Ken Caryl Ranch (Denver, Boulder: for sale, houses, neighborhoods)

[Jerry Bckr]

I live in Ken-Caryl. I'll check the nest issue of the paper for you, when it comes out, which I think is this Thursday.

[lovesunnydays]

My family is moving back to colorado after a year in north carolina. We had rented a house in ken caryl plains when we lived in CO and would like to go back to the same area and school, Shaffer Elem and Falcon Bluffs Middle, but there's very little for rent at this time, and I can't buy until about a year from now. Plus, my price range is too low for ken caryl, about $275K, maybe $300k depending on job salary. I'd prefer to rent in a neighborhood where I'll be able to buy down the road. Can anyone tell me more about some of the other foothills neighborhoods, like Stony Creek or The Meadows? The homes look nice and are a little newer than KC. Are there many families with school-aged children? As much as we liked KC, it seemed to have a lot of empty-nesters. Most of the Jeffco schools are well-rated on greatschools, 7 out of 10 or higher. It would be an easier move transition for my daughter to go back to Shaffer Elem which was a great school experience for her, but she only has one more year in elementary, 5th, so another option is if we can go to a middle school where she'll have friends from Shaffer already, like Falcon Bluffs.

I know Trailmark (Chatfield) is zoned for Shaffer, but I prefer to live north of there. We loved the foothills area around the Rec Center, and I like that the Mineral Station light rail is only 10 minutes away. I'm all for biking and walking as much as possible and short driving distances, and the ken caryl area had pretty much everything we like to do in good proximity for a suburban area. All in all I think we could be happy anywhere thereabout but any advice and information on those neighborhoods is welcome! How are the neighborhoods just east of Kipling, like Dakota Station? I'd prefer a house but if we could find a townhouse with a little yard space (we have a dog and rabbit), that may be okay. It looks like most of the newer homes are townhouses or condos.

[Scott5280]

You might consider renting in the Ranch Meadows patio homes,townhomes. While the single family homes there tend to have more families with younger kids, they are located adjacent to the towns,patios in that small gated enclave so your kids would have no problems with finding friends there. One of my best friends and a cousin of mine lives in the area; they both have kids that attend the schools you referenced and are all very happy .You can find a few of the attatched properties (builder is Remmington Homes) for less than 300k right now. The single family range from 400-700k. The schools and over all community ammenities in that area are among the best along the front range IMO. I would not recommend purchasing a home in the Plains or Cimmaron as many of them have expansive soil problems. I personally think the Ken Caryl area in general is the best suburban neighborhood in Denver area. Good Luck to you.

[SheridanL]

I am hoping Jerry Bckr comes on to answer your questions. He lives in KC and, is also a realtor and regular poster!!

[lovesunnydays]

thanks for the replies. I'll be coming out to Littleton in two weeks, so any other recommendations of subdivisions to check out are welcome!

[ucbedge]

My wife and I are working on relocating from So Cal. We've driven around and probably seen about 50 homes in various neighborhoods. Ken Caryl is really nice, but I found the homes (for the price) too small and outdated. If my budget was $500K, I'd definitely consider though.

Thus far, our favorite developments are Grant's Ranch, Columbine Knolls, Governor's Ranch, and the eastern parts of Highlands Ranch. But our budget is a bit higher than yours.

If youre willing to commute and you really want to live in the foothills, I'd check out Roxborough Park and/or Village. There are $300K custom homes up there right next to the hills.

[2bindenver]

Rentals usually open up the beginning of the month, when tenants give notice. Also - some just post signs in the yard.

There are lots of subdivisions in that corner of SoJeffco. If you are renting for a while, there are townhomes off Chatfield & Schaeffer's Parkway & Ken Caryl, that could get you into school while you look for the right house when the time comes.

[arzoo4250]

Can anyone tell me more about Ken-Caryll Ranch area? Is it a decent place to live? Is it family-oriented/kid friendly? How close is it to the Lockheed Martin facility in Littleton? Are the school's rated well? How is the weather (lots of snow compared to COS or less? do you get monsoons in the summer? is it overly windy?)

We may be relocating to the area if my husband gets transfered to the Littleton Lockheed facility. I've never been to the Denver area.

Sorry for the barrage of questions!
Thanks in advance.

[Scott5280]

Originally Posted by arzoo4250

Can anyone tell me more about Ken-Caryll Ranch area? Is it a decent place to live? Is it family-oriented/kid friendly? How close is it to the Lockheed Martin facility in Littleton? Are the school's rated well? How is the weather (lots of snow compared to COS or less? do you get monsoons in the summer? is it overly windy?)

We may be relocating to the area if my husband gets transfered to the Littleton Lockheed facility. I've never been to the Denver area.

Sorry for the barrage of questions!
Thanks in advance.

Yes, to all of your questions except constant wind. I lived there during my last high school year, and still visit the area often... One of my favorite suburban areas in the whole metro area. I would not classify the area as overy windy by frequency, but hold onto your hat when it is. Last winter I was hiking there, I think it was Feb., and it went from 55 degrees and sunny to 40 degrees in about 30 minutes with a windchill about 10.. this is very rare though. Much of the KC population area in and out of the Valley are employees at Lockheed. Very family friendly,safe,and good schools.

[2bindenver]

It is a very nice neighborhood.

Not many with an equestrian center, a pool community, even a place to find mastodon fossils!

Parks, neighborhood schools, shopping - big trees...

There are two sides to Ken Caryl, the Ranch and the Valley.

Parade of Homes was there in 1990.