Parade of Homes begins Aug. 17

It's as much a tradition as county fairs and July Fourth celebrations -- but without the funnel cakes and fireworks. The 2007 Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs, kicks off Friday, Aug. 17, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 2. This year's parade -- in which builders put homes on display for the public to see -- will feature two main sites: Black Forest Reserve, southwest of Meridian and Hodgen roads, and The Preserve at Walden, northeast of Hodgen and Colorado Highway 83. Both developments are in Black Forest, the unincorporated area north and northeast of Colorado Springs. Other individual home sites will be in several Colorado Springs neighborhoods and in Woodland Park, west of the Springs. Homes on display will range in price from $165,000 to more than $2 million. Admission to view homes is $10 for adults; children under 18 and adults 65 and older will be admitted free. All homes will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Tickets can be purchased at Safeway stores and at parade home sites. More information: http://www.cshba.com/ or 592-1800.

Managing Small Projects seminar

Small-project guru Dan Price will present a one-day seminar on managing small projects, Thursday, Sept. 13, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at The Sheraton Hotel, 2886 S. Circle Drive.

The cost is $195 per person.

The fast-paced, small group and results-oriented seminar is geared toward all organization sizes and types. Participants will learn how to perform projects faster, cheaper and with greater success with tools and techniques Price has created.

For more information, see www.winning-ways.com or call 685-2474. Reservations are due by Sept. 11.

Shops at the Bluffs demolition coming soon

A makeover for the Shops at the Bluffs could begin Friday, Aug. 10, for the shopping center on the northwest corner of Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard. United Properties, the Minneapolis-based company that bought the property in 2005, plans a "demolition party" on Friday, although it's unclear if any actual demolition will take place that day. If not, the work will begin soon. United Properties plans to tear down large portions of the 1970s-era mini-mall, retain and remodel other portions and build a new King Soopers grocery to replace an existing store. The result will be a traditional shopping center, with large, freestanding buildings to house anchors and smaller buildings for banks, restaurants and other stores (shown in a computer-generated aerial, above). Also, the shopping center will be renamed Marketplace at Austin Bluffs. Much of the work will be completed in mid-2008.

Verizon Wireless store opens on east side

Verizon Wireless has opened a store at 4331 Integrity Center Point, at the northwest corner of Powers Boulevard and Barnes Road. Verizon Wireless Communications Stores are staffed for sales, customer service and technical support, including providing sales and dedicated service to small-business customers with as many as 50 lines of service.

Springs lending initiative nets award

The American Western Lenders Conference recently honored the Small Business Administration’s Colorado district office for an initiative that started in Colorado Springs. The office was presented the Best Practices in Partnering With Small Business Lenders in Region Eight award. (Region Eight consists of Colorado, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.)

The Colorado office won for a pilot initiative developed in cooperation with the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Springs Small Business Development Center and the Springs chapter of SCORE. The goal was to increase the number of active SBA participating lenders in the area by cultivating smaller regional banks that were not participants in the SBA loan guaranty program. The Springs Chamber worked with member banks to actively promote SBA loan program requirements to the nonparticipating banks.

“The Colorado Springs pilot initiative has been a success and we are beginning to see the positive results — more small-business lending in El Paso County,” said Patricia Barela Rivera, SBA Colorado district director.

T. Rowe Price is now offering a free publication -- "Smart
Financial Living: A Guide to Getting Started" -- to help new and less
experienced investors set out on the path toward reaching their financial
goals. The 24-page guidebook offers investors expert advice,
charts and worksheets to help them define their priorities, assess their
financial situation, determine how much they need to save to reach their
goals, align their saving and investing plans with their aims, and stay on
track. Order by calling 1-800-528-4509.