With more people choosing to rent, an all-rental enclave opens in Vista Ridge, 20 minutes from downtown or Boulder
With the winds of change gusting through the housing market this fall, some Coloradans are making a choice to rent rather than buy — many of them younger, some older. New rentals get quickly absorbed around metro Denver, and more so in the Broomfield-boulder corridor, where developers find few opportunities to build. But a luxury rental community is opening today, with four units you can preview, 20 minutes from downtown Denver or Boulder.
“We’re seeing changes in demographics, changes in socioeconomic patterns,” says Bruce Savett, principal at Granite Capital Group, opening Enclave at Vista Ridge, two miles west of I-25 on Highway 7 in Erie. “Millennials are forming households later, and baby boomers who’ve sold their older homes are choosing to rent rather than buy in this market.”
Granite Capital and its homebuilder Chartered Development Corp. have 25 years in Colorado’s market and have pioneered low-maintenance living concepts here. Low maintenance is a huge factor driving the popularity of renting, says Savett; and Granite has its own management company to provide luxury rentals with on-site maintenance, landscape maintenance and snow removal.
They’re also experts in the masterplanned community of Vista Ridge — a “close-in suburban” setting that’s already walkable to shopping and several dining options, with more on the way. Homes are within a minute of a new 125,000-square-foot King Soopers on Highway 7, and nearly as close to where an Ikea store is slated in Broomfield, not to mention Children’s Hospital’s growing campus and a 66-acre UC Health site.
Near the 12th Fairway of Vista Ridge’s golf course, you’ll tour trendy “Park Home” designs that blend roomy townhouses and single-level units, all with direct-access garages. Builder Ward Ritter says you’ll see the cabinets, doors and trim in, but not all of the prime finishes they’ll have when complete next month — quartz counters, laminate hardwood floors and window coverings. You can rent now at prices from $1,395/month.
You’ll see a townhome plan with a main-floor master suite, a unit sized at 1,484 square feet — one reason that Enclave at Vista Ridge is catching the attention of downsizers. Ritter says some of those are looking for themselves, while others are shopping for their millennial kids who work downtown, or in Boulder or Flatiron Crossing, all within a 20-minute commute of this site.
“Here they’ll rub shoulders with homeowners
and get to live the best of both worlds,” adds Savett. He notes that as part of Vista Ridge’s master association, they’ll have access to the community’s two pools, bike trails, parks and tennis courts, as well as Colorado National Golf Club (memberships available, open to non-members).
You’ll see where Enclave will get its own park and trail, and how close this is to Black Rock Elementary (8-for-10 stars at Greatschools) and to two day cares and Vista Ridge Academy K-8. And you can ask about single-family rental designs that Granite/chartered has headed here next spring.
“This is going to appeal to plenty of people who haven’t been renters before,” says Savett. “They want something they can feel proud of, that has an ownership feel.” To reach today’s preview (with refreshments), take I-25 north from 120th past E470 to Highway 7, then go west two miles to Mountain View. From Boulder, take Baseline east 13 miles.
– Mark Samuelson writes on real estate and business; you can email him at mark@samuelsonassoc.com. See all of Samuelson’s columns online at Denverpost.com/realestate