Sunrise Walk in the Open Space

Between the corners of Arapahoe Rd., S. Quebec St., Dry Creek Rd., and S. Holly St. a suburban oasis called A History of Centennial.  A square mile of diversity including everything from a Fire Station to an Elementary School to a small office park to a storage facility to apartments to condos to townhomes to patio homes to detached single family homes to luxury residences.  For a list of floor plans click here.

What we call Homestead, coyotes, hawks, Lark Bunting, the occasional deer, raccoons, and foxes call home, because right in the center of that square mile or 640 acres lies a 120 acre open space named by South Suburban Parks and Recreation as Willow Spring Open Space.  A primer for the surrounding area in Centennial, Colorado can be read right here.

Open Space Waiting for a Thunder Storm

The easiest access points if you are driving are from Homestead Elementary School off Dry Creek Rd. or the South Suburbans Parks maintenance facility off of S. Holly St.  If you’re walking a pedestrian bike trails runs right through the middle of it connecting Heritage Village and the Highline Canal Trail on the north to the Willow Creek Trail on the south connecting to the C-470 Trail.  From there, a 50 mile bicycle loop will allow you to circumnavigate the Southern Denver Metro with very little interaction with automobiles and traffic.

Morning Fog in the Open Space

Within Homestead in the Willows are 8 tennis courts, 3 pools and literally miles of trails.  It is very easy to create a 4 mile loop “within the community” without having to compete with traffic or the noises of the suburbs.  My favorite loop is almost exactly 2.5 miles almost entirely on a “crusher-fine” trails.  Crossing Willow Creek twice and weaving in and out of adjacent “single track”.

The Arapahoe Road Entrance

With about 965 residences coming under the regulations of the Homeowners’ Association, there is a constant effort to keep appearances up, keep maintenance at superb levels and making sure all the recreational features are always ready for homeowners’ use.

Holding the knowledge of Denver’s cyclical housing market, I have witnessed Homestead “roll with the punches” many times.  When markets have turned south, Homestead has always enjoyed a stable population committed to the community.  Fewer foreclosures,  fewer short-sales and fewer missed HOA payments than competing communities.  People enjoy living in Homestead and as a result, they tend to protect it with their financial resources.

It’s truly unique for a suburban master planned community to enjoy the financial commitment of its residents.  Every walk through the community reveals the excitement of someone’s remodeling project with a dumpster in the driveway.  Homestead has had hundreds of renovation/remodel projects exceeding the original prices of these homes.  In today’s dollars, there is routinely a renovation/remodel underway exceeding 30% of its current sales price.  When dollars are spent wisely, we see these improvements assisting with resale down the road.

A Blue Ribbon School

I’m not going to tell you Homestead in the Willows is the “Best Community” surround the DTC Corredor, but I will tell you it offers the best combination of compromises.  Shopping, Employment, Schools,

North Pool, Tennis & Greenbelt

Recreation, Entertainment, Access, Transportation, Appearance and Price round out this compromise with few if any peers.  Even after living here 30 years, I would make the exact same commitment today, and in the weeks to come, I’ll be reporting on the sub-associations within our “square mile”.  So, keep reading, commenting and asking those questions.  We’re here for you every step of the way!