First lots list for sale in new Arvada foothills luxury home site

Arvada’s luxury home market is growing.

The first eight lots in Canyon Pines, a 90-plot home development site nestled in the Arvada foothills, hit the market in March.

Denver-based Peak Development purchased the 180-acre site known as 25377 State Highway 72 for $9 million nearly two years ago.

Peak founder Chad Ellington said the first eight lots range from 0.5 to 1.5 acres in size and are listed for about $500,000 to a little more than $1 million. He said two lots have already sold for roughly $750,000, and prospective buyers have been a combination of custom homebuilders and end users.

Lot pricing depends on the views, privacy and terrain. Ellington said the architecture and design firm Semple Brown created guidelines prospective buyers must meet to ensure home designs fit within the natural landscape.

“There’s a lot of considerations to make it (the homes) feel like it’s been there forever instead of an appendage that was added to the side of this mountain,” Ellington said.

He said roughly 10 lots will be listed a year so each buyer can take their time making a decision and designing a home.

“It’s really about honoring this very unique piece of land, there’s exactly one of these in Colorado and really we want to make it a special place,” Ellington said. “Versus just a production blow and go, sell-as- fast-as-we-can mentality, which is unfortunately how most things happen these days.”

In addition to having mountain, city, train and canyon views, the lots are surrounded by 1,200-acres of open space and trails.

Peak Development invested more than $30 million to build roads and get water and high-speed internet to the lots, along with other necessities like fire hydrants.

“That was a pretty substantial investment and allowed us really to have first-class services to this luxury community,” Ellington said.

Ellington said Evergreen-based Tucker Johnson Architects, which both designs and builds homes, will be the first to break ground in about two months. And while Peak Development is celebrating, Ellington noted it hasn’t been easy. In fact, previous owners Terry and Diana Ten Eyck spent over 30 years attempting to develop the land before selling to Ellington.