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I live in the Eastbridge neighborhood and have never had crime issues, or heard of anything out of the ordinary. I have no issues with the King Soopers, other than it's often crowded. It's in the middle of a remodel, so it's been more of a PITA lately, but otherwise, it seems fine to me.
I'm sure you're ready for the east town center to get built then. Have you heard anything new about that lately? It sounds like if they can land a small grocery then they can start construction. I've heard Whole Foods, Sunflower or Native Roots, with King Soopers eventually opening a new large store at MLK & Peoria once MLK is extended between Havana and Peoria to connect to Fitzsimmons Pkwy.
I'm sure you're ready for the east town center to get built then. Have you heard anything new about that lately? It sounds like if they can land a small grocery then they can start construction. I've heard Whole Foods, Sunflower or Native Roots, with King Soopers eventually opening a new large store at MLK & Peoria once MLK is extended between Havana and Peoria to connect to Fitzsimmons Pkwy.
I've heard a recent rumor that Sprouts will come to the EB town center. Just a rumor though. I've heard no official confirmation. Forest City surely knows how fed up people are with the "hole" they've left rather than a town center.
I currently rent in a tower near downtown (Golden Triangle). Wife and I are looking at possibly buying a townhouse in Stapleton early next year. Since Stapleton is so big what area would you say is currently the best? IMO from walking around there several times it would be around 29th & Central Park. West of Central Park gets you closer to the neighborhood pool and town center and east gets you closer to the school and Westerly Creek.
Some questions:
- How are your HOA dues calculated, based on SF of your house or location?
- How are your property taxes? I've hears they are higher than the rest of Denver.
- Is there much crime especially burglaries? I know the surrounsung areas can be pretty bad, does that spill over?
- How is the King Soopers on Quebec? I've heard not great. My wife loves being close to Safeway and Whole Foods.
- What are your main pros and cons of living in Stapleton?
We are scheduled to close on our house Oct 1, so I can answer alot of your questions. We are building a Newtown Builders "Central Park Rowhome" in "south stapleton" just west of the Bladium fitness center.
1. Our HOA is going to be $150 month. It depends both on location and type of housing. Since we are a rowhome/townhome, the HOA covers outside maitenance of the home, as well as the surrounding "green" areas... gardens, etc. If you are living in a single family home that doesn't have much green space around it (community courtyard, etc), you will have less HOA. But you will also pay higher insurance since your HOA doesn't cover your building. But HOA also includes use of the community pools and all the parks, so its not a bad deal.
Speaking of pools, someone mentioned the "community pool", but there is actually FOUR community pools if I remember correctly. Basically one in each little section of the neighborhood. So you are going to be close to a pool no matter where you live.
2. Property taxes for us on a 275k rowhome are going to be around $2300. I think 1% is a good estimate.
3. Crime is not an issue. Just don't worry about it. I mean I wouldn't leave my doors and garage open overnight, but even if you did, chances are low of anyone stealing anything. Unless you live on the outskirts of the neighboorhood, like literally facing the other neighborhoods, just don't factor crime in.
4. I'm not a big fan of the King Soopers on Quebec, but I go there often. Quality and customers there aren't the best, but it is a grocery store that serves your needs. The other close option right now is Super Target at Northfield. There is a "farmers market" every Saturday or Sunday on the green by the town center. We try to get produce and other things there when we have time. Quality is obviously awesome. Alot of people also have coolers they leave on their patios and get weekly deliveries for fresh produce, etc. I can't think of what the company is called that does this.
5. We chose Stapleton mainly because it is the nicest neighborhood close to the UC Denver medical campus, where my wife is attending school. We actually prefer bigger lots and yards, and the more "rural" feel, but Stapleton is great too. There is alot of walking areas that we enjoy. We don't have kids, but everyone says the schools in Stapleton are some of the best in Denver. It is close to downtown, easy to get on interstate, close to airport, etc.
Feel free to email with any questions, i'd be glad to help: jlantis@comcast.net
Also, as far as best part of Stapleton, they are all good, really. They all are "new"... i don't think any neighborhoods are older than 2002ish? I would focus more on what model/builder you want, if you want to be on/near busy streets, etc. That will determine what your options are.
