Denver hasn’t seen a real custom home show for 12 years — one that features a single community site, with creative home designs by real custom builders. But there’s one on the calendar now for next spring, thanks to the surprising success of a new farm-oriented community near Parker.
In late spring (the exact timing is being worked out), thousands of visitors will tour Fox Hill to explore a lineup of individually designed homes, each of them themed around the community’s farm-to-table amenities.
The new community, open Saturday, Oct. 12, east of Parker Road on Bayou Gulch Road to Flintwood Road, already has a high-tech greenhouse, a diversified orchard, hen house, and its authentic farmhouse and barn dating from 1912.
That lifestyle, and a scenic setting with great views, began luring sales from the moment Fox Hill opened. Most of its first phase of 34 sites is already under contract, slated for custom homes averaging $1.2 million.
“Fox Hill’s lifestyle is resonating with buyers in a way we haven’t seen in years,” says marketing guru S. Robert August of North Star Synergies, who was behind many of the most successful home shows in previous decades and is now advising builders on the Fox Hill Custom Home Showcase.
“We’re seeing exceptionally creative builders arriving who are very much into the theme of sustainability and the urban farm movement,” August adds. “They’re the makings of a great custom home event.”
Builders, most of which have already taken multiple sales at Fox Hill, include Clifton Homes, Camerata Homes, Gladstone Custom Homes and T.M. Grace. Now, Nicholas Homes, a veteran of previous shows in Denver, has joined the lineup and is already deep into designing its own entry.
According to August, a really exciting home show needs a single, unique site that will turn out crowds — exactly what Realtors Paige and Doug McLaughlin and Brandy Pfalmer will show you Saturday, Oct. 12, at Fox Hill.
The historic farmhouse (Doug grew up there when Fox Hill was a working cattle hay ranch) is now a hilltop information center poised above two neighborhoods of sites, both showing a number of homes either completed or underway.
That setting, and the farm amenities already on view, are prompting builders to experiment with architecture and themes that are specific to Fox Hill, according to McLaughlin.
“We’re seeing home designs that will resonate with the historic farm architecture, including two builders that are planning multigenerational entries that will have separate suites that could work for older parents who come to live, or boomerang kids or caregivers,” she adds.
The multigeneration theme has resulted from a number of buyers asking for that, says McLaughlin.
Buyers who have already committed to some $30 million in projected home construction cover a variety of age groups — some from out of state and several younger families with kids. Practically all are opting for ranch designs, priced from $1 million and currently centered on $1.2 million.
However, builders are anticipating that homes created for next summer’s Home Showcase will run from $1.5 million to $2 million.
To visit, head west from Parker Road on Bayou Gulch to Flintwood, then south.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.
