fall during 2009 in Raleigh after jobs were added at a 4% annual clip the past five years. But the job picture is expected to brighten in 2010 and 2011, and the three-year projected annual employment gain is 1.4%. according to Moody’s Economy.com, 15th best in the country.

Helping fuel Raleigh’s strong economy is the Research Triangle Park, one of the oldest and largest science parks in North America. It is located between Raleigh and Durham and is home to 170 companies employing 42,000 people. Big employers include Biogen Idec (nasdaq: BIIB – news – people ), Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO – news – people ) and IBM (nyse: IBM – news – people ).

“Raleigh is holding up better than any other place in North Carolina,” says Matthew Martin, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va. He cites the significant higher education presence and low manufacturing base in the area for Raleigh’s steady economy.

 
Keeping Raleigh company at the top are fellow Tar Heel State metros Durham (ranked third), Asheville (sixth), Wilmington (13th), Winston-Salem (18th) and Charlotte (19th). 
 

Our rankings looked at the 200 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., which range from the New York metro and its 11.7 million people to Olympia, Wash., with a population of 241,000. We examined each on 11 different criteria. Economic research firm Moody’s Economy.com supplied data on job growth over the past five years and projections through 2011. Economy.com also provided business and living cost data as well as income growth and migration trends.

We also turned to Bert T. Sperling, city researcher and co-author of Cities Ranked & Rated for some labor supply and quality of life information. Sperling furnished data on college attainment, crime rates, local colleges and cultural and recreational opportunities in the area.

In a nod to the current economic climate, we added two new categories this year: projected job growth and subprime mortgages as a percentage of total originations over a three-year period. This change helped boost several metros in the rankings, most notably Austin, Texas, which ranked eighth this year, up from 47th last year. Austin’s projected annual job growth rate of 2.3% is fifth fastest in the country, and its subprime mortgage exposure clocked in at 13th.
The city has a fan in the Charles Schwab Corp. (nasdaq: SCHW – news – people ). “The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly. They have bent over backwards to accommodate us,” says Glenn Cooper, head of real estate at Schwab, which expanded its Austin presence in 2007 when it purchased the 401(k) Co. Cooper highlights the political environment, culture and cost of living as draws for Schwab to Austin.

Bringing up the rear of our rankings are the troubled spots in California. The Golden State had its worst showing ever in our tally. It is home to six of the seven lowest-rated spots, and Riverside was the only one of its 21 metro areas (among the country’s 200 biggest) that cracked the top 100. Most California metros are burdened with sky-high living and business costs, and the job outlook is week. The unemployment rate in 199th-ranked Merced, Calif., is expected to hit 21% in 2010.

The current recession is too deep and widespread for even our best-rated cities to escape damage. Yet when things do turn around, expect many places ranked at the top to be at the head of the pack, notes Marisa Di Natale, an economist at Economy.com.

 

Forbes Top Ten cities for businesses and careers

Related posts:

1. Springs Ranks 41st Among nation’s biggest 100 cities Colorado Springs’ economic performance amid the recession ranks No. 41...
2. Colorado Springs Real Estate- Article from Time Magazine regarding real estate and stocks Waiting to Purchase Real Estate? Sure, housing’s in a hole....
3. Today’s Colorado Springs Home Mortgage Rates & Financial News Here are some home mortgage rates available today in the...

“Raw mortgage application volume rose 21.2 percent for the week ending March 13, according to a survey published Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. It was the second consecutive week of increased raw activity, while refinancing applications continued to rise, surging 29.6 percent over the previous week. Purchase application activity also rose slightly, coming in 1.5 percent higher than last week, when it had posted a 7 percent increase. …

… rates eased across the board in the week, with 30-year fixed rates down to 4.89 percent from 4.96 percent a week earlier. Meanwhile, 15-year fixed rates slipped down slightly to 4.52 percent from 4.54 percent the week before, and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged a 6.2 percent interest rate, down slightly from 6.21 a week earlier.”

Click here to read the entire article regarding last weeks average mortgage rates and activity.