We are scheduled to close on our house Oct 1, so I can answer alot of your questions. We are building a Newtown Builders "Central Park Rowhome" in "south stapleton" just west of the Bladium fitness center.
1. Our HOA is going to be $150 month. It depends both on location and type of housing. Since we are a rowhome/townhome, the HOA covers outside maitenance of the home, as well as the surrounding "green" areas... gardens, etc. If you are living in a single family home that doesn't have much green space around it (community courtyard, etc), you will have less HOA. But you will also pay higher insurance since your HOA doesn't cover your building. But HOA also includes use of the community pools and all the parks, so its not a bad deal.
I'm curious if you know any resource that gives you a rough breakdown of the HOAs.
Also, what does it mean, "...covers outside maintenance of the home..." I'm sure that covers community greens, landscaping, sidewalks and the like, but does it actually include aspects of the building itself, considering the exterior is a kind of "commons"?
I had no idea about the higher insurance on single family dwellings over townhomes/rowhomes as a result of the HOA fees, also. Is the difference substantial? Based on what you spent on your home it seems you could very nearly have gone either way, and clearly a rowhome worked better for you, but I'm curious if you are able to expand on that at all.
We're thinking of buying in Stapleton, as well. Checked out some of the Wonderland home models, but most of the available lots are way on the East side of Stapleton, pretty much across the street from northern Aurora. We just moved to Denver this past weekend so aren't too familiar with the area but have heard bad things about northern Aurora.
The available lots that are a possibility for us are south of 26th Avenue at Ironton. Does anyone have an opinion about the nearness to Aurora? The homes to be built there are pretty cool, but I'm not sure if that outweighs the proximity to a sketchy neighborhood. I heard that they will be opening the streets through to Aurora soon. Then again, maybe the Aurora neighborhood isn't that bad...I'm not sure what to make of it...
We are scheduled to close on our house Oct 1, so I can answer alot of your questions. We are building a Newtown Builders "Central Park Rowhome" in "south stapleton" just west of the Bladium fitness center.
1. Our HOA is going to be $150 month. It depends both on location and type of housing. Since we are a rowhome/townhome, the HOA covers outside maitenance of the home, as well as the surrounding "green" areas... gardens, etc. If you are living in a single family home that doesn't have much green space around it (community courtyard, etc), you will have less HOA. But you will also pay higher insurance since your HOA doesn't cover your building. But HOA also includes use of the community pools and all the parks, so its not a bad deal.
Speaking of pools, someone mentioned the "community pool", but there is actually FOUR community pools if I remember correctly. Basically one in each little section of the neighborhood. So you are going to be close to a pool no matter where you live.
2. Property taxes for us on a 275k rowhome are going to be around $2300. I think 1% is a good estimate.
3. Crime is not an issue. Just don't worry about it. I mean I wouldn't leave my doors and garage open overnight, but even if you did, chances are low of anyone stealing anything. Unless you live on the outskirts of the neighboorhood, like literally facing the other neighborhoods, just don't factor crime in.
4. I'm not a big fan of the King Soopers on Quebec, but I go there often. Quality and customers there aren't the best, but it is a grocery store that serves your needs. The other close option right now is Super Target at Northfield. There is a "farmers market" every Saturday or Sunday on the green by the town center. We try to get produce and other things there when we have time. Quality is obviously awesome. Alot of people also have coolers they leave on their patios and get weekly deliveries for fresh produce, etc. I can't think of what the company is called that does this.
5. We chose Stapleton mainly because it is the nicest neighborhood close to the UC Denver medical campus, where my wife is attending school. We actually prefer bigger lots and yards, and the more "rural" feel, but Stapleton is great too. There is alot of walking areas that we enjoy. We don't have kids, but everyone says the schools in Stapleton are some of the best in Denver. It is close to downtown, easy to get on interstate, close to airport, etc.
Feel free to email with any questions, i'd be glad to help: jlantis@comcast.net
Very helpful, thanks. You said you're building a rowhome, are they planning on building a lot more rowhomes? I thought I heard MLK will be lined with them from Central Park Blvd east to Westerly Creek, and there will be some built west of Central Park Blvd too. They are building something at the SW corner of Central Park Blvd and MLK, is that where you're building your rowhome? I couldn't tell what's being built there.
