High-rise living is common place in cities like New York, but few people experience that luxury in Denver. The Denver Post recently explored what it is like to live above the clouds by interviewing two SPIRE residents.

They talked to David and Pam Kurth who live on the 41^st floor of the SPIRE. They described their view as priceless:

“The Kurths own an opulent view. They watch helicopters that can hover near eye level. When fog cloaks the city, it might be clear at their level — they look down upon the soupy gloom. As storms charge over the mountains, the Kurths watch the wind and moisture and gray march across the city before slamming into their building.”

Pam Kurth described is as “every day is a different picture.” She does not every want to live earthbound again. To read the entire article, visit the Denver Post. To schedule your tour of a sky high home in paradise, call SPIRE’s Sales Office today: 720.457.7750.

There has been plenty of research on the walkability of streets and neighborhoods. (SPIRE has a walk score of 95 for example). Who is actually more likely to be walking? According to a study by the Transport for London it’s young, single women.

On average, the study found that women walk more journey stages on foot than men. However, it also found that women walk shorter distances than men. Men walk more when they are single and have no children, while women walk more once they’ve had children.

Young people (ages 20-44) walk more than older people, with young women (ages 20-44) walking the most. This makes sense as the recent trends show millennials are looking to move into the city as opposed to the suburbs.

The study also found that singles walked more than people in a relationship (regardless whether the couple had children or not). Unsurprisingly car ownership reduces walking, but the richer people are, the more likely they are to walk despite having the option to drive. The research team attributed this to “narrower travel horizons amongst those on lower incomes.”

We look forward for a study of this kind being done in America. What do you think? Do you think Americans are similar to our British counterparts when it comes to walking?

For decades, the suburbs represented prosperity and the American Dream. That is changing now. Mainly because of the Millennials. Instead of congested highways and tedious commutes, millennials are moving to high density city centers. They want to live close to where they work and play.

Employers are the outside of cities are finding it very difficult to recruit young professionals to their suburban office parks. Many large corporations are moving their US headquarters away from the ‘burbs and back to American downtowns. The New York Times reported that UBS is moving from the Connecticut suburbs back to Manhattan. Crain’s also noted that corporate campuses are in their twilight era.

What do you think? Do you work downtown where you live?

Our ears are on fire because people have been talking about all the great eateries on the ground floor of the SPIRE.

Row 14 Bistro & Wine has been draped with accolades. They won Editor’s Choice for Top of the Town Wine List from 5280 Magazine. Both their duck crepes and hangover helper have been featured in the magazine’s “Best Bites” section. They also had a great review in Westword featuring their burger, five-spice duck crepes, shrimp diavolo, panzanella, Thai curry-braised short ribs, and roasted chicken mole. The descriptions are mouthwatering.

Westword also gave some love to Snarf’s this week. Snarf’s is the latest addition to the SPIRE ground floor. The sandwich shop started in Boulder, but now has locations in Chicago and St. Louis. The Westword review claims the new store “upholds the reputation of Snarf’s sandwiches.” The reporter’s favorite addition to the sandwich is Snarf’s homemade giardiniera, a spicy blend of marinated carrots, celery, and peppers.

Let’s not forget, Organic Pizza Company. Denver’s only organic take and bake pizza shop. They’ve been getting rave reviews from media and bloggers alike. SPIRE residents don’t need to go far for a great bite to eat. Follow us on Twitter to win prizes from each of these partners. We do a giveaway every Monday.

For today’s Splog, we would like to focus on the trending topic of walk scores; what they are, why they are important, and lastly, why you should care about them. To offer some clarity on the subject, we have surveyed our own walk score here at SPIRE, and posted the results to give you a better idea what this number actually means and how it relates to your own walk score; and ultimately we’ll encourage you to take a look at your own walk score to see how you fare with the rest of your surrounding area, by visiting walkscore.com

What exactly is a “walk score?”
Walk Score, or walkscore.com is the first large-scale, public access walkability index. According to the Washington Post, “Walkscore.com ranks communities nationwide (and soon, globally) based on how many businesses, parks, theaters, schools and other common destinations are within walking distance of any given starting point.”

A one-mile walk in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood.

According to the site’s creators, “The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)—no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0–100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk.”

How it works:
Simply put, a walk score is a number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address to the amenities in that area. The breakdown of the scoring system is as follows:

Why your walk score matters:
Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to the environment, our health, our finances, and our communities.

• Environment: Cars are a leading cause of climate change. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.
• Health: The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.
• Finances: One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 of value for your property. Read the research report.
• Communities: Studies show that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.
• Read more about what makes a neighborhood walkable HERE.

Spire, for Example:
We plugged in our address (891 14th Street, Denver, CO) at walkscore.com to survey how our score compared to the surrounding neighborhoods in Denver. We were pleased to find our walk score was a 95, putting us in the ranks of a “walker’s paradise,” and listing us within the top 3% of the most walkable neighborhoods in the area. Compare our results to your own (click to enlarge the map):

Spire's Walk Score (click to enlarge)

Additionally, the Walk Score website allows you to get a Transit Score for your area as well, offering comparisons of how this score ranks to nearby cities.

Spire's Transit Score (click to enlarge)

At the end of the day, ultimately we realize that home is where the heart is and you can’t put a number on that; but if you happen to be in the process of moving or relocating, we hope you’ll consider the Walk Score of your future home as an important factor is where you end up. We’re very interested in hearing about your own Walk Score experiences! Please share them with us here or on our Facebook, and happy walking!