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Why? Especially since the job is in Westminster, why not live in the NW part of the metro area? Your Commerce City house may cost less, but I would suspect Broomfield would be a much better investment. Broomfield, Louisville, and Westminster are in a much better location-- between Denver and Boulder, pretty close to the mountains. I predict areas like Commerce City (even the nice parts of Commerce City way out there), Brighton, and other areas way out there on the NE part of town will become the ghettoes of tomorrow-- what Montbello is today. 10-15 years from now when those "new" houses aren't looking so new anymore it isn't going to look so pretty. That's just my take.
Why? Especially since the job is in Westminster, why not live in the NW part of the metro area? Your Commerce City house may cost less, but I would suspect Broomfield would be a much better investment. Broomfield, Louisville, and Westminster are in a much better location-- between Denver and Boulder, pretty close to the mountains. I predict areas like Commerce City (even the nice parts of Commerce City way out there), Brighton, and other areas way out there on the NE part of town will become the ghettoes of tomorrow-- what Montbello is today. 10-15 years from now when those "new" houses aren't looking so new anymore it isn't going to look so pretty. That's just my take.
(...let the flames begin)
I do agree that the OP should consider closer to where he is working--Westminster, Broomfield, Arvada, Lousville, Lafayette etc. It certainly makes much more sense than the transportation costs from Commerce City.
I do not agree the Commerce City/Brighton Corridor will turn into a ghetto. First it is attracting good industries with good jobs. It is an excellent location to the airport and highway transportation, as I said--that is why it is a preeminate location for some businesses.
Also, this area borders on some very attractive parks and open space in Adams County including Barr Lake, open space along Second Creek, Adams County Regional Park. There are many fertile farms around Brighton and the northern Border of Commerce City that adds some pastoral amenities to the area and with the open spaces, you will see the glories of the Great Plains. Yes, some of these farms will be taken over by development, sadly, but not all and certainly not immediately.
There are already many long term developed communties along this corridor that can be appealing to some and will be further developed. For myself, I would not live there for the main reason, it lacks the public transit amenities that I desire and require. However, if you look at the future transportation plans beyond fastracks, you will see that right of ways have been established to develop a commuter rail to brighton along this corridor. At that time, it will be more appealing.
I have to agree with SteveinDenver, you do not know the area well enough and----you agree with your own post. You really cannot see any suburbs or the city well enough from a highway. You need to get off the expressway and explore by driving, walking or on public transit.
I would say to the OP do not exclude this area from consideration--it has great potential for the future.
Livecontent
Very true, Denver's a huge city....getting to every area would be near impossible. Especially when one has no reason to go. I don't think my preconceived notions of it are in the minority.
I work in Commerce City and would not want to live there. Yes, there are some nice neighborhoods, but overall, no way...Yes, you can buy a mansion there, but where are you really? There is no retail, so shopping has to be done elsewhere (except for food), lots of train tracks that mess up traffic and blare their horns at all hours, and quite frankly many of the people who live there are on the lower end of the socio-economic scale...nothing wrong with that, but it does tend to bring problems associated with lower economics, etc. Police and sheriff's dept's are great...and NO i do not work for them.
I will be working north of westminster so I'm looking for areas in the North of Denver. Keep in mind, we are only going to be living in the area for 3 years as I will be transferred to another job with my company. The place in Commerce City that we found is North between Commerce and Brighton. Elementary school is turnberry and Praireview which are Brighton School districts.
We are also looking in Westminster and Broomfield however we don't like houses on top of one another with limited privacy. Maybe it isnot everywhere however from the looks ofthe houses online and the lot size that is what I'm finding for the price range of $350 - $450K. We do not want a ranch and looking for a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath 2 story that is no more than 3 to 4 years old.
I will also be traveling with my job so having a reasonable drive to the DIA airport is a plus~
Don't get me wrong, there are some houses that we have selected to look at in Broomfield and Westminster however I found a couple of houses in Commerce City that were very nice for the price. Given we are only going to be in the area for 3 years we also need to consider resale value as suggested earlier.
Also, this area borders on some very attractive parks and open space in Adams County including Barr Lake, open space along Second Creek, Adams County Regional Park. There are many fertile farms around Brighton and the northern Border of Commerce City that adds some pastoral amenities to the area and with the open spaces, you will see the glories of the Great Plains. Yes, some of these farms will be taken over by development, sadly, but not all and certainly not immediately.
And Rocky Mountain National Wildlife Refuge...
I like the plains too. I just don't think that your romantic descriptons of the "pastoral" landscape out there is reflected in terms of property values.
Quote:
There are already many long term developed communties along this corridor that can be appealing to some and will be further developed. For myself, I would not live there for the main reason, it lacks the public transit amenities that I desire and require. However, if you look at the future transportation plans beyond fastracks, you will see that right of ways have been established to develop a commuter rail to brighton along this corridor. At that time, it will be more appealing.
