Rebuilding After the Marshall Fire: A Journey with Roger and Laura Bohart

Building a home—especially after a disaster—is never just about bricks and lumber. It’s about reclaiming peace, restoring possibility, and reshaping life with intention. When Roger and Laura Bohart reached out to Sopris Development following the Marshall Fire, they brought clarity, courage, and a deep desire to create a home that reflected who they were and how they wanted to live moving forward.

From Roger and Laura Bohart:

In December 2021, we, along with approximately 1,100 other homeowners, lost our home and all its contents to the devastating Marshall fire in Boulder, Colorado. Dealing with this emotional event, the uncertainty of the insurance, and how we wanted to proceed with our lives at age 77 was a very challenging task. We had never built a house before and had no plans to ever build one!

After considering alternatives, we decided to rebuild and were very fortunate to meet John Stevens and Sopris Development. Sopris was truly a full-service company, helping us with every aspect of the project, including lot remediation, concept and design, planning, permitting, introduction to vendors, and obviously the construction of the home. It is hard to imagine receiving better service from any other company!

When we met Roger and Laura, it was immediately clear they were the kind of clients every builder hopes for. They approached the process with openness, intention, and thoughtfulness—even while navigating grief and uncertainty. Their mindset shaped the entire project, and their trust allowed the partnership to thrive.

Concept and design: We spent multiple meetings with John and his architect discussing our old home, what we liked about it, how we used the house, and what we wanted in our new home, which included the following:

• We wanted a home that we could “age in place” and potentially live in for the remainder of our lives. While we wanted a ranch style home with a walkout lower level, it was essential that we had one floor living incorporating wider doors, hallways, shower entrances, etc. in the event we needed those in the future.

• We wanted the house to be modern but blend into the environment, which incorporated an unrestricted view of the front range mountains behind Boulder.

• While designed for our personal use, we also wanted to consider features that would impact marketability at some point in the future.

• We wanted to make sure that the cost of the home was within our financial capabilities, including maximizing the potential insurance coverage.

The Sopris team did an amazing job of creating a design that accomplished all of these desires. They were highly receptive to our requirements and suggestions, while also presenting numerous valuable features that we had not previously considered.

At Sopris, we emphasize deep listening during the design phase. Roger and Laura came into each meeting prepared and focused, with a clear understanding of what they wanted. Our goal was to bring their vision to life while ensuring every decision aligned with accessibility, long-term comfort, and modern elegance.

Preconstruction Activities: Before construction began, we met with the various vendors/suppliers that Sopris used to pick out virtually everything for the house from appliances, flooring, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, tile, counter tops, paint colors to door knobs. While it was seemingly overwhelming in the beginning, it was very beneficial from two standpoints: (1) Sopris was able to develop a realistic cost estimate before construction began and (2) Sopris was able to order the necessary products to deal with potential supply chain issues and not impact the sequential building of the house. Without exception, we were very impressed with all the vendors/suppliers that Sopris recommended. The choices offered, service and professionalism were great and they interacted with one another. For example, the cabinet people knew the dimensions of the appliances that we chose and incorporated that into the correct cabinet dimensions.

That early planning made all the difference. Roger and Laura’s thoughtful selections and organizational approach allowed us to schedule vendors efficiently and minimize costly delays. Our trade partners and suppliers appreciated their clarity and engagement, and it showed in the seamless collaboration throughout the build.

Construction Process: We were also very pleased with the craftsmen (said in the true sense of the word) and the subcontractors that Sopris used in building our home. Whether it be the concrete workers, framers, electricians, plumbers, cabinet installers, painters or others, they were all very professional and provided quality work.

Another thing that we appreciate about Sopris is that, in addition to our interaction with John, they assigned a project manager to our house. We were able to have a weekly on-site meeting with him, keeping informed of both the current and scheduled activities. These walkthroughs also gave us an opportunity to consider changes to incorporate. As we had spent considerable time on the design phase and selection of items, the number of changes was fairly insignificant. But in our weekly walk throughs, the project manager suggested for example that we might want to incorporate lights in our staircase, or we decided to add additional electrical outlets.

Weekly site visits are one of the ways we maintain clarity, flexibility, and peace of mind. The Boharts took full advantage of those opportunities—making small but thoughtful tweaks that elevated the livability of their home without disrupting the build timeline.

Timing and Costs: Having never built a house, we had heard horror stories that the costs and timing will be much greater than you anticipate. That was not the case that we experienced with Sopris!

• Timing: Many of our neighbors who also lost homes in the neighborhood were rebuilding similar sized homes and were told that it would take 15-24 months to rebuild due to the shortage of subcontractors and the high demand due to the number of homes lost in the fire. In hindsight, those estimates proved to be correct for many of our neighbors. But Sopris gave us an estimate of 12 months from start of construction. Being somewhat pessimistic based on our neighbors’ input, we rented a house for 18 months while the construction occurred. Sopris completed the house in 13 months! We think that speaks to the upfront work in selecting items, their relationship with the subcontractors, their focus on the sequential scheduling of those subcontractors and the involvement of the project manager.

• Costs: As stated previously, we spent considerable time upfront in the design of our home and the selection of items, thus giving us a realistic idea as to costs. But recognizing that uncertainties can arise and modifications can be requested, a contingency was built into our original costs estimate. As we made very insignificant modifications to our original design, we are delighted to say that the final costs came in less than the originally estimated costs!

A successful build doesn’t happen by chance—it happens when trust, planning, and follow-through come together. Roger and Laura’s experience is exactly what we strive for: predictable outcomes and minimized surprises. Their honesty, decisiveness, and communication helped make that possible.

Insurance Support: While hopefully people do not have to deal with insurance as they build a new home, Sopris record keeping of costs was very professional and helpful in dealing with our insurance company. But also important was their knowledge of our insurance policy and the various building codes and requirements. As an example, we had solar added to our new home, but those costs were originally denied by our insurance as we did not have it on our old house. But as we had coverage for Ordinance and Law changes, Sopris provided the various county building codes to our insurance company, thereby allowing coverage for the solar system. Sopris was much more than just a builder; they were a real advocate for us! Their experience and knowledge of building codes and requirements was invaluable.

Helping homeowners navigate insurance is an essential part of what we do—especially in fire-rebuild situations. We don’t just build; we advocate. We do the research, speak the language, and support our clients in ways that extend well beyond the jobsite.

One Year Later: We absolutely love our new home and have encountered minimal problems, all of which were corrected by Sopris. Thanks to Sopris, we have a beautiful new home in which we can age-in-place, entertain family and friends, and appreciate the beauty that exists.

Obviously, we highly recommend Sopris Development to help you achieve your dreams! They really know what they are doing and actually made this process enjoyable.

Roger and Laura reminded us what this work is really about: not just rebuilding a house, but restoring confidence and creating spaces filled with peace, intention, and joy. We’re honored to have walked this path with them—and proud to welcome them into the Sopris family.