Related posts:

1. Pending Home Sales Rise, Housing Affordability Near Record Washington, May 04, 2009 Pending home sales rose with many...
2. Today’s Colorado Springs Home Mortgage Rates & Financial News Here are some home mortgage rates available today in the...
3. Springs Ranks 41st Among nation’s biggest 100 cities Colorado Springs’ economic performance amid the recession ranks No. 41...

Dick Bratton’s rustic house in the small town of Green Mountain Falls sits hidden behind a stand of ponderosa pines. Nearby, Catamount Creek splashes boisterously on its way downhill.

Fifteen miles to the east, Karin White lives in a tri-level ranch house in Pinon Valley, a neighborhood northwest of Colorado Springs. She’s minutes from shopping and a 12-minute drive to downtown. But her small backyard adjoins a city park with trails favored
by mountain bikes as well as mule deer, bobcats, and black bears.

Twenty-five miles further east, Dan Anderson lives in a five-year-old manufactured home on 35 acres in the unincorporated community of Peyton. The wind-swept prairie stretches to the east; an unobstructed view of Pikes Peak fills the horizon to the west. From his deck, Anderson can see the rooftops of the nearest conveniences—grocery stores and gas stations—but the surrounding
landscape still has the feel of the Old West.

Locals call these areas simply “the mountains,” “the Springs,” and “out east.” While strikingly different in vegetation, elevation, and orientation to Pikes Peak, they have a common thread: easy access to the natural world. Whether residents live in the foothills or far enough away to gaze at the sprawling 14,115-footer, few describe their neighborhoods without mentioning the mountain.
“People are drawn here by the lifestyle the region offers,” says Craig Casper, transportation director for the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, a voluntary group of 15 municipal and county governments. “Its location has a lot to do with that.”

About a half-million people call the Pikes Peak region home. They came because of the mountains, the mild weather, and the sunshine—an average of 300 sunny days a year. They came because of the promise of a mountain lifestyle combined with all the conveniences of Colorado’s second-largest city.

“I chose Green Mountain Falls because it’s quiet, laid back,” Bratton says. “I have Colorado Springs just minutes away, but
then I can escape the city in a pristine mountain environment.”

Pike National Forest wraps around Green Mountain Falls, a town of 935 in the winter and 1,400 in the summer. “There are three miles of hiking trails within the town, a beautiful lake and gazebo, and great restaurants,” Bratton says. “And then there are our neighbors, the foxes and the mountain lions.”

White chose her home for its location. The northwest part of Colorado Springs is dotted with rock outcroppings and stands of piñon and ponderosa pine. Newer neighborhoods surround her 25-year-old home, but the rugged bluff of nearby Ute Valley Park helps maintain the mountain character.

Much of the growth is to the east. Projects such as Banning Lewis Ranch, a 21,000-acre planned master community, capitalize on the city’s projected growth. Development of Banning Ranch’s first village, Northtree, began in 2006. Close to 100 homes are occupied or under construction, joining a recreation center, charter school, park space, and trails.

“We believe in carrying on the tradition of Ruth Banning and ‘Pinky’ Lewis, who in the 1920s were married, accumulated about 38,000 acres, and ran one of the best Hereford cattle ranches in the country,” says John Cassiani, the vice president of project operations. “The flavor of our development is about community and family values.” Houses are designed with front porches; interconnecting trails let residents walk to parks and other amenities.

Dan Anderson lives not far from Banning Lewis Ranch in Peyton. When he moved here from a northen Chicago suburb a year ago, Anderson knew just the kind of lifestyle he was looking for.

“We wanted to live where we wouldn’t be on top of our neighbors. We wanted someplace that was peaceful and quiet,” he says.

Anderson’s house sits down a dirt road across from several hundred acres of grazing land. “When we first moved in, we would meet pronghorn at the mailbox,” he says. Late at night, “you might hear a distant coyote, and you see a sky filled with stars all the way down to the horizon.

“It’s like you are in the middle of the universe, looking out.”

