Midtown Blog

Bob & Richard at Opal model

Every house is personal. This is the story of our move to Midtown… how we found the community, selected a builder, a floorplan, and a lot for our new home.

We’ll talk about the construction process, display our photos and the first few months in our new home. And along the way we’ll share thoughts on Denver’s crazy real estate market and what’s happening in southwest Adams County in particular.

After all, it’s not just building a house. It’s building a dream. And building a community.

Bob & Richard

Roofing & low-voltage wiring

roofing

The northeast part of Midtown is buzzing with activity again, and houses in every stage of construction from excavation to siding.

The snow has mostly melted, and roofers have begun their work. Soffits and fascia are finishing things out. …

Electrical wiring & TV

Bedroom TV framing

I got a call from our builder supervisor early in the morning. The electrician asked that I stop by the house to clarify a few things. I drove through the snow and was surprised they allowed me to meet with the electrician and walk through things as they were working. …

Windows & plumbing

Windows-installed

Progress on the house (and all new homes at Midtown) seems to have slowed a bit. In the final weeks of 2016, nearly all the foundations were poured in the block between 68th Avenue & 67th Place, as well as between Mariposa Street & Mariposa Place. …

More friends are moving to Midtown!

Friends at Infinity

Two friends had a big surprise for us: they’re building at Midtown too! They chose an Infinity Alto on Home Plate Park, at the opposite end of Midtown about ¾ mile west of us. Their construction is about a month behind ours (foundation at the point), but who knows… we might move in around the same time.

Visit from Dad

Dad visits

My dad’s first visit to the house since construction began. My dad’s a former engineer and building inspector, so I value his expertise. He was impressed with the construction. The entryway has been opened up, the pantry is gone and they even moved the family room window to make more room for our 

Framing adjustments

Interior framing 2

Once again, David Weekley came through for us. Sometimes things don’t turn out exactly right the first time, but our builder (supervisor) doesn’t quit. He kept on the framers until the bathroom window was done right. …

View from the inside

Interior framing

A big day for us… our first time walking inside our new house! So much changed in the last ten days, when it was cold foundation walls and a pile of wood. It’s a real house, with floors, stairs and walls. …

Roof framed

Roof framed

They topped off the house while I was at work. I’m sorry I missed seeing them lift up those trusses. I’m amazed at how this all happens… they take a pile of lumber and a plan and turn it into a house!

The donuts

Today was unforgettable. And not because of the house… because of the people.

I’ve been watching the crew for several days, sometimes waving at them but mostly trying to stay out of the way. I don’t want to distract a guy and he shoots a nail gun through his hand! …

Our framing has begun!

Framing

When I arrived at the homesite today, they had already erected the first wall! It’s on the east side – a two-story section that includes the three windows that will one day overlook our staircase. 

The windows

Windows

The framing has begun for our neighbors to the west! For the first time, it feels like an actual house. Brookfield has also begun framing the Duet 2 across the street. I’m surprised at how much this changes things. …

The basement door

Door

Despite the cold weather, they poured our basement floor yesterday. Yay!

We have a new concern, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. We’re so accustomed to the model home (which has a finished basement) that we didn’t consider how our unfinished basement will look. …

The driveway

Driveway

It’s been cold, but the concrete crew still managed pour our driveway. This is the first flatwork and it’s great seeing something other than foundation walls. The driveway is about 21 feet long – most driveways are about 10–15 feet. …

Plumbing rough-in

Plumbing

The foundation’s been done for 10 days, and it seemed like nothing was happening. But now they installed rough-in plumbing, which will be below the basement floor. I didn’t even realize we were going to have things set up for a bathroom down there. …

Backfilled

Backfill

Stopped by the house today and it’s been backfilled around the foundation. Starting to look like what you’d expect from a house. You look at those tall foundation walls long enough and you forget everything but the top foot or so will be buried!

Foundation poured

Foundation

It snowed most of yesterday. I figured nothing would happen during the storm. Imagine my surprise when I stopped by today and not only had they poured the foundation, the forms have been removed. …

Forms are ready

Forms

They’ve set up the forms for pouring the foundation. Those things must weigh a ton – they drop them in with a lift. Didn’t get to see it happen on our house but I’ve watched them do it for others. …

Footings poured

Footings

The next step after excavation has begun: concrete footings for our foundation walls. This is what the entire house will sit on. They also include small pipes that drain water away from the foundation – important protection from our clay-based 

We broke ground!

Groudbreaking

We’d scheduled our first meeting with the man who will supervise construction of our home (what David Weekley calls the Builder). He’s very experienced, and saw no problem when we asked about adding a couple windows at a reasonable price. …

Election night

Election night

Election Day 2016 turned into Election Night. A long, long night. No matter who you supported, I think it’s fair to say almost everyone was surprised with the outcome. Maybe even the eventual winner.

Electrical review


It’s hard to imagine all the places you want an electric outlet. Sure, there’s the obvious ones. But how about under the desk in the middle of the study? Maybe a lamp on the end table next to the sectional. …

Transitions

Jim Baker

Our previous David Weekley representative is moving on. We’re so thankful he guided us through the challenges and helped us get the new lot. Today we had a meeting with him and his replacement. We know we’re in good hands.

