If you’ve imagined owning a solar-powered house someday but have wondered just how much power old Sol really delivers on a Colorado winter day, you can see for yourself, right down to the kilowatt-hour, at Bear Creek Meadows by KB Home, off C-470 at Quincy Avenue.

KB Home Regional President Matt Mandino, right, and Vice President Darrell Hensley at ZeroHouse 2.0 near Morrison, Colo.

KB Home is holding a grand opening for its ‘ZeroHouse 2.0’ ranch model at Bear Creek Meadows – designed to use absolutely no energy at all — an average family’s annual use totally offset by conservation design and solar panels. more »

Koelbel and Company, which began its history of Denver real estate development in 1952, is welcoming Carl Koelbel into the firm, following his successful completion of a Masters in Real Estate and Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is son of Koelbel and Company President Walter ‘Buz’ Koelbel, Jr., and grandson of founder Walter Koelbel, Sr.

Carl Koelbel on the Highline Canal trail through The Preserve’s nature reserve.

Koelbel, who earned membership in the international business honor society, Beta Gamma Sigma, during his graduate studies at CU’s Leeds School of Business, was part of a team of four students whose vision of a redeveloped Denver Coliseum complex won the 8th annual Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge for CU last year against teams from the University of Denver. During his studies, he carried out field internships that involved property analyses in Littleton’s redeveloped downtown area on behalf of Littleton Capital Partners, as well as creation of a “green” development handbook for Vail Associates. more »

Boulder: Businessweek is calling it ‘America’s Best Town for Startups’–where newly arrived engineers can rock-climb one moment, kibitz with colleagues over their iPads the next in funky Wi-Fi cafés. Today you can tour a community that’s sold 15 homes in the past 30 days, many of them to buyers arriving for those sorts of attractions…offering them a lifestyle that puts it all together, even the café, in one sustainable setting.

Peloton’s rooftop pool deck looks out of a view of the Flatirons, and anchors a $6 million community recreation center that’s one of many gathering spots for residents.

The Peloton, on the Boulder Creek Trail near the Twenty Ninth Street mall, has plowed through 34 sales since January, to buyers arriving from Atlanta, New Jersey, Long Island…as well as metro Denver. “They’re a highly educated, tech-savvy group,” says Peter Cushman, Peloton’s senior vice president. When the market dropped last year, Peloton dropped prices 20%. “We’ve been on a tear here ever since,” he adds. more »