The most booming section currently appears to be the new neighborhood NW of Central Park Blvd and MLK. Tons of new homes being built there right now. It's close to the school (Swiggert-McAuliffe) and won't be far from the town center and light rail. Any idea what will happen to the old control tower right there? Any plans for the area surrounding it? I wish there was a better map of their master plan online..
Very helpful, thanks. You said you're building a rowhome, are they planning on building a lot more rowhomes? I thought I heard MLK will be lined with them from Central Park Blvd east to Westerly Creek, and there will be some built west of Central Park Blvd too. They are building something at the SW corner of Central Park Blvd and MLK, is that where you're building your rowhome? I couldn't tell what's being built there.
The most booming section currently appears to be the new neighborhood NW of Central Park Blvd and MLK. Tons of new homes being built there right now. It's close to the school (Swiggert-McAuliffe) and won't be far from the town center and light rail. Any idea what will happen to the old control tower right there? Any plans for the area surrounding it? I wish there was a better map of their master plan online..
I'm curious if you know any resource that gives you a rough breakdown of the HOAs.
Also, what does it mean, "...covers outside maintenance of the home..." I'm sure that covers community greens, landscaping, sidewalks and the like, but does it actually include aspects of the building itself, considering the exterior is a kind of "commons"?
I had no idea about the higher insurance on single family dwellings over townhomes/rowhomes as a result of the HOA fees, also. Is the difference substantial? Based on what you spent on your home it seems you could very nearly have gone either way, and clearly a rowhome worked better for you, but I'm curious if you are able to expand on that at all.
Thanks!
Sorry I may be mistaken on this... I just know when we get insurance for the home, it only has to cover inside problems. Everything on the outside (roof, etc) I believe is covered through the HOA. But now that I think about this more, that doesn't really make much sense... I'll have to get this clarified myself. So what I was saying is if you have a single family your insurance will be higher because it will cover the roof, etc. But your HOA will be lower because they don't pay for that. So basically they balance each other out. Does that make sense? My apologies for the confusion, I know HOA don't normally cover roof costs, etc, but that is what my memory is thinking right now.
It is hard to get HOA costs because each block can differ... its not like other neighborhoods where hundereds of houses pay the same. I would suggest talking to the builder and they can get you estimates.
Generally I would figure $50-$150 max.
As far as row home vs. single family, we choose the rowhome because of the lesser cost mainly. This is our first home, and we have no kids. So we didn't need the extra space offered by the single family homes.
We're thinking of buying in Stapleton, as well. Checked out some of the Wonderland home models, but most of the available lots are way on the East side of Stapleton, pretty much across the street from northern Aurora. We just moved to Denver this past weekend so aren't too familiar with the area but have heard bad things about northern Aurora.
The available lots that are a possibility for us are south of 26th Avenue at Ironton. Does anyone have an opinion about the nearness to Aurora? The homes to be built there are pretty cool, but I'm not sure if that outweighs the proximity to a sketchy neighborhood. I heard that they will be opening the streets through to Aurora soon. Then again, maybe the Aurora neighborhood isn't that bad...I'm not sure what to make of it...
Thanks for any input...
The Aurora area to the south of there isn't the best neighborhood, but I wouldn't be scared of it. The worst parts are closer to Colfax. Even then, the neigborhoods aren't like ghettos in Chicago or New York.
I am not exactly sure of what the road plans are through there... I know they are connecting some streets but I would be curious if its just a few or what. If memory servces right there is quite a bit of green space between stapleton and the older Aurora neighborhoods running east/west. So if they keep that, you'll still have a good divider between the neighborhoods. Its just one of those pros/cons things. If you worked or went to school at UC Denver Medical Campus, that would be a great place to build. If you have kids who will be wandering at night, maybe not the best choice. There is alot of other builders besides Wonderland and you can probalby find a location in a different part. They will start moving north of I-70 within the next few years, and there will be a zillion opportunities over there. Alot of other builders are still building in Central Park West and in-fill areas all around Stapleton. If you plan it right and talk to the right builders, you can be exactly where you want.
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