June 10, 2025
Father, Realtor and Happy Homeowner
Nick Rizzi, father of two, and husband to Victoria De La Torre is also a local realtor at Happy Homes and the owner of his own happy home in Looking Glass | Parker. When the couple first started looking for a place to put down roots, Nick and his wife were living in “the heart” of Denver.
Nick was fresh out of college and was unacquainted with Denver’s outlying suburbs and hadn’t spent much time beyond the periphery of the couple’s urban environment. But when it came to house hunting there, he says, “We didn’t love anything that we were seeing — especially close to downtown.”
The pair widened their search and found themselves venturing further and further south. “I’m from the Midwest,” Nick explained, and the more he and Victoria drove beyond E-470, “the more we kept getting closer to what we love.”
What really solidified Parker as a location for the Rizzi-DeLaTorre family, was the type of new home they were able to purchase there. The couple began their suburban adventure in Bradbury Ranch and shortly after starting their family, bought a new home in Looking Glass.
Seven and Fifteen-Minute Circles
Nick says that he and Victoria relish the proximity to the critical list of essentials. “We talk about our circles a lot,” he explained. First is their seven-minute Parker circle ,and all they can drive to within it.
“We have Target and Walmart and Home Depot, which I could spend the whole weekend at — and so could Victoria – and there are at least seven restaurants that are really interesting.” Nick and Victoria like the fact that the eateries aren’t all chains and have original, inventive and appetizing selections.
Widening the orbit to 15 minutes, Nick says, “gets us to the Park Meadows Mall and to anything and everything else we could need.” The Rizzi-De La Torre family frequent Lone Tree quite a bit which is, Nick says, a 17 minute-drive from their home in Looking Glass. “We especially love the Parker and Lone Tree Douglas Libraries – there’s a play Mechanic’s Garage and Veterinary Clinic for the kids!”
“We found we really didn’t need the stuff on 16th Street in Denver, and if we did, it was 25-30 minutes away–a very easy drive if we wanted to spend every weekend downtown.”
The family ventures even further south, too, when they want a change of pace. “I think the biggest piece, is that it’s so easy to get to places and avoid the highway, which I cannot understate how nice that is,” Nick says.
“I can go to Castle Rock the back way and not have to go up through I-25. It’s a million times better than stop-and-go traffic,” he added. “You can just get anywhere you need without having to hit the congested areas during rush hour.”
Business and Friendly Connections
Nick likes to “office” at local coffee shops like FICA (pronounced fEEka) and Kunjani and even 303 at Park Meadows. They’re all “very friendly for meetings and relationships, and near Office Max for faxes, UPS stores, and the FedEx central store where I’ve been able to get notaries very easily.”
“The reason we continued to stay in Parker and started having kids in Parker was just everything else that came with it,” Nick says.
“It’s an incredible town with lots of events and activities and the people are fun, too. It reminds me a lot of the Midwest, of home. Everybody’s friendly, they say hi when you walk by and it’s a safe neighborhood to have your kid riding a bike. It really is the feeling that I grew up in, without being surrounded by 5000 acres of corn!”
The family of four likes to take short drives to recreational spaces. “We’ll drive to Cherry Creek State Park and let the kids run around – that’s huge.” Nick says. “And there’s that forest over by Franktown, Castlewood Canyon. It’s awesome. Having those really close is super nice for the dogs and the kids.”
Date Night in Parker
As the parents of a three-and-a-half-year-old and a one-year-old, getting out without the kids is a rare luxury, Nick says, and it’s nice to have a date night and not have to travel very far. “We can find a good, quiet, romantic date spot to enjoy within minutes of home — there are at least three of our favorite restaurants within half a mile of Main Street.”
The New Home Options of Looking Glass
The new home community of Looking Glass features more than 15 design options from three different builders. Taylor Morrison is offering its final models for hurry-up home buyers, and Dream Finders Homes has 13 models to choose from. Mark your calendars for the June 21 grand opening of three of those new models! And late summer, look for the paired product offering of Richmond American Homes. Everything you need is in Looking Glass – or between seven and 15 minutes away!