Arvada (West Woods), Golden (Tablerock) or Broomfield (McKay/Broadlands) (Denver: spring break, for sale)

[tidesup]

We are moving to the area. My husband works in Boulder currently on Pearl St., and they are opening another office in Denver near Union Station and he will go back and forth between both.

Me and the kids have not moved yet as we are waiting until summer. We toured the areas last week and found these specific neighborhoods that we liked best and seemed the best for the commute. We have two boys who will be in middle school next year so we are looking for great schools for middle and high school. Unfortunately, we came during spring break so couldn't tour schools.

Our budget is around $800,000.

We want neighborhoods where people send their kids to local schools (and neighborhoods with older kids), lots of access to open space (which seems to be the case for all of the above areas), larger (newer) houses with some space, and a bonus would be good views.

We met with various real estate agents and got the "all the schools are good," but not much more than that although the Arvada/Golden real estate agent said Arvada middle schools and Ralston High is better than Golden schools.

We keep hearing that Boulder school district is better, but when I look at some scores, that doesn't necessarily seem the case with some schools like Angevine in Lafayette or Broomfield Heights Middle School in Broomfield. Scores aren't everything, but not much else is out there to find about the real scoop on the internet because I've been searching. Anyone out there with experience with these neighborhoods and the schools?

We want schools who promote the academics as well as social/emotional development. These neighborhoods all seem to have similar commutes from what we can tell. I have no idea where I will work yet as I work in nonprofit sector for mental health for young children. Pluses or minuses for any of these neighborhoods?

Do we have to worry about the fracking/drilling issue with the Broomfield neighborhoods we are looking at (it seems like they could potentially do a lot of horizontal drilling that goes deeper into Broomfield).

Do we have to worry about the Rocky Flats issue in West Woods in Arvada?

What about the proposed parkway through Arvada?

Are all of these cities well managed and protective of open space or is one more prone to filling in everything eventually as the cities keep growing to meet demand?

Thank you in advance for anyone out there!! (we ruled out some areas already, but one we might consider is Bradburn if we can find a house more on the perimeter that doesn't have 3 other houses right out the back yard. We really loved a house that was for sale there, but my husband didn't feel comfortable sitting outside looking right into other houses. I know that is kind of the point, but maybe we could find something that works).

[NorthDenverGirl]

Hi There!

I can maybe help with some of these questions.

Mckay in Broomfield - Broomfield is a very family friendly area, there are a lot of families of all ages in Mckay Landing. As for fracking under Mckay, there is a lot on facebook about that right now, search Broomfield Concerned and Broomfield Clean Air & Water. It may help you understand more about where they are going to frack. I love Mckay because you have the lake and open space right there which includes decent trails around the lake and into surrounding areas. Both Boulder Valley and Adams 12 are decent schools, ofcourse each school will vary a little because of different neighborhood diversity. I believe Mckay is Adams 12. Overall, this is a great neighborhood. Broomfield is growing on the North side right now out near Hwy 7 and I-25. The schools would be Westlake Middle and Legacy High, both solid choices. My son is in Adams 12 schools and going to middle school next year too, we have been happy all through elementary.

Broadlands in Broomfield - A very popular neighborhood. They have great facilities and being based around the golf course there is lots of green space around. I would be more concerned about the fracking in this neighborhood since it is closer to the proposed fracking areas. I know of families with older kiddos in the neighborhood so that shouldn't be an issue. Broadlands is also Adams 12 and feeds into Westlake Middle and Legacy High although the west edges of the neighborhood may switch boundaries into Boulder Valley. Broadlands has been known in the past for more expansive soils (we have these in Colorado but some neighborhoods are worse than others) I have helped my clients with 2 homes in there though and both were thoroughly inspected without issues, but it is something to keep in mind.

Westwoods - Westwoods is pretty close to Rocky Flats, all I can advise on that is to read up on Rocky Flats and see what your own thoughts are on living in the area. The schools zoned to that area are Drake and Ralston Valley I believe, both good schools that have seen a change due to the new builds going in around the area. New builds usually bring new families and new blood to schools. That area around Rocky Flats has been growing over the past 5 years and they are still building out there but you are going to find this across most of Denver honestly. Plenty of green space around the area again.

