Meritage building by Apex center
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Meritage unveils 125-home community in Arvada.
Meritage’s Richards Farms is across from the Apex Center.
Meritage will begin selling the first homes this fall.
Meritage Homes has started construction at Richards Farm in Arvada, across from the Apex Center.
By J o h n Re b c h o ok
Meritage Homes has started construction on a 125 -home community on 32
acres across the street from Arvada’s Apex Center, one of the premier
recreation centers in the Denver metro area.
Being able to walk out your door and arrive at the Apex center in minutes is an
incredible, one-of-a-kind amenity, according to Shannon Hebert, marketing
director of Meritage’s Colorado operation.
“I think it is going to be great,” Hebert said.
She said she expects a lot of couples with young families will be drawn to the
community, called Richards Farms, because of Apex.
“To have Apex steps out your door is going to be huge,” Hebert said.
Apex includes a 23,000 -square-foot indoor water park with 150 -foot tall slides, a
climbing wall, exercise area, swimming pools and an ice arena.
Base-pricing for the homes in Richards Farms, at West 72 n d Avenue and Akire
Street is expected to range from the $400,000s to the high $500,000s.
The size of the homes will range from 1,935 square feet to 3,646 square feet.
There already has been quite a bit of interest from prospective buyers, even
though Meritage does not expect to start putting homes on the market until the
fall.
“Arvada already is booming, with a lot of demand for housing. There is a
shortage of homes in Arvada, which is very popular place for people to live,”
Hebert said.
She thinks many of the buyers at Richards Farms likely will already live in
Arvada and want to move into a bigger, newer, energy -efficient home.
Richards Farm to draw from Boulder to south Jeffco
“I also think we will see people who work in Boulder and Broomf ield and even
people living in southern Jeffco will interested in Richards Farms,” she said.
Housing consultant S. Robert August agreed.
“I think they are going to sell very fast, probably faster than Meritage is
projecting,” August said.
“Richards Farm is in a premier, historic West Arvada location,” said Bill Inglis, a
division president of Meritage, which is based in Scottsdale, but has a large
Front Range presence.
“With only 125 home sites, it has the feeling of a small, established,
neighborhood but is being developed with modern floor plans and innovative
design,” Inglis said.
Meritage described Richards Farm as a “transit friendly c ommunity” as it is near
FasTrack’s Gold Line, an 11.2 mile electric commuter trail line, which is
currently under construction.
Richard Farms, by Meritage Homes, is walking distance to the Apex
Center in Arvada.
Next year, the Gold Line is expected to be open to the public and
connect Arvada to the recently revitalized Union Station, Denver’s
transportation hub.
“With convenient access to Denver and Boulder as well as local trail systems
and award-winning schools, it showcases what people love about liv ing along
the Front Range,” according to Inglis.
The Arvada area, he said, has become one of the most sought -after addresses in
suburban Denver.
Arvada is a first -tier suburb that is close to Denver, but with much lower home
prices than in many hot Denver neighborhoods such as Regis, Berkeley, West
Highland, Sunnyside and Sloan’s Lake.
It also is near major employers, including Lockheed Martin Space Systems,
MillerCoors Brewing Co., Exempla Lutheran Medical Center and Ball Corporation.
Another appeal of Arv ada is its geography, according to August.
“You are close to the mountains, you are close to shopping and you are close to
downtown Denver,” August said.
The Apex Center is a huge amenity for Richards Farm, a housing community in Arvada by Meritage Homes.
“It’s really ideally located,” he said.
“And Arvada has unique topography,” August said.
“You can find plains and rolling hills in Arvada, with great views of the
mountains,” he said. “You really feel like you are in Colorado when you are
living in Arvada.”
More homes needed
Although adding 125 homes to the supply is welcome, it will do little do
alleviate the shortage of homes in the metro area, August said
“Every new home built is a step in the right direction,” August said.
“However, Meritage can’t deliver all 125 homes in one year,” he said.
That is correct, Hebert said.
“This will be a mul ti-year development,” she said. “We see it as a long -term
commitment.”
The Gold Line is another draw for Richards Farms by Meritage Homes.
The homes in Richards Farms, as all Meritage Homes, will be extremely energy efficient and sustainable.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in fact, recently recognized
Scottsdale-based Meritage Homes with its 2015 Energy Start Partner of the
Year.
“We’re very proud of that,” Hebert said.
Meritage’s equity partner in the development is San Diego -based Presidio
Residential. Presidio said it “land -banked” the property with a $12.8 million
commitment.
“We are pleased to close our first deal in Colorado and first project with
Meritage,” said Don Faye, principal at Presidio Residential.
“We believe that the greater Denver area has room for private growth and we
look forward to helping to build additional projects there,” he said.
Meritage site near open space
In addition to the Apex center, Rich ards Farm is surrounded by thousands of
acres of open space with more than 140 parks and 125 miles of hiking, biking
and horseback riding trails.
Five golf courses are within five miles of the property, which is also near
Standley Lake, a 1,200 -acre reservoir.
Building 125 single -family homes will generate a total of $35.8 million in local
income, $4.5 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments and 493
local jobs, using a formula by the National Association of Home Builders to
determine the impact of a single -family home in a typical metro area.