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I work in central Arlington. Is Ross Downs in Colleyville a good place to buy a SFH? I have seen some houses there and really loved the neighborhood. I know the elementary school in the area is exemplary. How about the middle school and high school? Is this area safe? Thanks!
High School is Colleyville Heritage, and it is Recognized. (Exemplary is VERY difficult to get in any high school.) Middle school is Colleyville Middle School, and it is Exemplary.
Colleyville is VERY safe! It is one of the nicest suburbs in Tarrant County.
I have several friends that have lived in Ross Downs for years. They are happy with the schools and the neighborhood. It's a very cozy family friendly neighborhood.
I have several friends that have lived in Ross Downs for years. They are happy with the schools and the neighborhood. It's a very cozy family friendly neighborhood.
Dropping in on this thread, since Colleyville is one of our top choices to buy a house (along with western Flower Mound/Double Oak, with Southlake likely trailing those by a slight amount), any comments by any other Colleyville residents or people who know the area well?
We've driven through the area several times, shopped at the Market Street grocery store a few times, and have looked at a few houses there (including one that apparently was in a subdivision adjacent to Ross Downs). I know the objective data on it and have a bit of a feel for the area, but any insights are much appreciated.
Ross Downs is a super nice neighborhood. Has a neighborhood pond, greenbelt and playground. The HOA is only $175 a year. A lot of the homes are custom built so you won't find the same floorplan twice. Neighborhood was built between 1992 and 1999. There were a lot of homes for sale this summer but as of today there are only 2 and one of them is a 2 bedroom which I imagine would be a tough sale in such neighborhood.
We looked in Ross Downs when we were house shopping--
some of the homes are on fairly small lots to be 3500 sq ft or so with a pool
it can be tight turning into the garages and there can be lack of privacy in backyards
Ross Downs is set back from Hwy 26--there is finally a light that lets people from the neighborhood out onto 26 which is how many of them commute to work each day--
before the light it was pretty hairy at rush hour...
It also fronts on Jackson/Pool road--which is a N/S route into Southlake or down to Bedford and Airport Freeway...
it is good location--and a pretty desireable one--
in the past 4-5 yrs there were a few that have gone into foreclosure but because the economy has been strong in this area and the neighborhood is well-regarded most homes sold before the foreclosure completed--
so home values are strong..even if there has not been much appreciation--
some homes back up to the more commercial area fronting Hwy 26--
there is some elevation in the area so there can be some slope to the yards/houses---
I looked at one house when we were shopping that was looking like strong possibility until I went to check the garage--
there were three steps from the floor of the garage up to the laundry/kitchen area--
and narrow/awkward steps--
that was a lot what you might see back east--but not what I wanted--
We looked in Ross Downs when we were house shopping--
some of the homes are on fairly small lots to be 3500 sq ft or so with a pool
it can be tight turning into the garages and there can be lack of privacy in backyards
Ross Downs is set back from Hwy 26--there is finally a light that lets people from the neighborhood out onto 26 which is how many of them commute to work each day--
before the light it was pretty hairy at rush hour...
It also fronts on Jackson/Pool road--which is a N/S route into Southlake or down to Bedford and Airport Freeway...
it is good location--and a pretty desireable one--
in the past 4-5 yrs there were a few that have gone into foreclosure but because the economy has been strong in this area and the neighborhood is well-regarded most homes sold before the foreclosure completed--
so home values are strong..even if there has not been much appreciation--
some homes back up to the more commercial area fronting Hwy 26--
there is some elevation in the area so there can be some slope to the yards/houses---
I looked at one house when we were shopping that was looking like strong possibility until I went to check the garage--
there were three steps from the floor of the garage up to the laundry/kitchen area--
and narrow/awkward steps--
that was a lot what you might see back east--but not what I wanted--
We looked at probably 10+ houses in Ross Downs the years that we were home searching
while the exterior of the homes has lot of variety vs the 1-2-3 repeat look of tract developments--the interiors are often VERY similar--
this is the era of the interior kitchen and the master bedroom down with all other beds up
it is probably evenly divided into 2 and 3 car garage homes
and some of them will have a formal living AND dining vs dining and study--some people have put doors on their formal living rooms to turn them into studies
Many of the houses are still with original owners or maybe only 2 owners--
lot of them on the market will have wall paper and black granite in the kitchen--because that was builder grade when they were built
so you might have to consider refurbishing if you find a floor plan you like--
IF you are looking in Colleyville--I would recommend two neighborhoods with prices similar to Ross Downs
One is Highland Meadows which is located next to Ross Downs to the south--you can drive from one to the others w/o getting on major road like Hall Johnson...
lots are larger/wider--it is little bit older--homes were also custom builds--homes seem to have more upgrades like molding and solid-wood doors--there are a few fairly large SINGLE story homes which are kind of rarity because lots are usually too small to have 1 story 3300 sq ft house--
and I think you will see more variation on the INTERIOR of the floor plans as well as the exterior views--
this neighborhood has sidewalks, mature trees, and had held neighborhood values pretty well
the other neighborhood is just behind the Colleyville strip center where Market Street and Lifetime Fitness is located
--not the tract development south of it--
Kingswood is the neighborhood--small--only 2 or 3 streets--
House on Janet is only one for sale in the MLS site I use
that one has a kitchen on the side of the house so there is window over the sink--that is fairly unusual feature since most kitchens have gone to the interior location...