Tablerock - I would have to agree that these schools are probably the least desirable out of the other areas you have mentioned above. Parent feedback that I have heard has not been all that favorable but perhaps someone on here with kids in the schools can give more clarity. This neighborhood is pretty close to Rocky Flats area too so something to think about. I love Golden as a place to live because you are close to the mountains, hiking trails etc and while there is still some building North and West there is not too much more space in Golden itself except for that Golden/Arvada border around Rocky Flats and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Bradburn - Homes are close together. It does back on to some great open space though and I love how the shops and everything you might need is right there in walking distance. Adams 12 schools again and are going to be Westlake and Legacy just like the schools in Broomfield. That area is a little busy because of the shopping and dining options right there but they shouldn't build on that green space surrounding the neighborhood.

I hope this info helps!

[tidesup]

Thank you for your response!! I did some research on Rocky Flats awhile ago and was determined not to go anywhere near it or down stream/wind from it which includes Broomfield and Westminster according to some maps and some discussion. If soil is disturbed, the dangerous particles would travel. But then kind of backed off a bit as I thought more about it. I currently live close to an international airport in a big city so probably have just as much chance or more of health affects from that situation and it seems like so many places have such big issues. It's quite unfortunate that there are these big issues in Colorado and it is hard to weigh the pros and cons. The areas that work for us seem to be in the areas with big issues! The fracking/drilling issue I didn't really know much about until the real estate agent brought it up. He said to stay more away from Anthem, so we are doing that but when I started to research, it seems like the range that they can extend the horizontal drilling is huge (of course the maps I've found you can't really zoom in to details so they are hard to read). He suggested Wildgrass as a favorite and I read that Wildgrass has some legal stuff going around the drilling on so it's really hard to tell what is at risk and what is not. I've also done my research about the expansive soils issue and hope that we can find a good place where that risk is lower or the builder mitigated the issue well. So many decisions to make!! At this point I kind of feel like I need to put my head in the sand.

[brown_dog_us]

I see you originally wrote off BVSD schools, but Monarch HS and Fairview HS would get you less risks of fracking, far from Rocky Flats issues, and they are at least equal to Legacy HS as far as academics.

[NorthDenverGirl]

It can be hard with the fracking, Rocky Flats, expansive soils etc. Good news is though this is a great place to live despite all that

[tidesup]

Thanks for your reply. We were initially focusing on Louisville with Monarch. I've also looked at Fairview as well. I didn't write off BVSD schools, but just frustrated that most people say BVSD schools are better across the board. It seems like most of the areas we are gravitating to are not BVSD. We really liked Louisville but the commute to Denver seems longer and the inventory and prices don't seem to be working for us either. Superior might still be an option. I keep hearing about Superior expansive soil issues, although that might be better than fracking/nuclear waste! Unfortunately, it seems the areas we are looking don't have consistent BVSD school performance for middle and high together, and I would love to find a neighborhood that has both middle and high schools that are consistently good. I do know about school choice, but in my current area, school choice often leaves you on big waitlists for the best schools so can't be counted on. I do need to focus on middle school now since that is our immediate need, and we could always consider a different high school later. I'm still looking in all of Broomfield, but not finding much that is in the BVSD school system and Aspen Creek is scoring a little lower than other BVSD schools as well (currently a 5) and one person said she knows someone whose first couple of kids went there and then she moved her younger kids out of that school due to not being happy with the school. But that is all I've really heard. Broomfield Middle doesn't sound too promising based on scores either.

[davebarnes]

Look just south of Stanley Lake.
Ralston Valley High School.
My daughter lives there and used to commute to Pearl Street in Boulder. She said it was OK.
It is also about 13 miles from Union Station.

[84rabbit]

I hear you on the Rocky Flats issue. I read everything I could get my hands on and ultimately decided to avoid anything near (or downwind of) Rocky Flats. Which is unfortunate because West Woods area would have been great re my husband’s commute. I also wanted to avoid rapidly growing areas re: the school situation shifting. (Crowded classrooms, redistricting, etc). I don’t have specific advice for you but wanted to let you know that I sympathize! Good luck in your search.

[84rabbit]

Also - re: expansive soils - we saw MANY houses (in south Jeffco) with issues. We learned during our search that at some point in the mid to late 1990s the construction / testing / site prep standards were changed to address this. Not sure if this was only a Jeffco change, or statewide, or what. We ended up with a 2001 house in a neighborhood that has had very few structural issues compared to nearby older neighborhoods.

[tidesup]

Thanks everyone for your input.