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Welcome to Inspirada - March 2010, by Plaster3, City-Data.com
Though the project was designed with seven villages in mind completely built by 2015, this is obviously not the case any longer. As of today, the consortium of builders have not made any indications as to whether or not the original design will be changed (though that is not a possibility). They expect to now have half of the villages in process of construction by 2015.
The first village (Solista) is within a couple of years towards completion, and the second village (Ceramista) is in the process of completing the power/water/gas infrastructure.
Here are updates from each builder currently in Solista:
Meritage Homes
This builder occupied Pod 1-3 of the four pods within Solista. Unfortunately, their sales didn't maintain very long. Many people believe it was mostly because of the cost-savings benefits within the KB Home models, but it could be any number of things. Meritage did not end up completely buying up their Pod as KB Home did, so there was much land within the Pod that is still under South Edge, LLC (John Ritter/Focus Property) ownership. Meritage also had nearly 90 finished lots that were not built up yet.
Because of the scarcity of finished lots within the valley, many builders are buying them up in obscure places since the costs to develop are much less, and they are shovel ready when demand begins to pick up in 2011-2012.
Because of this, both KB Home and Toll Brothers purchased the remaining finished lots. Meritage is no longer building at Inspirada. For those who think this will hurt the master plan - think again. Of all the builders, Meritage had the smallest investment, at less than 3%.
Toll Brothers
Though initially a high-end alternative to the KB Home development, Toll has changed their floorplans in order to match higher end KB estate models. Because of this, sales at Toll have begun once again, with beautiful homes in the low $200's.
They continue to still advertise their "higher-end" models, and have two estate lots left. They seem to have eliminated their "mansion" style homes, but are continuing to build their three story townhomes, which in my opinion are very aesthetically pleasing.
Their new sales center is almost finished (they sold their model home which housed the office in 2009), and I expect them to continue to finish buying up their "raw" land within Pod 1-2, which South Edge, LLC still owns about 35% of. They purchased about 47 finished lots within the Meritage portion. I don't remember Toll Brother's ownership in the consortium, but I believe it was the third or fourth largest. They expect to build in about four villages out of the seven.
KB Home
The builder owns the majority stake in this consortium at 48%, and are well on their way to leading the increase in development activity within the community. Prices for their townhomes at 1000 square feet start at the low $120's, and there seems to be only a few left for the first village. They also have garden homes (which I own) that are very affordable for the space they offer. They begin at the $150's. Village homes up to 2,400 square feet start in the 180's. Just recently, KB has been selling their newly revised "estate" one story homes, that are on par with Toll Brothers interior options. These include standard 9' ceilings (with a 10' option), upgraded cabinets and doors, and a large mason wall to enclose the backyard. The most expensive model is in the $250's.
KB Home is building in Pods 1-1 and 1-4. The first pod is completely built out, with the exception of the corner lot near the entrance. I assume they want to leave that empty for a while, since they have a huge sign on it. Pod 1-4 (my pod!) is almost completely built, and I've heard that because of this they are getting ready to build out the second village, which KB has two pods in as well. I would say that the final pod is about 70% complete. I've heard that they expect complete build out in late 2011.
KB Home purchased 20 of the Meritage "estate" lots to build their estate homes on. I assume this will begin shortly, because there are only two estate lots left in Pod 1-4.
The second village will be buffered by a small park and a planned elementary school. I am almost 100% certain that both will not be built until the second village is completed, and maybe not even until the third village is halfway built. There is expected to be a second park constructed, but I again fear the same fate awaits that park as well.
There are three builders signed on for Ceramista: KB Home, Kimball Hill, and Woodside Homes. As you know, both Kimball Hill and Woodside Homes are in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, however both builders do have finished lots in this village already in anticipation of starting construction back in 2008. I guarantee you either KB or another homebuilder will purchase these lots soon enough.
I'll try to post some updates at least quarterly on the progress of the master planned community (MPC). I am not a realtor, but just a homeowner (okay, a banker too) who believes that it would be great to keep this momentum moving within this community. 2010 sales are looking to match that of 2009, which is a good sign considering the additional costs homeowners are aware of when buying, like HOA's and assessments and such.