Neighborhood has great location close to "heart" of Colleyville as some people call that strip center
but access does not require getting there off Hwy 26
and most lots are over .4 -- that is nice size lot because they are wider than usual--not just narrow/deep
That is a VERY desireable location from what I have seen in Colleyville area and it is rare for more than 1 home to be on market at a time...
Those neighborhoods have good location for getting out for commute
IF you wanted one that is nice but located more to interior of Colleyville I would suggest Monticello
avg home price is probably higher than any of previously mentioned--homes are larger, lots are larger
they were more expensive when they were built and the neighborhood has a large park as well
This is closer to Southlake than the other neighborhoods and not that close to amenities like grocery stores--but there is also more peaceful/quiet aspect to that tradeoff
really a custom-built neighborhood with lots of variety inside and out--but many of the homes are dated inside or have floorplans that lack modern features...some might even have master upstairs because that is what the original owners wanted to build...lot of the pools are deep enough to have a diving board--something new pools rarely do for variety of reasons--
large lots/mature (native) trees--having no sidewalks was a drawback to me but streets are fairly wide
like I said price point here is probably higher but there are some lovely homes in area
We looked at probably 10+ houses in Ross Downs the years that we were home searching
while the exterior of the homes has lot of variety vs the 1-2-3 repeat look of tract developments--the interiors are often VERY similar--
this is the era of the interior kitchen and the master bedroom down with all other beds up
it is probably evenly divided into 2 and 3 car garage homes
and some of them will have a formal living AND dining vs dining and study--some people have put doors on their formal living rooms to turn them into studies
Many of the houses are still with original owners or maybe only 2 owners--
lot of them on the market will have wall paper and black granite in the kitchen--because that was builder grade when they were built
so you might have to consider refurbishing if you find a floor plan you like--
IF you are looking in Colleyville--I would recommend two neighborhoods with prices similar to Ross Downs
One is Highland Meadows which is located next to Ross Downs to the south--you can drive from one to the others w/o getting on major road like Hall Johnson...
lots are larger/wider--it is little bit older--homes were also custom builds--homes seem to have more upgrades like molding and solid-wood doors--there are a few fairly large SINGLE story homes which are kind of rarity because lots are usually too small to have 1 story 3300 sq ft house--
and I think you will see more variation on the INTERIOR of the floor plans as well as the exterior views--
this neighborhood has sidewalks, mature trees, and had held neighborhood values pretty well
the other neighborhood is just behind the Colleyville strip center where Market Street and Lifetime Fitness is located
--not the tract development south of it--
Kingswood is the neighborhood--small--only 2 or 3 streets--
House on Janet is only one for sale in the MLS site I use
that one has a kitchen on the side of the house so there is window over the sink--that is fairly unusual feature since most kitchens have gone to the interior location...
Neighborhood has great location close to "heart" of Colleyville as some people call that strip center
but access does not require getting there off Hwy 26
and most lots are over .4 -- that is nice size lot because they are wider than usual--not just narrow/deep
That is a VERY desireable location from what I have seen in Colleyville area and it is rare for more than 1 home to be on market at a time...
Those neighborhoods have good location for getting out for commute
IF you wanted one that is nice but located more to interior of Colleyville I would suggest Monticello
avg home price is probably higher than any of previously mentioned--homes are larger, lots are larger
they were more expensive when they were built and the neighborhood has a large park as well
This is closer to Southlake than the other neighborhoods and not that close to amenities like grocery stores--but there is also more peaceful/quiet aspect to that tradeoff
really a custom-built neighborhood with lots of variety inside and out--but many of the homes are dated inside or have floorplans that lack modern features...some might even have master upstairs because that is what the original owners wanted to build...lot of the pools are deep enough to have a diving board--something new pools rarely do for variety of reasons--
large lots/mature (native) trees--having no sidewalks was a drawback to me but streets are fairly wide
like I said price point here is probably higher but there are some lovely homes in area
As an FYI, this summer there were several homes for sale in that area behind the "Market Street" strip center. We looked at one and liked it quite a bit (too bad we still have to sell the house in Chi). All the listings were ~3,900 sq ft with lot sizes just under a half acre. The house we looked at was (IIRC) 3,973 with a lot of .46 or so acre, it was a little narrow IMHO with limited front yard but was quite deep behind the house and backed up to a non-residential area (post office and possibly a park? Don't recall, I could map it). My only concern was possible noise, etc. from the strip center. Had we been serious at that time I would've visited the area in the evenings to check that out.
At the same time we checked out a house of similar square footage and lot size in Highland Meadows. It was not quite as "nice" on the interior as the one mentioned above and the lot "felt" smaller (space wasn't utilized as well), but was about 50K cheaper at the time and was still rather impressive (heck, ALL the houses we're looking at are rather amazing given where we've been not too long ago). Both seemed very convenient to the airport.
Thanks for the info. It reinforces Colleyville as a top destination on our house hunting list.
Heritage is an EXCELLENT school. IMO it out preforms Southlake Carroll and is continueing to increase it's numbers. (like NMSF, SAT scores etc...)
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 12-14-2011 at 08:58 PM..
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