Lay of the Land

• Pikes Peak forms the western border of Colorado Springs and its neighbor Manitou Springs. Falcon, Peyton, and other unincorporated communities grow to the east.

• Past Manitou Springs, U.S. Highway 24 heads west into the mountains to the towns of Cascade, Chipita Park, and Green Mountain Falls.

• Twenty miles up this corridor, Woodland Park is built in a ponderosa pine forest at 8,437 feet. Its nickname: “The City Above the Clouds.”

• Fort Carson sprawls over more than 38,000 acres on the southern edge; the Air Force Academy covers more than 18,000 acres to the north.

 Source: hemispheresmagazine.com

Related posts:

1. Colorado Springs – Welcome to the Great Outdoors Thousands of acres of parkland open the Pikes Peak region...
2. Colorado Springs – Frontier Vision Founded as a 19th-century health resort in the shadow...

Watch Now

[youtube A5nsCkPetw4 nolink]

Related posts:

1. Colorado Springs Real Estate- Article from Time Magazine regarding real estate and stocks Waiting to Purchase Real Estate? Sure, housing’s in a hole....
2. February 2009 Colorado Springs real estate market – active vs sold listings For the first time in a long time there is...
3. March 2009 Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Stats Report Our updated March 2009 Real Estate market statistical report for...

In the Pikes Peak region, “city park” takes on a whole new meaning. Children’s playgrounds welcome to the sit in full view of one of the world’s most famous mountains. Picnic tables perch near the banks of bubbling streams. And walking trails, winding up mountains and past massive rock formations, are shared by the occasional mule deer or black bear.

Colorado Springs boasts 14,000 acres of parkland—151 parks with 160 miles of trails, 47 open-space areas, and 105 miles of urban trails. More public land sprawls just outside the city limits in county parks, a state park, and the more outdoors than 1 million acres of Pike National Forest. A two-hour drive takes skiers to a number of the state’s 22 ski resorts. Drive less than an hour to world-famous rafting and kayaking on the Arkansas River, the most rafted river in the country.

And top it all off with Pikes Peak, one of the world’s most popular destinations, which offers a vast collection of forests, lakes, canyons, and meadows frequented by hikers, campers, and anglers.

“We have a fabulous system and location,” says Dan Cleveland, executive director of the nonprofit Trails and Open Space Coalition. “We have incredibly benign weather that allows us to recreate all year long.”

That makes life enjoyable for Cleveland, a runner who says he seldom has to bundle up for his daily workout, even in the middle of winter.

Here are some favorite parks

Garden of the Gods Park. Visitors are drawn here by the rock formations— vertical fins of sandstone, limestone, and shale that date back 70 million years. Some guests drive through, stopping to photograph the rock walls that glow in the sunlight. Others linger, climbing the
wind-and rain-scarred formations or hiking and exploring the 15 miles of trails that wind through tangles of pinon and juniper trees.

Cheyenne Canyon. Garden of the Gods appeals to sun worshipers; Cheyenne Canyon beckons to those who crave shade. This mountain refuge of shaded streams is criss-crossed with log bridges, remote caches of rare lady’s-slipper orchids, and dense stands of aspen, spruce, and pine. A road through the canyon leads to hiking trails, picnic spots, and waterfalls.

Red Rock Canyon. Sandstone formations shape this area that is a favorite of climbers, hikers, mountain bikers, and runners. This mini-Garden of the Gods has 14 miles of trails, which are also open to horses. The centerpiece is a glassy man-made pond ringed by grasses and frequented by Canada geese and great blue herons.

Stratton Open Space. Bird watchers and dog walkers are equally enamored with this open space that connects to Cheyenne Canyon on the city’s southwest side. Ponderosa pines provide welcome shade, and in the spring and early summer, wildflowers are attention-getters.

Fountain Creek Regional Park. Majestic great blue herons build their nests in cottonwoods that frame the creek; they’re among more than 250 species of birds seen at this park. Built around the creek and a series of spring-fed ponds, the park offers a glimpse of healthy wetlands.

