Mission Viejo & South Central Aurora -- PHOTO TOUR (Denver: apartments, homes)

[vegaspilgrim]

This is a photo tour of the Mission Viejo neighborhood in south-central Aurora, bordered by Hampden, Buckley, Quincy, and Chambers. This subdivision was built in the 1970's by the Mission Viejo Company, an Orange County, California developer responsible for other contemporaneous master planned developments including Mission Viejo, CA, The Lakes in Tempe, AZ (when I lived there I frequently bicycled through that neighborhood-- it's absolutely gorgeous), and the initial plans for Highlands Ranch. This neighborhood, while much smaller, much cheaper, and not really all that comparable to its namesake in California, is a beautiful neighborhood nonetheless, probably one of the most attractive 1970s era developments in all of the Denver metro area. It certainly stands out from surrounding Aurora neighborhoods, which can be quite ugly. This is not my "hood" but I had a lot of friends who lived here growing up.

Here's some more information about the neighborhood:
Mission Viejo, Aurora, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two different entrances to the subdivision. This sign with the brick style is identical to the original development in Mission Viejo, CA.





One of Mission Viejo's distinctive hallmarks is its "Mission bell" style street lamps:







These two street names, Alicia & Marguerite pkwys are directly named from corresponding streets in Mission Viejo, CA. Except there they are 6 and 8 lane arterials, not quiet neighborhood streets.







(That's a church in the background... not someone's backyard):











If you look at this home closely you can see there is a slight "Californian" influence to the design... but clearly a 1970s image of "California."











Developments like these were of the first generation to incorporate trails/walking paths into the community design, things that today are taken for granted:



This used to be called the Aurora South Branch library, apparently the name was recently changed.

































A few more pictures of the neighborhood taken on a different day:







These pictures are within the Mission Viejo "grid" but are not technically within the boundaries of the neighborhood:













Extras: Miscellaneous pictures from around south/central Aurora:

Quincy Ridge Apartments (just south of MV):



Pheasant Run neighborhood (Smoky Hill & Chambers):





This church is near Chambers and Evans:





SWC Buckley & Quincy:



Another shot of the state of the art Parker & I-225 interchange:

[cowboyxjon]

if i didn't work in downtown denver, i'd seriously look into living there. thanks for the pictures! i've actually driven through but never explored the neighborhood in as much detail.

[Summerz]

Thanks for the tour.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Yep, replace the rocks and brown lawns with edge to edge green grass and that looks pretty much exactly like Mission Viejo CA.

[vegaspilgrim]

I'll let the viewers decide for themselves how closely the MV subdivision in Aurora resembles the original master planned city in CA. This giant photo thread on the OC forum has a bunch of pictures of the original MV: PICTURES of ORANGE COUNTY. I even took a few of my own on a day trip down there: Day trip to OC: photos. Personally I think it's only token similarities.

[tew]

I heard the area was developed by the MV Co. I guess thats why I like HR, it reminds me so much of Irvine CA. I lived in Irvine over 4 years before moving here.

[cabolissa]

Wow, that's uncanny! Yes, the area resembles much of older MV, Ca. And it's a trip that there's an Alicia and Marguerite there as well. I agree, just a little greener and it'd be here!

The OC thread features much of the newer areas of MV, and the spanish-style homes with red tile roofs. But there are plenty that look like these pics too.

Thanks for the tour!

I'd love to find a tour like that of Centennial or HR (anyone know of a good thread?).

[denverian]

"Then this one day when the lady met this fellow, they knew that it was much more than a hunch, that this group, must somehow form a family, and that's the way they all became the Brady Bunch! Da, da, da!"

Groovy architecture man! Actually, I think the '70s style is coming back, as long as you do a good reno/update inside. Sort of like Mid Century Modern is very popular again.

[bhcompy]

The homes definitely reflect the styles of the 70s era homes in orange county. Looks like there are even some stucco homes? I was under the impression that stucco didn't hold up well in Denver's climate

Interesting neighborhood, and knowing the quality of MV Co, may be worth the look whenever our search renews in CO. I'll take a 35y/o MV Co home over a 10y/o DR Horton pile of crap any day.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

The homes definitely reflect the styles of the 70s era homes in orange county. Looks like there are even some stucco homes? I was under the impression that stucco didn't hold up well in Denver's climate

Interesting neighborhood, and knowing the quality of MV Co, may be worth the look whenever our search renews in CO. I'll take a 35y/o MV Co home over a 10y/o DR Horton pile of crap any day.

Stucco doesn't hold up? Then how do you account for all the old (over 100 years) stucco homes in Denver w/original stucco? Stucco does just fine here. I'm sure it does fine anywhere, but it's just more common in the Southwest.