Just want to point out that proximity to transportation routes in and of its self means nothing in terms of desirability as a place to live. For setting up shop for certain kinds of businesses, warehousing/transportation/logistics/heavy and light industrial, sure. Case in point, see my attached image. That city I have circled on that map is surrounded by 5 different freeways, two light rail/commuter rail lines, part of a network of hundreds of miles of heavy rail tracks, and is equidistant between one of the largest airports and one of the largest seaports in the world. Interestingly, go on the website of the "Hub City" (http://www.comptoncity.org/compton/About.html - broken link) and they'll have you believe it's a wonderful place to live, blessed by its physical location. While I don't see anywhere in Denver ever becoming that bad, consider that significant dislocations of lower income residents are occuring in Denver and will continue to occur as the central city becomes more and more gentrified, and thus more and more expensive. Of all the different sectors of the metro area, I see the northeast metro area as being the next in line for trouble-- especially if the metro area continues to rapidly grow.
just another comment.... I mapped out the distance and it is 25 miles. We live in New York and prior to that were living in Chicago so a 30 minute commute is peanuts to what we are use to.
With that in mind, finding another house similar to what we want with lower property taxes and less commute is always a pLUS!
I predict areas like Commerce City (even the nice parts of Commerce City way out there), Brighton, and other areas way out there on the NE part of town will become the ghettoes of tomorrow-- what Montbello is today. 10-15 years from now when those "new" houses aren't looking so new anymore it isn't going to look so pretty. That's just my take.
(...let the flames begin)
Where do you get off referring to Brighton as a ghetto? You don't live here obviously! As a resident for the past seven years I completely DISAGREE with you! There has been nothing but growth and improvements made to this area. Brighton is the county seat for Adams County, the fifth most populous county in the state. Last year Brighton was named #2 in the Gadberry Group's list of the seven most notable high-growth places in the U.S. Vestas recently announced they are opening a plant here to build a new blade and nacelle factory here. We have a new shopping center and restaurants opening along I-76 in the Prairie Center. We have a new state-of-the-art regional hospital. Our downtown is being revitalized with a new library and civic center which are both under construction. When I moved here in 2001 there were 5 elementary schools. That number has doubled. There were only 2 middle schools, we now have a third. We had one very crowded high school and we now have a second (that is filling up quickly). But as Livecontent pointed out, there are still many farms in Brighton too. I seriously doubt you can head down the road a mile to a farm and pick your own fruit and vegetables in the big city!
Just because we're "way out there on the NE part of town" doesn't make us a bad place to live. Not EVERYBODY wants to be close to the big city or the mountains.
Given we are only going to be in the area for 3 years we also need to consider resale value as suggested earlier.
Given that you're only going to be in the area for 3 years, I would strongly suggest renting. Rent is reasonable in the metro area (you can get a nice SFR rental for between $1200-$1400/month in most areas). There are a few areas in the metro area that are still flat or appreciating, but in the area(s) you are looking prices are falling, and I don't see this situation changing. Right now, it might be next to impossible to sell in any of those areas -- which of course is good for you as a buyer, but in 3 years the shoe will be on the other foot.
I also agree with other posters that you should look to live close to where you work. It's always a good idea, but especially in this case. If you do choose to live in Commerce City/North Range, you may find that the fastest way is to take the E-470 toll road to your location E-470 Public Highway Authority > Home. It's a nice road with NO traffic, but it's expensive. Cost from 104th to I-25 would be $2.75 each way. If your job is off of 36, your toll would be $5.75 total each way. I would recommend budgeting tolls into your decision to live in Commerce City -- you may choose a slower commute route along surface streets to avoid the tolls, but that's a good way for you to price the daily cost of a longer commute. Don't forget to tack on gas on top of that.
just another comment.... I mapped out the distance and it is 25 miles. We live in New York and prior to that were living in Chicago so a 30 minute commute is peanuts to what we are use to.
With that in mind, finding another house similar to what we want with lower property taxes and less commute is always a pLUS!
So you're saying that because you've "been there, done that," that entitles you to help contributing to making Denver's sprawl problems worse and clogging up the highways (btw, what makes you think that 25 miles = 30 minutes?) with more cross town traffic? While being proud that you'll be paying less taxes-- and then booting out of town in just three years? I've seen this rationale all too many times before. If you're wondering where some of the resentment on this forum towards outsiders comes from, especially from big eastern cities, that's it right there.
Honestly, if you know for a fact you won't be living in Denver for more than 3 years, I wouldn't buy anything-- certainly not in a lower cost area. There is simply no guarrantee that there will be ANY appreciation (if not even continued depreciation) of home values in Commerce City within that short of a time span. Investing in certain closer in, more desirable communities-- the places where they aren't making any more of-- is probably a lot more likely to produce a return.
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You really cannot see any suburbs or the city well enough from a highway. You need to get off the expressway and explore by driving, walking or on public transit.
Commerce City comments
