Is anyone familiar with Hyland Village ( Westminster area) (Denver, Lafayette: daycare, townhome)

[drgail56]

We are in the early part of a house hunt and had seen a few really interesting properties listed in Hyland Village. The website for the area looks pretty good, but we did see some press about isssues the builder had last year. Just wondering what kind of reputation the area has.

[Bradburn1]

I live right down the street from Hyland Village in a neighborhood called Bradburn Village which McStain has built some houses in. Bradburn is another new urbanist neighborhood but much, much more finished. Right now, Hyland Village is 4 seemingly abandoned model homes and two townhome buildings. McStain Builders (who is a good builder IMO) went through some significant financial problems because of the horrific housing/finacing crisis and filed for bankruptcy (althouth they withdrew the filing). Because of this and some other issues, Hyland Village has sat pretty much abandoned for about a year. Recently, I've been told by a neighbor who used to work for McStain that the company was bought by someone and is going to resume some construction in Hyland Village and hopefully elsewhere too. I hope this is true as I thought Hyland Village was super cute with great house designs and would love to see it move forward.

Now, that being said, would I personally buy a house there?--no I wouldn't right now because of the significant uncertainty in the housing and still in the financial sector (meaning who knows if the developer's funding will get pulled). I would wait to see how things shook out for that area as would hate to be one of the first people moving in there and have the neighborhood take forever to get done, and/or for work on it to stop again, making resale very, very difficult. This has happened in a few of the new neighborhoods around Denver and has been a bit of a nightmare I would imagine for the unfortunate folks who bought in there and then need to sell. There's a neighborhood on 120th and Federal that was John Laing (a builder/developer). They built about 15 houses and the community pool and then the builder went bust, so all other work stopped. Now their pool sits empty and the area around it is filled with weeds because they don't have the homes to fund the pool/maintenance of grounds. Who knows if/when that subdivision will ever be finished--odds are it will eventually by someone but who knows how long that might take.

If you need/want to buy/rent a home in an area that is similar to Hyland Village but that is much farther along, have a look at my neighborhood, Bradburn Village (also in Westminster). Neighborhood is a mixed-use walkable neighborhood with neo-traditional home styles like Hyland Village. Still building new homes here but are about 80% built out of the residential (our downtown area however, is only about 30% finished so far). Know however, neighborhood is filled to brim with kids (most elementary/middle school) and is super, super social. If you don't want to ever speak to your neighbors, it wouldn't be a good fit.

[Bradburn1]

Found an article that details McStain's return, although it doesn't mention Hyland Village specifically

McStain Emerges From Bankruptcy - Debt, Economic Conditions, Business, Green Builders - EcoHome Magazine

Good News! Everyone who owns a McStain in Bradburn is happy with the quality of construction.

[drgail56]

Thnaks so much for the info. My husband actually drove around Bradburn and did like it, we just happened to see a model we really liked in Hyland Village, or what will be Hyland Village with some luck! I too agree about not wanting to be a first adventurer into a new area. Our kids are jalmost through middle school - are there many that age bracket in Bradburn?

[Bradburn1]

We have some kids either entering middle school or just leaving, but not nearly as many as the younger kiddos--but to give you an idea, we have almost 60 kids getting on our elementary schools bus and I would say around 15 or so the middle school, but not all of the kids in here attend the home schools, many go private or go to the charter school on our eastern side. Our home high school, Legacy, is an excellent school I hear.

There's an option you might not have considered, you could ask McStain if they would build the Hyland Village model you like in Bradburn. Right before they filed for bankruptcy, they told us they were willing to do exactly that if someone requested it. I'm not sure if that is still the case, but you could ask. I heard yesterday from a realtor neighbor that McStain is going to resume building in both Hyland Village and Bradburn, but for the Bradburn houses, they are only going to build once they have a contract. We still have about 25 to 30 or so lots in here left, so there is a good selection but with having a nearly completed neighborhood with all the finished amenities (parks, community center, pool).

Feel free to send me a private message if you have more Bradburn questions.

[Showtunes]

Hi,

I thought I'd chime in here to mention that I'm closing on a townhome in Hyland Village tomorrow. I have a good level of confidence that building will resume in this neighborhood. The facts that have been stated in this thread are true, concerning McStain and their financial/business position as well as the quality of their homes.

I hired an independent inspector to come out and inspect the house prior to me moving forward. His comments were very positive and he stated that "this new construction compared to others is above and beyond" he was very impressed with the level of finish.

I have toured a number of the other townhome units. They're great - above the grade materials and super sound construction. It's also the perfect location. You're sandwiched in between an AMC 24 IMAX (104th & Sheridan) and a Whole Foods (92nd & Sheridan). Heck, theres even a miniature golf course, go-kart track and 18-hole golf course across the street. If you have kids there's a daycare in the same neighborhood too.

I can't wait to move in. I think I might be the first person to move into the neighborhood although there will be at least four other families to follow soon after.

[Bradburn1]

Cool Showtunes! Very helpful info. I am so glad Hyland Village is going forward. It is a great location. I noticed Mcstain is offering the model homes there for smoking deals, easily 100 to 150 k less than they did originally when I toured them at first open.

[qfrost]

'You're sandwiched in between an AMC 24 IMAX (104th & Sheridan) and a Whole Foods (92nd & Sheridan).'

Now that's a good location!! I told my wife we need to shop at Whole Foods more (there was an article the other day that richer, thinner people shop there more - ah, image...). We've been looking at Westminster as well. Any other thoughts about this city over, say Louisville or Lafayette?