Autumn nature walk

Autumn

Seems I just can’t stay away from Midtown. I’m drawn not only to the neighborhood, but also the natural surroundings. Parked at the lot on the east edge of Midtown (Kalcevic Gulch) this morning and walked along Clear Creek Trail. …

New contract

Lot2

It felt like today would never come. We signed an updated contract, transferring to the new lot. Our old lot, which we loved, would be slightly too small for our floorplan. Due to setback regulations, it wasn’t possible to build it there.

Down in the valley

Valley

We’re still waiting to sign an updated contract on the new lot. After a weekend away in the mountains, we stopped by Midtown to see what’s going on. Nothing much happening in the homesites, but we were shocked to find the eastern valley totally transformed.

Design Center 3

Design 3

After countless hours considering every decorator detail in the past two weeks, today was our third and final design center meeting. 

The stairs in the Opal floorplan are very prominent – the first thing you see when you walk in the door. …

Design Center 2

Although we’re disappointed with having to move to a different lot, we’re continuing to plan for our new Midtown home. We spent several hours each day of the last week researching our design options. …

Another chance

Lot 2

David Weekley has proposed a solution to our lot-fit situation: a larger lot across the alley from where we were originally going to build. It’s still considered a corner lot, but the side yard will face the backs of other homes instead of a downtown view. …

Things change

Things change

We had a setback today. The lot we were so excited about, the one with the downtown view… it’s not going to work out for us.

Although our lot is wider than many at Midtown, it’s a corner lot. It turns out the lot is 5 feet narrower than expected, and that causes a problem with setback regulations. …

Design Center 1

Design 1

Our first visit to the design center! And we were completely surprised by the abundance of decorator choices.

I bought a new home before: a house at Sunrise Creek in southern Jefferson County. It was built in 1999–2000 by Melody Homes (later DR Horton). …

Low-voltage

The first official order of business after signing the contract is to decide something that will actually be one of the last things to be installed: low-voltage options. That’s all the electronics wiring: phone/network jacks, security system, speakers, etc. …

Mom visits

Mom visits

My mom came to visit from Florida, and we surprised her with the news. We took her for a drive around Midtown, to the site of our new home, and the Opal model. “You are going to love living here!” 

68th Ave widened

68th Ave

We sign a contract!

Bob & Richard at Opal model

Finally our turn!

Lot 1

A new path

Path

And friends objections

Straw & geese

Straw

The park & ponds

Park

The shadows

Shadows

Old neighborhoods

Neighborhood

B-Line

B-Line

Westminster Station

Westminster Station

Streets paved… and a decision

Paving 2

Brookfield or David Weekley?

Brookfield-Sig 4 kitchen

At our request, our real estate agent has helped us look at several communities. We’ve looked at resales in Stapleton and new builds in Denver. There are some great new condos in Jefferson Park not far south of our Sunnyside neighborhood. …

Twin Lakes & Canal

Twin Lakes

Continuing my exploration of the areas around Midtown. Today’s bike ride took me east of Pecos. I was surprised to discover a large dam just southeast of the neighborhood, where a small irrigation ditch branches off. …

Biking Clear Creek

Bob Midtown

Moving is a big deal. It’s more than packing boxes and relocating. It’s more than finding a home you like. It’s finding a community and lifestyle you love.

I wanted to see what life is like… not just in Midtown, but

Tour Stapleton

Stapleton

Conventional wisdom is that if you want new(er) homes in the City of Denver, you go to Stapleton. But the area southeast of I-70 & Quebec Street, where the airport stood until 1995, is well built out. …

Tour Brookfield Tealight & Duet

Brookfield-Duet

Today we toured the last two series of homes at Midtown: the Brookfield Tealight and Brookfield Duet. (Century Communities builds townhomes at Midtown, but we want a private yard.)

Brookfield Tealight

Tour David Weekley

Weekley-Azure ext

A hot summer day, and our next visit to Midtown took us to David Weekley Homes. After building homes on the west side of Pecos for several years, David Weekley moved to the east side less than a year ago. …

Tour Brookfield Signature & Infinity

Infinity Alto

We made another trip to Midtown, this time to walk inside the homes. Brookfield Signature series impressed us again, just like two years ago. The Signature Four still amazes us with the wall of windows.

Second visit to Midtown

Visit 2

It’s the Fourth of July, and after a picnic in the park, we headed to Midtown. I had to ask Siri how to get there… it had been that long. Since it’s a holiday, models were closed but we had a chance to walk around.

You’re moving?

Elm-spring 2016

We went to a birthday party July 2, and chatted with a friend who lives in the Highlands neighborhood of downtown Denver, not far from us. “How do you like all the changes?” I asked. “The restaurants, the art galleries, the downtown view?” …

First visit to Midtown

Visit 1

I’m writing this a couple years after our first visit, when our home is under construction. But let’s start our Midtown story at the beginning.

We met a friend for lunch on this rather cold, gray May day… a friend who loves to look at new homes. …

This site is not affiliated with Midtown, Brookfield Residential, David Weekley Homes or any others.

© Robert B Pickering 2017