Bradburn? Yet another "suggestions where to move" question! (Denver: fit in, HOA)

[eaglesnest]

Hi all,

Thanks for indulging me! I know this is a question that gets asked a lot...

Our family relocated to Tulsa, OK from Southern California just 6 months ago. We love our neighbors and the ease of getting around town. People are friendly and housing is ridiculously inexpensive. But, we have had an unexpected opportunity (job related) in Englewood present itself. I am thrilled, because I have always thought of the Denver area as one of the most beautiful places to live. We're nervous about uprooting the kids for a second time though, so we are looking to find a place to live that will make them instantly fall in love with CO.

We have 2 small boys and would love a neighborhood like Bradburn Village in Westminster (but are open to others). We used to live in a beach town in CA where we could walk to everything. We really miss that. I love that you seem to be able to walk to coffee, entertainment and school in Bradburn. In Tulsa you need to drive everywhere. Can't stand that.

Can you help out with suggestions/advice?


1. I did a Google Map search and it looks like it would be about a "20 min" drive to work for my husband.
Westminster to Englewood? What does that translate in real world driving at rush hour? I have no idea what traffic flow is like there.

2. I also have read people saying great things about Littleton. Are there any newer communities like Bradburn, Stapleton there?

3. Southshore (Aurora) community looked really pretty with a great "neighborhood" feel to it, but I read a few negative about Aurora? Your thoughts?

4. Elementary school in Bradburn Village... any experiences?

oh and our budget is about 500 - 650,000.

I really appreciate any help you may offer. I've enjoyed learning about Denver from all of your experiences!

--eaglesnest

[Bradburn1]

I can say without reservation that Bradburn is one awesome place to live, but the Westminster to Englewood commute is a bit of a nightmare. One of my neighbors does it (he works in the Denver Tech Center) and he told me recently it's 45 minutes to 1 hour during rush hour. It can be done, but it's not much fun. In non rush hour my drive from Bradburn to the north side of Englewood takes around 30 minutes. Stapleton is quite a lot closer to Englewood but even that is still going to be 30-40 minutes in rush hour I would estimate.

I really like the area around old town Littleton, there's some really cute areas around there you should have a look at, and downtown Littleton has it's own light rail stop which rocks. The areas aren't new (it's "old urbanism" as opposed to "new urbanism) but it's walkable and charming with large trees.

I haven't heard anything about SouthShore, but looking at their community plan I can say for sure it's not a walkable neighborhood, but the houses are cute and a much closer commuting distance to Englewood, probably worth a look for you if you specifically want new.

As to an elementary school in Bradburn, there is a K-12 charter school in walking distance and plans and land for an additional elementary in the neighborhood itself but that's on hold for now. Most of the kids in the neighborhood attend Cotton Creek which isn't in walking distance (but is in easy biking distance through the open space trails) everyone loves the school and is happy with it, including me.

How bad the commute would be from Bradburn to Englewood is going to depend on what time and exactly where in Englewood the job is. There are several neighbors here I know of who do it and they say it's not fun but worth it to them to live in our neighborhood (especially for the kids, they have tons of playmates etc..). Come on up to Bradburn and have a look and see what you think. Feel free to send me a private message if you have specific Bradburn questions (about builders etc..)

Good Luck!

[eaglesnest]

How bad the commute would be from Bradburn to Englewood is going to depend on what time and exactly where in Englewood the job is. There are several neighbors here I know of who do it and they say it's not fun but worth it to them to live in our neighborhood (especially for the kids, they have tons of playmates etc..). Come on up to Bradburn and have a look and see what you think. Feel free to send me a private message if you have specific Bradburn questions (about builders etc..)

Good Luck![/quote]

Thanks so much for your insight! I think we just have to try to make the commute work somehow (flex hours?) from Bradburn. I think it sounds too good to pass up. Looking forward to visiting and getting a better feel for the surrounding area. I'll think up some specific questions re: builders/ resale properties and email you privately (thanks for the offer!).

[Noahma]

I am with bradburn1 on this one, but coming from a different prespective. I have designed 5 homes and 2 work / live buildings in Bradburn. If I had enough to buy a home there I would not hesitate, everyone is friendly, it is a very walkable neighborhood with very unique Architecture. That area of Broomfield is growing up nicely, you have two grocery stores very close by, you have tons of shopping and tons of food in the area as well. Very fun place to design for as well, They are pretty tight on the Architectural controls, but there is some free reign in the design process. IE you have three "styles" allowed, craftsman, Denver square, and farmhouse, along with the commercial designs that have to have elements reminiscent of old town Denver. There are many breathing rooms within the three house styles since the terms are pretty broad. Craftsman is going to have tons of exposed beam work, natural colors and tons of wood. There are some very traditional Denver craftsman bungalows within the subdivision along with classic Denver square homes as well. the farm house style is extremely broad, there were tons of styles that would fit into this category. BTW, Bradburn1 there are two houses I did that are pretty easy to spot. both are near the middle of the subdivision near a set of townhomes. 1 is more prairie style (large overhangs, low pitched roofs, and next door is a Denver square home that is 3/4 brick (dark red) with tan stucco on the upper 1/4, no dormers on the roof, and a detached garage. They are near a big red farm house both facing south. now that I have rumbled on, I think it is time for bed lol.

