Centennial / S Aurora area (Denver, Littleton: section 8, apartments, to rent)

[daisies76]

We are planning a move from Florida to Colorado and have pretty much decided on the Centennial area. We are a family of 4, kids are 13 and 15.
We will be needing to rent a 3 bedroom apartment first, then may rent a house later. We are trying to keep the budget under 1600.00 a month for the apt since we will be keeping our Florida home. (btw, we are bringing 2 dogs)

What areas do you recommend in South Aurora/Centennial? We are looking at 2 apt complexes on or around South Parker Ave (zip 80016) (Coyote Ranch and Pinnacle at the Creek) any input on these? Schools will be Liberty Middle and Grandview High.

Ive read a previous post that recommended zipcodes 80014 and 80015 for S Aurora. Do you have an recomendations on apts? We like newer construction areas, close to parks and shopping. We love to go bike riding and walking, so being near parks or walking/biking trails would be great. We also love to go camping/fishing/boating, so any recomendations on areas that may fit what we are looking for. I know the Cherry Creek Resevoir is pretty close so that appealed to my husband.

We will be working near the Cherry Creek mall in Denver off Cherry Creek N. I understand this may be a commute, but after a lot of searching and recomendations, etc, this is our focus. If the job offer comes through, we will be moving around Feb 1 (maybe earlier).

It would be nice to be close enough to some shopping where our daughter can walk to her job when she is 16 (somewhere retail) plus stuff that is walkable and safe for them to hangout, go shopping, etc.

Any comments on these two schools?
Is this a good area?

I understand that many have mentioned to live right in Cherry Creek, but we just havent found what we like and what is affordable. Plus I really dont want to put my kids in Cherry Creek High School since there are SO many students, and we'd rather not have them go to an urban highschool in the heart of the city. (just our preference)
Many of the apts we found off Cherry Creek North or South dont accept dogs or are way out of our price range... plus we want to be in a complex where we dont have to fight for parking. We will be bringing a boat so we have to figure that out too.

Anyway, any suggestions/opinions?

[daisies76]

also....Where are the best areas of Centennial? I liked how the S Parker Ave area was close to shopping, Super Target, Movie Theater, etc...is there another preferred area of S Aurora or Centennial that we should research? Maybe another side of town or a few streets over? I havent ever been there so I value any input anyone can provide.

[DenverBrian]

I'm now living in Saddle Rock, which is Aurora 80016. There are a variety of homes, townhomes and apartments, some of which likely take dogs.

Parker Road/Arapahoe is a good "target zero" to make your search. You should also check out areas of Englewood 80111 around Jordan Road - there are some decent neighborhoods at Jordan Road and Broncos Parkway and environs that might work for you.

Commute will likely be up Parker Road/Leetsdale to get to the Cherry Creek mall. 30 minutes on good days; 45 minutes or longer on bad traffic days.

Cherry Creek State Park and the reservoir will be perfect for you for biking, boating and dog fun - there's an extensive dog park/run including access to the creek if your dogs like to get wet.

I see one house on hotpads.com that might work:

http://hotpads.com/search#lat=39.594...ultsPerQuad=24

[davidv]

The areas that you are looking at is fine.

First of all, I think you are a little confused. Cherry Creek High School is NOT near the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver (ie. it is not an urban high school). It is located immediately west of Cherry Creek Reservoir at the intersection of Union Ave. and Dayton St. CCHS IS the largest school in the state with 3600 students, but Grandview is the second largest high school in the state with 2800 students. In any event, I would still recommend that you send your kids to Grandview because CCHS has a different sequence for some subjects, and your kids will transfer more seemlessly into GHS. Grandview is on an alternating block schedule, Creek is a traditional schedule.

If possible, I would suggest an earlier move. Both schools will start their second semester on Jan 17. The closer to that date you can get your kids enrolled, the better. This way they won't be too far behind academically.

As for camping/fishing/boating, Cherry Creek Reservoir is more of an oasis in the middle of the urban area. You can fish and camp, but the park is surrounded by houses on one side and a busy highway on the other side. In terms of boating, the lakes and reservoirs here are very small, but you can boat at Cherry Creek. For all activities, there are better places to go.

Most of that area is not very walkable. The major retail areas are Arapahoe Crossing at Parker Rd. and Arapahoe Rd. and Southlands at E470 and Smoky Hill Rd. Southlands is too far to walk to from the apts you have mentioned. Arapahoe Crossing is much smaller with some stores and movie theaters. The main regional mall is Park Meadows at I-25 and C-470. She would need a ride to get there.

FWIW, your commute to Cherry Creek North could be quite a hassle depending on the time of day you will be going.

[daisies76]

Originally Posted by DenverBrian

I'm now living in Saddle Rock, which is Aurora 80016. There are a variety of homes, townhomes and apartments, some of which likely take dogs.
I see one house on hotpads.com that might work:

Thank you for the info! We just did a search on the google (street view) and this area looks really nice. Do you know the names of any apts or Condo's that we could look up? I saw Sonoma Resort @ Saddle Rock and Canyons @ Saddle Rock, do you know of others? That house looked nice also, we may call on that one. Thank you!!

[daisies76]

Originally Posted by davidv

The areas that you are looking at is fine.

