J.W. Mashburn Homes has millennials in mind for Deer Brook addition in Deer Creek district
J.WMashburn Homes is taking it to millennials with Deer Brook, its latest addition, around the corner from one of Deer Creek’s newest elementary schools.
“We took a look at the demographics out in this area, and the largest group that seemed to be pushing out into this area were the (younger) millennials, 18 to 24,” said Tony McGrew, sales manager.
Not that homes designed at Deer Brook, southeast of NW 150 and Rockwell Avenue, necessarily target the millennial demographic or any other.
Deer Brook features a large greenbelt, playground, soccer fields and a swimming pool. Homes start at about 1,700 square feet in the $250,000s with plan names that include the Cypress, Magnolia, Aspen, Birch and Red Bud.
The plans are starting points and can be modified to appeal to the spectrum of homebuyers, from firsttimers to those looking to scale back, builder Jesse Mashburn said. Virtual tours are available at www. mashburnhomes.com.
“It helps people who have a hard time visualizing a blueprint. Like, ‘What does that room look like with a queen-size bed?’ ” builder Norman Turner said.
But millennials, long absent from homeownership but slowly buying into it, are getting extra attention, McGrew said.
“We push kind of toward that because of the schools and that 18-to-24 age group,” he said.
“Because of the schools” has long been a draw to the area of northwest Oklahoma County and west Edmond where the Deer Creek school district lies.
“The school has to establish itself to become a draw,” Turner said. “Then I think everything follows in behind it.”
‘A very good draw’
The Deer Creek school district is well established itself, going from a collection of one-room school houses in 1926 to a district with enrollment hovering about 6,200, said Lenis DeRieux, assistant superintendent. Enrollment has been growing at about 10 percent a year.
Spring Creek Elementary, 15400 N Rockwell Ave., is a half-mile north of Deer Brook. The district will break ground on two new elementary schools in the spring.
School officials have to look ahead to stay ahead of the growing student body, DeRieux said.
“Planning and implementing additional buses and bus routes, along with hiring bus drivers, which every school district in the state is finding more difficult, can be a challenge, as well,” DeRieux said.
There is plenty else to draw homebuyers to Deer Brook addition, said Anita Land, sales associate for J.W. Mashburn Homes.
There is location. Deer Brook a short hop from new eateries and retail cropping up along the Memorial Road corridor. For trips farther afield, the Kilpatrick Turnpike and Hefner Parkway are close at hand.
“This is centrally located between (Oklahoma City) and Edmond with the nightlife, the shopping, the schools and all the community activities,” Land said. “So it’s a very good draw.”
And there is experience. J.W. Mashburn Homes has been building since 1960.
“I think one of the good selling points is the history of the company,” Turner said. “J.W. was figuring up a while ago that this is like his 19th community he’s started in the metro.”