[Bradburn1]

Several people here commute off rush hours for that exact reason. I also noticed many employers are offering some work at home options because of high gas prices, many, many people in the neighborhood work at home (another plus because people are always around, it's not dead during the day here like other places which can be ghost towns). Two people I know just got new jobs recently and asked to work at home part of the time because of gas prices and their environmental concerns which their employers are allowing.

Noahma: I love those houses! They are actually expanding what styles can be built here a bit, there's currently two houses going up in styles that are new--French country and Tudor (both custom). They are also breaking ground on a really cool modern building in the commercial area this summer, it has stacked flats rotated 45 degrees from the base of the building (which is commercial space) with spectacular views of the mountains--it's also 60 feet tall!

[Katarina Witt]

Thanks so much for your insight! I think we just have to try to make the commute work somehow (flex hours?) from Bradburn. I think it sounds too good to pass up. Looking forward to visiting and getting a better feel for the surrounding area. I'll think up some specific questions re: builders/ resale properties and email you privately (thanks for the offer!).

In the end, it's up to you, but I have to say I think you'd be better off with a shorter commute. We have discussed this issue before on these forums. You will be eating up a lot of the time you could spend actually doing something with your family commuting back and forth between Bradburn and Englewood. Keep in mind that a lot of places in the south area have Englewood addresses, you could actually be going a lot farther than the city of Englewood. There is the price of gas issue to consider. No one knows where it is going. I would say the commute would probably be 45 min to an hour in good traffic. In the snow, traffic can be backed up for hours. There are other nice places to live that don't require that sort of commute.

[charygart]

Yeah I have to agree. I think i would go for a closer home to lakewood, I drive pass bradburn everyday, I like it too. But commute can be tough, although maybe you don't have to go through I-25 to go to lakewood (maybe using wadsworth blvd) depending on where in Lakewood. Maybe you can try to find similar developments in Lakewood area, or surrounding area? Englewood, cherry hills, Littleton. And oh yeah Belmar just came into my mind, interested in that? But maybe lakewood is too dense for you. Hope this helps

[cahst46]

We moved to Bradburn about six months ago. We live in a townhome not a house. Unfortunately, I have not found the neighborhood to be very friendly at all. I am from the East so maybe I have a different defination of friendly.
About a month ago the HOA took our garbage can and I had a very difficult time getting them to replace it. I was not too happy considering they took our brand new can and replaced it with a dirty, disgusting one, which was delivered to us prefilled with someone else's garbage. Also, we have had the police called on us for leaving our dog outside on our balcony, which I think is ridiculous. She wasn't barking. Someone just decided that we weren't smart enough to bring our dog in before she got overheated. I have seen the police around here a lot. Apparently the neighbors call often. We are planning on moving from this neighborhood after the market comes back a little.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by Bradburn1

Several people here commute off rush hours for that exact reason. I also noticed many employers are offering some work at home options because of high gas prices, many, many people in the neighborhood work at home (another plus because people are always around, it's not dead during the day here like other places which can be ghost towns). Two people I know just got new jobs recently and asked to work at home part of the time because of gas prices and their environmental concerns which their employers are allowing.

Noahma: I love those houses! They are actually expanding what styles can be built here a bit, there's currently two houses going up in styles that are new--French country and Tudor (both custom). They are also breaking ground on a really cool modern building in the commercial area this summer, it has stacked flats rotated 45 degrees from the base of the building (which is commercial space) with spectacular views of the mountains--it's also 60 feet tall!

I cant wait to see them, I did notice a few styles that were not the ones they started with, I am glad they are doing that, it opens the possibility of some great Architecture

[MobyLL]

Good article on Bradburn Village in Westminster.

Bradburn Village in Westminster, Colorado : UnSprawl Case Study : Terrain.org

From the article:

Bradburn Village is a $220 million, 125-acre New Urbanist community located in suburban Westminster, Colorado. Four distinct neighborhoods are an easy walk from a pedestrian-friendly village core—with shops, restaurants, office space, live/work units, and a mix of a residences interspersed with parks and community centers, adjacent to a regional open space trail system.