Getting your player ready...
If you’re one of many couples who aren’t finding enough ranch-style homes around Denver right now, Oakwood Homes has an eye-catching alternative to show you south of Loveland today – just far enough from your grandkids that you’re not babysitting all the time; but with plenty of attractions to lure them up when you want to see them.
Oakwood’s scenic Thompson River Ranch master plan along the river south of Centerra shopping center is NOT a 55-and-older restricted community – but ever since Oakwood unveiled four ranch plans from two popular collections (including two models you can tour today), Thompson River is luring loads of ranch-type buyers – quickly selling their older Denver houses now. Half of the 110 home sales Oakwood has seen at Thompson River since January have gone ranch. Oakwood’s Chris Kennedy and Natalie Myers have a taco bar out noon-to-one today to entice you up to some of the most creative ranch-style plans anywhere in Colorado; all with big, attractive entertaining areas, a master suite and at least one more bedroom on the main, plus what Oakwood is calling a ‘smart space’ overhead that has room for an extra guest bedroom/bath, or a hobby or media room, or both. The prices start from $266,000. “That’s a great value, not just for the Denver area, but for Loveland and Fort Collins, where the market is going crazy right now,” says Mike Welty, Oakwood’s sales manager. “This area is the best of both worlds,” he adds. It feels open and less crowded, but has five-minute access to all of the shopping and dining at Centerra shopping center, two miles up 25 at the Loveland exit; not to mention the big entertainment venue at The Ranch/Budweiser Events center just north of there, and the growing allure of Fort Collins’ ‘Old Town’ dining and shopping further on. Meanwhile, Thompson River Ranch has its resort-styled pool and nearby Amphitheater picnic/event shelter set beside a tree-lined canal with a view of Longs Peak – attractions that lure the other half of those buyers who have kids at home 24/7. You can pick a neighborhood that mixes ranches with family-sized 2-story plans (you can tour a spec home of one of those, ready to go, at $375,000), or opt for a special “ranch enclave” Oakwood has created. “Realtors tell us the nice thing about doing it this way, with no 55-and-older restriction,” says Welty, “is that these ranches can draw plenty of 45-year-olds, too.” Before Denver’s I-25 construction, I made the trip from Denver Tech Center to Thompson River Ranch in 50 minutes. Take I-25 north past 470, another 27 miles to Exit 255 (just past Johnson’s Corner); jog east onto the frontage road and north ½-mile to River Ranch Pkwy; watch for the signs “$200-$400s.” WHERE: Ranch House series at Thompson River Ranch by Oakwood, 2 new ranches to tour; choice of neighborhoods, one all-ranch, master planned amenities (trails, resort pool), taco bar today noon-1 p.m.. 4820 Silverwood Dr., Loveland; take I-25 north, past 470, 27 miles to Exit 255 (just past Johnson’s Corner); jog onto east frontage road, north ½-mile to River Ranch Pkwy; east 0.7 mi. to Silverwood. PRICE: Ranches from $266,000Follow Mark Samuelson on Twitter:
@marksamuelson