First of all, I think you are a little confused. Cherry Creek High School is NOT near the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver (ie. it is not an urban high school). It is located immediately west of Cherry Creek Reservoir at the intersection of Union Ave. and Dayton St. CCHS IS the largest school in the state with 3600 students, but Grandview is the second largest high school in the state with 2800 students. In any event, I would still recommend that you send your kids to Grandview because CCHS has a different sequence for some subjects, and your kids will transfer more seemlessly into GHS. Grandview is on an alternating block schedule, Creek is a traditional schedule.

Oh I understand that CCHS isnt urban I am just going by a response from another post I posted a couple weeks ago, someone recommended CC area and then said if Im not ooposed to an urban HS that East HS is good, but I just wanted it aware that I dont want an urban hs. 3600 students is crazy, even 2800 is just too much, but everywhere we look that is what we are seeing.

We are contemplating leaving the kids here in Florida to finish out the year and stay with my mother, (which is ideal for the kids, and also ideal so we could locate and get familiar with the area, but I am just not sold that she wants that added responsibility) ... so we havent decided.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by daisies76

Thank you for the info! We just did a search on the google (street view) and this area looks really nice. Do you know the names of any apts or Condo's that we could look up? I saw Sonoma Resort @ Saddle Rock and Canyons @ Saddle Rock, do you know of others? That house looked nice also, we may call on that one. Thank you!!

That is a nice place, but I wouldn't wish that commute on anyone. Iin good weather and no traffic, it would be 35-45 min, and it would be 45-60 min in good weather and rush hour traffic. In bad weather, forget about it. Your commute would be 1 1/2 - 2 hours one way.

Also, E-470 is a (pretty expensive) toll road. It would facilitate getting to where you need to go, but it would be a big expense if you used it daily. If you want a different place, look closer to move further west than further east.

[daisies76]

Originally Posted by davidv

That is a nice place, but I wouldn't wish that commute on anyone. Iin good weather and no traffic, it would be 35-45 min, and it would be 45-60 min in good weather and rush hour traffic. In bad weather, forget about it. Your commute would be 1 1/2 - 2 hours one way.

Also, E-470 is a (pretty expensive) toll road. It would facilitate getting to where you need to go, but it would be a big expense if you used it daily. If you want a different place, look closer to move further west than further east.

Wow...yikes.

Do you have any recomendations on places that would be good? Main streets or zipcodes that we should focus on? Looking at the map it all looks so close, but I guess not! Trying to get this done in such a short amt of time (we wont even know if the job offer comes thru until around Jan 10-15th and we will have to be there either the end of Jan or beginning of Feb) So we are trying to get it all decided and researched now so we can be ready to make the decision quickly. This is stressful to say the least. I appreciate everyones input and suggestions!

[davidv]

Originally Posted by daisies76

Wow...yikes.

Do you have any recomendations on places that would be good? Main streets or zipcodes that we should focus on? Looking at the map it all looks so close, but I guess not! Trying to get this done in such a short amt of time (we wont even know if the job offer comes thru until around Jan 10-15th and we will have to be there either the end of Jan or beginning of Feb) So we are trying to get it all decided and researched now so we can be ready to make the decision quickly. This is stressful to say the least. I appreciate everyones input and suggestions!

As a general rule, the major streets are all one mile apart. That will give you a reference to the scale you are looking at.

The Saddle Rock area is 4.5 miles east of Arapahoe and Parker, and 9 miles east of Arapahoe and I-25. It is 15 miles staight-line distance from that area to Cherry Creek North.

It is easy to get stuck there in bad weather because of traffic. A friend of mine who lives out there and commutes to the Tech Center got stuck in traffic during the last snowstorm, and it took him 90 minutes to go the 10 miles to work.

[vegaspilgrim]

I've toured both the Sonoma Resort @ Saddle Rock and the Canyons @ Saddle Rock. They are both very nice apartments, as well as the Sanctuary @ Tallyns Reach apartments down the street. Can't really go wrong with anywhere in SE Aurora/ E Centennial. Broadstone Cornerstar apartments (near Parker & Arapahoe) are nice and they definitely allow dogs (huge turn off for me, but that's what you're looking for). BTW, the two zip codes for this area are 80015 and 80016. 80014 is a completely different part of Aurora-- mainly west of 225.

The schools in this area are all good, but I certainly wouldn't rule out Smoky Hill High School, especially if you think your kids will be in the IB program. IMHO Smoky Hill is one of the best schools in the state. Smoky Hill is in an older part of SE Aurora near Smoky Hill Rd & Laredo St. It is a big school, but has the smallest attendance area, geography-wise, of all the Cherry Creek high schools.

I would estimate about a 40 minute commute to Cherry Creek North, and over an hour on snow days. Your best bet will be to drive Parker Rd/ Leetsdale the whole way there.

Be sure to check out my photo tour: https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...hoto-tour.html

You could also consider the western part of Centennial which is near Greenwood Village, Englewood, and Littleton. This is an older part of town, but every bit as nice as SE Aurora/ E Centennial. Some of this area is in the Cherry Creek School district, some of it is in Littleton schools (which is another great district). There are some decent middle of the road apartments near Arapahoe & Holly for example (I can't remember the exact name).

As a whole different idea, you could consider living in Glendale, which is actually in an Arapahoe County island and zoned for Cherry Creek High School, which is probably considered the most "prestigious" public high school in the state. Glendale is about 5min away from the Cherry Creek Mall. It has a mix of some gritty, section 8 apartments with poor people, as well as some uber luxurious apartments and condos. Rent will definitely be more than living in SE Aurora, but you're closer to your job, closer to the core of Denver, and get the best schools.