Despite challenges of getting new homes built in an environment with high buyer demand, supply chain issues and material and labor shortages, Lennar Homes has been actively working to get two new single-family housing projects off the ground in the North Phoenix Valley—one of which is ready for home construction to begin this month.
One community will become an extension of a master-planned community on the east side of I-17, while the other marks the first large-scale residential development to hit the west side of I-17 just south of Dixileta Drive.
Jeff Gunderson, Lennar’s Senior Vice President of Land Operations spoke with Valley Vibe, offering detailed information on each community, including home features, square footage, community amenities and construction timelines.
“We couldn’t be more excited about our two new communities in the I-17 corridor. With the growth and future employment opportunities coming, we just think it’s a tremendous location,” Gunderson said.
Both communities will offer Lennar’s increasingly popular Next Gen floor plans—a multigenerational concept first offered in 2011 by the builder, featuring an attached private suite and separate entrance, a kitchenette, living room, bedroom and bathroom. Gunderson estimates Next Gen homes are about 25 percent of the builder’s overall sales.
“Next Gen is such a wonderful niche that works well for those with aging parents, the boomerang college kids, home offices, man caves, woman caves— its many uses are left up to the creative minds of the owners,” Gunderson said.
Copperleaf at Sonoran Foothills
Home starts are scheduled to begin this month on inventory homes in this community of 400-plus homes at the southwest corner of Dove Valley Road and Paloma Parkway.
Lennar plans to develop 278 single family, one- and two-story homes ranging between 1,700–3,100 square feet with a mix of floor plans and designs similar to its Discovery, Horizon and Destiny product lines. Pricing is anticipated to start in the $400,000s. The remaining 133 homes will be built by Pulte Homes.
In a market with such a high housing demand, Valley Vibe asked Gunderson how home sales will be handled.
“The market today has taken us in the direction where we’re building entirely inventory homes… we have researched our buyers and sold enough homes that we know what our buyers want and like, so we start building our homes before we sell anything,” he said.
The community will be open by appointment only before the models open, and if construction goes according to plan, homes will be ready in spring of 2022. Estimated completion of the models is slated for the first quarter of 2022.
A 3-acre site within the 140-acre parcel has been reserved for park amenities, including climbing structures, a large turf area, bicycle track, a game area for bean bag toss and a ramada with a barbecue area.
Copperleaf is part of the Sonoran Foothills Homeowners Association, granting residents access to the community’s clubhouse, pool, sports fields and other amenities. Lennar has partnered with the HOA to assist with funding new community amenities including a large splash pad by the pool, a barbecue area, commercial kitchen in the clubhouse, a dog park, bocce ball court and a horseshoe pit.
Middle Vistas
Native plant salvage and earthwork is slated to begin within the next couple of months on this unique site that is largely dedicated to preserve.
In July, Lennar closed on the approximate 190-acre property at the southwest corner of Interstate 17 and Dixileta Drive, just south of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s $12-billion silicon chip facility under construction near I-17 & Loop 303.
In an agreement with the City of Phoenix, approximately 120 acres of the land surrounding Middle Mountain has been donated to the city and is earmarked for preservation.
The remaining acreage will be divided into 228 homesites ranging from 1,700–2,700 square feet, with 73 of the homesites similar to designs offered in its Horizon and Signature series and 155 from the Discovery line, Gunderson said.
The timeline on this project is lengthier due to the need to extend utilities to the site, surrounded by state trust land and preserve. The community will receive water and utility services from the City of Phoenix.
Model construction is projected to begin in July 2022 with sales starting in October 2022.