Builders keeping busy
Northeast Heights projects will help meet strong demand from wannabe homeowners
Several construction projects are surfacing in the Northeast Heights that will keep two homebuilders busy over the next couple of years.
Stillbrooke Homes and Abrazo Homes plan to build 90 new homes on 30 acres in a community bordered by San Pedro on the west, Louisiana on the east, and sandwiched between Santa Monica and Derickson avenues.
With overall new construction at low levels, demand for the new product at the Estates at Santa Monica is expected to be strong.
Scott Henry, president of Stillbrooke, said both companies have model homes open on site, where traffic has been picking up as the spring buying season kicks in. “We have about seven (lot) reservations” from future homeowners, said Henry.
The residences sell “from the 300s,” but may fetch north of $400,000 for homes with larger square footage, lot sizes and more customized construction.
Henry predicts buyers will be “higher income” growing families and empty nesters.
New developments like the Estates at Santa Monica can be attractive, especially to younger people or downsizing boomers who don’t mind that yards are smaller than other places in the city.
“For $345,000, a lot of buyers would rather buy a brand-new house with lots of upgrades,” he said, adding that many are drawn to local schools, shopping amenities along the Paseo del Norte corridor and quick access to the interstate.
Henry said Stillbrooke has sold out on two smaller semi-custom developments in the far Northeast Heights called Sol Vita and Oakland Heights. Those homes, located on five- to eight-home subdivisions, sold for an average of $450,000.
With few builder-ready lots available in the Northeast Heights, Stillbrooke has been a market leader in the quadrant, looking for partnership opportunities whenever possible. One example is the nearly completed townhome community called Papaya Place. Phil Lindborg of Dragonfly Development purchased the land and got it through entitlement, and Henry’s company took on home building chores.
The 21-townhome development on 2.5 acres near Harper and Wyoming NE includes three- to fourbedroom homes ranging from 1,680 to 2,000 square feet and start in the mid-$250,000s.