Paint Mines. Clay formations are the centerpiece here. Think natural sculpture garden in candy colors—butterscotch, lemon-drop yellow, bubblegum pink. Clay spires and knobs painted by minerals have been eroded by wind and water to form the canyon, a surprising slash in the
rolling hills.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Our newest state park sprawls at the base of its namesake mountain, which is best known for housing the underground headquarters of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The park is a favorite among hikers and wildlife watchers who
are often rewarded with glimpses of wild turkeys or the frantic activity of a black-tailed prairie dog colony, on alert as a golden eagle soars overhead.

Mueller State Park. Hikers and mountain bikers can spread out on the 50 miles of trails that wind through dense stands of aspen and mixed conifers, including ponderosa pines, Douglas firs, and ancient bristlecone pines. The valleys hold clues to the past—remnants of miners’
cabins, mining glory holes, and homesteads dating from the 1800s.

Rampart Reservoir Recreation Area. Mountain bikers love the loop around Rampart Reservoir. The reservoir is part of the Colorado Springs water storage system, but the land surrounding it offers a playground for cyclists, hikers, campers, and anglers. Locals walk the short Rainbow Gulch trail to the water’s edge, where they can pick up the loop trail to see miles of forested hills and hidden coves, some with views of Pikes Peak.

Pikes Peak. To reach the summit (and not by train or car), a pair of hiking trails offer stunning views and breath-zapping elevation gains. The Barr Trail heads uphill from the town of Manitou Springs, challenging hikers with a 7,400-foot elevation gain over 13 miles. An hour’s drive west on the backside of the mountain, the Devil’s Playground Trail is shorter (8.5 miles with a 4,100-foot gain) but equally spectacular, with alpine wildflowers and marmots standing guard.

More ways to play

The oohs, ahhs, and beeps of digital cameras belie the name, but the Temple of Silence deep inside Cave of the Winds rewards visitors with its limestone stalactites and stalagmites. The caves make a popular attraction, one of dozens that entertain the region’s 6.1 million visitors each year.

Less than an hour’s drive from Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek became famous at the turn of the century with the discovery of gold. Today, 14 casinos lure visitors here. Tourists can travel underground at the Mollie Kathleen Mine, tour the area on the historical Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, and immerse themselves in the region’s history at the new Pikes Peak Heritage Center.

The mix of historical and natural attractions draws visitors to the region, says Terry Sullivan, the president and CEO of Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak, the convention and visitors bureau. About half the visitors may have passed through the region before, thanks to nearby Fort Carson or the Air Force Academy, Sullivan says, and 86 percent of visitors plan to come back. (The academy is an attraction itself, drawing visitors to its distinctive chapel and other campus sites.)

On Pikes Peak, elevation gained and lost makes for much of the excitement. The Pike’s Peak Cog Railway carries passengers up to the summit year-round, but it’s especially popular during two venerable events: the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent in August and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The grueling footraces lure the best trail runners in the world. The hill climb is the second-oldest motorsports race in the country. Spectators line Pikes Peak Highway to cheer on their favorite drivers in 11 classes, from motorcycles to 8,000-pound big rigs.

Another favorite, Seven Falls, amazes visitors with a cascading series of waterfalls, viewed best during a walk up 224 metal stairs on the water’s edge. Close by, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo gives its more than 750 residents rooms with a view. Unique to the zoo is its chairlift-style ride with sweeping views of the zoo, mountains, and city below. —Deb Acord

Source: Hemispheresmagazine.com

Related posts:

1. Colorado Springs – Mountain Living  Close to town or up the hills, you’re steps from...
2. Colorado Springs – Frontier Vision Founded as a 19th-century health resort in the shadow...

In 1893, poet and writer Katharine Lee Bates boarded a train in Massachusetts headed to Colorado Springs. Escaping the sweltering New
England summer, she planned to enjoy the region’s dry, mild climate and serve as a guest lecturer at Colorado College. During her stay, Bates made her way to the top of Pikes Peak and stood in awe of the scenic grandeur of the surrounding mountains and plains. The view from the summit inspired her to write the poem “America the Beautiful.” Once set to music, her vivid descriptions of “purple mountain majesties” and “amber waves of grain” became, for many, our national anthem.

