Where and What is Painted Prairie?
What is this community going to look like when it’s complete?
Painted Prairie broke ground on September 21, 2018. The land encompasses 620 acres in the northeast corner of Aurora, Colorado. Currently, there are 3,151 residential units (a mix of single-family, condominiums, and apartments) planned. There is also a 20-acre town center planned as well as 125 acres of parks and open space.
You can get to just about any part of the city within minutes. Pena Station is a 5-10 minute drive west. You can catch the A-Line to take you downtown in 27 minutes or the airport which is 10 minutes away via train. The train stops at Pena Station every 15 minutes.
Pena station has been touted as Denver’s next big thing. Check out a recent article about Pena Station Next here.
For additional information about Pena Station North, Pena Station Next and the development happening there, click HERE.
Work in or near the DTC or further south? Just jump onto E-470 and head either south to Parker or northeast to Broomfield!
There are five builders in Painted Prairie: KB, David Weekley, Epic Homes, McStain, and Meritage. With five builders in one neighborhood, there is a wide range of options for choosing your home. The price range for homes starts in the mid $300s and goes up from there.
Here’s a summary of what all five builders offer specific to Painted Prairie:
There are three floor plans ranging in size from 1430 up to 1963 and the option to have up to 6 bedrooms. Base prices start at $345,000 and goes up to $380,000.
The HOA is $98/month which includes: snow removal, maintenance of the front yard, maintenance of common areas, trash
As of November 2019, there are currently 4 KB Paired Villas available for move-in in January ranging in price from $386,000 to $424,000. The prices on these houses are the “all-in” prices. If you aren’t interested in the design process of the home, the builders do a fantastic job with deciding what upgrades they will make as well as interior color schemes of the home. All of these homes have 3 bedrooms, Energy Star appliances, quartz countertops.
My take on these homes: You can visit almost any newer community in the Denver metro area in the past ten years and find KB Villas. There’s a reason these homes are so popular. They are smartly designed and offer larger bedrooms than other builders I’ve seen that build similar products. Also, again in my opinion, these homes are getting better and better in every new community they are built in. For example, the basement option offers a cozy living room with an en-suite bedroom with full bath.
KB is offering both a ranch style and 2-story family home in Painted Prairie. There are three ranch floor plans and five 2-story homes. The ranch plans ranges in size from 1,382 square feet up to 1,821 square feet with options of two bedrooms up to five bedrooms.
The 2-story homes can fit a large family with extra space! The base price of the Lafayette model is $430,000. There are three large bedrooms plus a loft on the second level. The loft can also be enclosed into a fourth bedroom.
As of November 2019, there are two homes (a ranch and 2-story) that will be available for move-in by January. The ranch is the Aspire floorplan and is available for the all-in price of $437,578. The two-story Glimpse includes three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The Glimpse is available for $451,479.
The HOA on these homes is $98/month and includes Common Area Grounds Maintenance, Snow Removal, Trash Removal
My take on these homes: I currently live in a KB home that is about 15 years old. While we are now taking on 15-year-old typical maintenance issues, my home has held out incredibly well. Neither myself nor any of my neighbors living in a KB home have experienced any kind of structural issues. These homes have also held their value exceptionally well over the years.
See more about KB Homes HERE
David Weekley is representing strongly in Painted Prairie. With two ranch and four 2-story homes, there really is something for everyone. There are three floorplans that will be ready in early spring 2020:
Brookpark (ready 1/31/2020 / 2,683 square feet / $563,154)
Wesler (ready 3/16/2020 / 2,113 square feet / $504,139)
Washburn (ready 4/21/2020 / 2,310 square feet / $750,234)
The HOA on these homes is $79/month and includes Common Area Grounds Maintenance, Snow Removal, Trash Removal
(David Weekley Model)
My take on these homes: Outdoor pergolas are standard on every David Weekley home in this neighborhood. David Weekley pays close attention to the building materials they use. When entering the model home, you will see all the different interior designs that David Weekley is able to do. Sometimes when you go into a model home you’ll see features that the builder can’t (or won’t) do on your home. These are definitely solid homes that will last more than a lifetime!
These stunning homes are all going to be situated facing a greenspace.
Epic Homes are available in a ranch plan all the way up to a 3-story home!! Lots are just now being released, but prices haven’t been released just yet. My guess is the base price will start in the mid to low $400s and up. The smallest plan is 1400 square feet and the largest floor plan is 2800 square feet.
My take on these homes: After just looking at the floorplans and map of where these homes are going to be located, my “resale radar” is going off. In my opinion, these homes are going to hold their value very well. I appreciate this is a Colorado-based (and female-owned, yaaas!) company. They really do a nice job designing their homes to be in parallel with the Colorado landscape. As of right now, Epic is just breaking ground on their homes in Painted Prairie and I am really looking forward to seeing what their finished product looks like.
Simply stunning. McStain wins the award for the lowest energy-consuming company in Painted Prairie. The homes are all AirPlus certified and Zero Energy Ready certified. There are four floorplans ranging in price from $460,000 up to $475,000. One other feature about these homes versus the other builders is they all come with an unfinished basement. Some of the other builders are including the basement, but most are not.
Currently, Plan 1 is available for a January move-in. Priced competitively at $459,500, this home features 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
The HOA for these homes is $79/month and includes Common Area Grounds Maintenance, Community Pool, Fitness Facility, Recycling, Sewer, Snow Removal, Trails, Trash Removal.
My take on these homes: I believe the McStain homes will be in high demand once they have their model home finished. Judging from their projects in other neighborhoods, these homes use all of the interior space well. With the home being zero-energy certified, this ensures you will have a very low energy bill.
Meritage is offering two-story townhomes in Painted Prairie starting in the mid $300s. The townhomes range in size from 1428 square feet up to 1877 square feet. There are two different elevations that will be used.
Meritage hasn’t opened an office in Painted Prairie just yet so information is a little limited for the time being. We will keep you informed with what’s going on as soon as we can!
With five builders in one neighborhood, there is a wide range of options for choosing your home. The price range for homes starts in the mid $300s and goes up from there.
The demand for housing in Denver has grown in the past few years as more and more large corporations are calling the Mile High City home. In fact, Colorado’s population is expected to grow to 8.7 million people by 2050 (9news).
Whichever home strikes your fancy and you’d like to know more about, I would love to help you with this. Many builders are offering promotional items (such a design center credit, closing costs, etc.). Most of the time, these sound like deals and are reason enough for you to sign a contract before contacting a Realtor who specializes in the new build process. When hiring a realtor, you will not be charged a thing and this will not affect the purchase price of the home. To learn more about new build home contracts, click HERE.
Ashley Faller is a realtor who specializes in helping clients budget for, design, and build their dream homes in communities. At Focus Real Estate we’ve helped clients build hundreds of new homes around Denver with Lennar, Oakwood, Richmond, David Weekley, KB, and many other builders. Learn more about what I do HERE. If you’d like to chat, shoot me a note at ashley@focus-realtors.com and be sure to “Like” Painted Prairie Living on Facebook. Painted Prairie Living is powered by Focus Real Estate.
(Cover Photo Courtesy of BisNow)
