New Homes Coming in Bluff Lake Area of Stapleton

Stapleton is booming and if you’re in the market for a new build South of I-70 you may want to check out the 322 new homes that are about to be built in the Bluff Lake area of Stapleton.

Located along 26th Ave, between Fulton and Moline, the homes will be just a little South of the Bluff Lake Nature Center. These 322 homes will be the first significant amount of new builds to hit the South side of Stapleton in quite a while. For the most part, all of the recent building has been north of I-70. (including in the new area up there Beeler Park…more preliminary info on that here.)

This part of Bluff Lake in the past would have been considered a little too far East for some buyers. Maybe a little too far from some of the action (town center, events, grocery store, etc) Not anymore. This little pocket of Stapleton is surrounded by some awesome amenities that are under construction.

Here are the major amenities of the Bluff Lake Area:

Stanley Marketplace is a short walk or bike ride away. About 50 local businesses, plenty or restaurants, coffee shops, beer garden, events, etc.

Eastbridge town center is well underway. This too is a short bike ride away and will offer a new King Soopers as well as multiple new restaurants. (Plus Little Man ice cream!)

There is a new 25 acre park under construction just to the West of these homes. Walk to a playground and enjoy trails through natural grass landscapes similar to Westerly Creek green space.

Several parks, the F-15 pool and Bluff Lake Nature Center are just a stroll away.

There is a new light rail stop on Fitzsimons Medical campus which you can use to get to DIA or head down the 225 corridor.

There is a new Aurora Moorhead Recreation Center under construction on 25th Ave just steps from these homes. This is a $9MM project and they’re well underway.

The Fitzsimons medical campus is 5 minutes away and has 50,000 jobs on it at full build out in a few years. That’s a huge driver for the whole area, meaning it will cause the area to continue to improve and it will provide a steady stream of buyers and renters for the area.

I’m not just saying it’s a great area either, we’re pretty much banking on it for a large part of our retirement plan through rental properties in the area. So my money is where my mouth is…I truly think that this part of NW Aurora had a bit of an airport hangover in the past but now it’s an area that has a ton going for it.

So what are the downsides of this new area of Bluff Lake in Stapleton? There are 2 in my opinion and I want to make sure these challenges are on the table.

First, these homes are in Aurora, not Denver, which means the buyers will be in the Aurora Public Schools rather than Denver Public Schools. That means buyers kids will most likely go to the neighborhood schools in NW Aurora which are not highly rated. There are some positive changes happening in some of these schools and I think they’ll trend up but for the time being I think many buyers with kids will prefer the Denver part of Stapleton where their kids (Kindergarten and up) are guaranteed spots in the more highly rated DPS Stapleton schools. I don’t mean that to beat up on APS, I want all kids to have a great education, regardless of their neighborhood. That said, I think most parents with options will opt for the higher rated school.

Second, the tax rate in Adams County (which is the county for these homes) is a little higher than Denver. So, the buyers here will pay a little more in taxes than the rest of Stapleton (as a percentage). From what I hear I think a good rule of thumb for this area is you will pay 1.25% of the home value in annual taxes whereas in the Denver parts of Stapleton it’s more like 1.1% of the home value. That includes the metro district we all pay, which covers the cost of the Stapleton infrastructure that we all enjoy.

Forest City is aware of these two factors which I believe is why the homes here will cost less than in the other new area of Stapleton, Beeler Park (north of I-70). All of these homes in both new areas will also be part of the Stapleton HOA so they have full access to all Stapleton amenities just like any other Stapleton home.

So who will be building in this area?

There will be 5 builders in this area, all names you are familiar with because they’ve been building in Stapleton for a long time. Below is the rundown. Note that in the links provided below I’m linking to their old plans in these series, there will be changes for these Bluff Lake plans but for the most part they aren’t out yet. Much of this is still speculative because we’re early in the process for this new area. So don’t take this as written in stone, I’m sure I have a few errors in my info below but I want to get you what I know at this point.

Thrive Home Builders (Formerly New Town Builders):

3 story row homes These will be similar to the 3 story row homes Thrive has built throughout Stapleton. Two car attached garages and no basements. Plans and exteriors will be revised. I would expect these to have an end price in the low to mid $300k’s depending on the plan.

2 story town homes These will be like the Element affordable home plans Thrive is about to build in Stapleton. They will be market rate homes (meaning not affordable because Aurora doesn’t have the same affordable home program Denver has). I expect these to be priced in the low $300k’s all in but I’m not sure about that yet.

Solaris No link available for these right now. These are the single family homes like Thrive has been building in other parts of Stapleton. The plans and exteriors will be reworked. They will be two story homes with optional finished basements. I expect these will probably be in the high $400ks/low $500k’s.

KB Home:

Villas paired homes  These are similar to the KB paired homes that have been built throughout Stapleton. They are all 2 story plans with options for basements. As of the day this is written they’ve already released lots in this area (starting in the $320k range on base price) and they’ve sold 6 in the first weekend. I expect them to end up in the high $300k’s all in.

David Weekley Home:

Cottages These are a great fit if you’re looking for a single family home but you want to stay below the $500k price range. They will likely end up in the low to mid $400k’s. All plans are two story with 3 bedrooms up and optional basements.

Wonderland Homes:

Prospect Townhomes These are brand new, nothing to link to, look really cool on paper and I think they will likely end price in the low to mid $300k’s. I think they may have some ranch plans.

Prominence These are singe family detached homes, likely end price in the low to mid $400k’s. They are the latest edition of what used to be called their “Expressions” series. (That is why I linked to the Expressions webpage) They will have some ranch plans but most are 2 story and they have optional basements.

Boulder Creek Builders:

Possibilities These are all ranch plans. Unlike the homes they’ve built North of I-70 these homes will have optional finished basements or they can be build on crawl spaces (meaning no basement) to keep the cost down if you don’t need the extra square footage.  These homes are all about low maintenance and and an easy lock and leave lifestyle. I think these will end in the low to mid $400k’s.

Could these homes work for you or someone you know? If so I’d love to chat and see if I can help. Even though we’re early in the process for this area I’m helping buyers stalk the builders they love. The early buyers will get the best floor plans and lots so let me know if I can help! You pay the same price whether you have a real estate agent or not, so why not have an experienced local agent on your side? (here is what some other recent clients have had to say about our services)

That’s the update for now on Bluff Lake! If you’re thinking about building a new home in either new area of Stapleton you might find value in this free resource I put together for you.  As the builders release their plans, pricing etc I’ll be sure to continue to post about it so if you want to stay in the loop please be sure to sign up for the Scoop!