Craft Companies LLC broke ground Thursday on its Independence development in the northwest corner of the county. Tim Craft, principal of the Denver-based real estate firm, said more than $100 million is being spent on infrastructure alone to prepare the 1,011-acre site on Hilltop Road.

 

Homes will vary in size, with more entry-level residences starting at 1,400 to 1,500 square feet. Those homes will start in the $300,000 price range, Craft said. Size and prices go up from there, he said, with the option for purchasing custom homes on larger acreage lots.

 

Home construction isn’t slated until August 2019, Craft said. The development’s earliest tenants could move in during the first quarter of 2020 as the entire community is being built out over seven years, he said.

 

The real estate firm remains in talks with a number of homebuilders, Craft said. That decision will ultimately impact housing prices in the new community.

 

Nearly 4,000 jobs — mostly for construction workers — are expected to be created, according to the firm.

 

Demand for more affordable housing — Denver’s median home sale in recent months is north of $430,000 — was a driving force behind the development. Craft expects interest from Denver workers who may be priced out of that market to make the roughly 30-mile commute, and possibly students or past residents in and around Elbert County to return home to a more affordable option.

 

“Houses [in Elbert County] are largely ranches on larger acreage lots that many people couldn’t afford,” Craft said.  Read the whole article By Andrew Dodson  – Reporter, Denver Business Journal