Martha Stewart Living will soon take on a whole new meaning for some Stapleton residents.
The famed domestic doyenne and KB Home, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, today will unveil plans to collaborate on homes in the popular Denver urban-redevelopment neighborhood beginning this fall.
“Her brand recognition and her name are extremely popular all over the country, and it’s definitely popular here in Denver,” said Rusty Crandall, president of KB Home’s Colorado division. “We think Stapleton is a perfect fit for this product.”
The celebrity homemaker is equally well-known for spending five months at a federal prison camp in West Virginia after her 2004 conviction on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements in connection with the sale of her shares of biotech company ImClone Systems in 2001.
Nonetheless, Ron Martinez of Denver’s Keller Williams Realty said he expects the properties to be hot because many homeowners strive to match Stewart’s “picture-perfect” style.
“If they come with Adirondack chairs in the front yard, call them sold,” he said. “These places are going to pop.”
Called KB Home Stapleton: Homes Created with Martha Stewart, the project will be the 10th collaboration between the two. Los Angeles-based KB Home announced its first Martha Stewart-inspired community in Cary, N.C., in 2005. Other communities are currently under construction in suburban Houston and Los Angeles.
Prices for the two-story homes will start in the mid-$300,000s. The five floor plans will range in size from 1,593 square feet to 2,084 square feet, with at least three bedrooms and such signature Martha Stewart touches as open kitchens, wainscoting and picture-frame molding.
“Homeowners can expect extensive details that are practical and beautifully executed,” said Robin Marino, president of merchandising at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
KB Homes, which will begin compiling a list of interested homebuyers today, said it expects local demand to be high.
“Across the country, people have come out in large numbers to see this product,” said Crandall. “It has been very successful. We expect exactly the same thing in Denver.”
The initial release, scheduled to be completed by early 2008, will consist of 35 Martha Stewart homes. Three overall exterior styles will be available, each named for Stewart’s own homes on the East Coast – Katonah, Skylands and Lily Pond.
Stewart has built a multimedia empire that includes several successful magazines, including Martha Stewart Living, a satellite-radio channel and two syndicated television shows. Stewart also sells home merchandise lines at Kmart and Federated Department Stores, operator of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.
KB Home is the largest builder at Stapleton, with more than 500 homes delivered since 2002. A model-home complex featuring the Martha Stewart properties is scheduled to open on East 34th Avenue between Yosemite and Akron streets by early fall.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