Bates was one of countless people over the centuries to draw inspiration from Pikes Peak. The oral tradition of the Ute people says that they have always lived close to the mountain. They call it Ta-Wa-Ah-Gath, or “Sun Mountain,” for the way it collects and reflects the morning’s rays. The Spanish, who settled in northern New Mexico and explored the area in the 16th century, called it Almagre for its vibrant red coloring.

The first American official to encounter the mountain was a dashing young Army lieutenant named Zebulon Montgomery Pike. In 1806, as Lewis and Clark were returning home from their expedition, Pike was dispatched to explore the southwestern boundary of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Pike named the mountain Grand Peak when he first caught a glimpse of it looming in the distance. A few weeks later, he attempted to climb the peak to survey the surrounding landscape and chart the rivers. Deep snow deterred him from the summit, but in 1810 he published an account of his expedition and literally put the mountain on the map. As a result, his name is forever attached to the peak.

The discovery of gold spurred the first permanent settlement in the region. In 1859, bold businessmen established Colorado City at the lower end of the Ute Pass trail, which led to mining camps in the central Rockies. Their rugged and wild supply camp sold goods and equipment to eager miners on their way west. Old Colorado City is still a distinctive community on the west side of Colorado Springs with its own personality, quirky shops, and unique restaurants.

Today’s incorporated city of Colorado Springs sprang from the lively imagination of one man. General William Jackson Palmer, a Civil War hero and railroad magnate, established the city in 1871. A planned community from its beginning, the city was without an industrial or manufacturing base, but it prospered just the same. Palmer used the area’s enticing scenery, nearby mineral springs, and other amenities to attract residents. He laid out the broad streets, hauled in 10,000 trees to make the city green and lush, set aside thousands of acres of parkland, and built lavish buildings with a European sense of style.

Colorado Springs was no frontier boomtown. It attracted wealthy residents and capitalists as well as intellectuals, artists, inventors, and writers such as Bates. The city served as a destination for health seekers who hoped that the community’s abundant sunshine and fresh air would cure their tuberculosis. After the 1891 gold rush in Cripple Creek, just to the west of Pikes Peak, even more wealth came to Colorado Springs. For a time, the city had more millionaires per capita than anywhere in the country.

Entrepreneurs and visionaries continue to add intricate layers to the economy. Colorado Springs is an art colony, college town, military installation, destination for the high-tech industry, and home to the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters. Peel away those layers and you still find Palmer’s healthful, attractive community with an extensive park system, trails galore, red sandstone spires, and that ever-present mountain. The Pikes Peak region is a cultural and geographic confluence. It’s where the mountains meet the plains, where the Southwest joins the heartland, where ancient cultures converge with 21st century society, and where the past informs the future. For some, it’s stirring enough to inspire poetry.

Matt Mayberry is a historian and cultural services manager for the city of Colorado Springs. He oversees operations of the Colorado Springs Museum and Rock Ledge Ranch and interpretive programs in Garden of the Gods and North Cheyenne Cañon.

Source: hemispheresmagazine.com 
 Insight Series 
Stephen Mitchem, Vice President, Destination Publishing, destinationpubs@paceco.com • 
Chris Denby, Business Development Manager • Crystal Edwards, Advertising Services Manager •
Lisa Watts, Project Editor • Claudia Bottoms, Art Director • Denise Chambers, Photographer •
Brianna Pellicane, Editorial Intern
hemispheresmagazine.com
united.com

Related posts:

1. Colorado Springs – Mountain Living  Close to town or up the hills, you’re steps from...
2. Colorado Springs – Welcome to the Great Outdoors Thousands of acres of parkland open the Pikes Peak region...
3. 29 Ways to Look, Act and Speak Like a Colorado Springs Native Just for fun. If the mountains are on your left,...