If you’ve thought about relocating — or even if you haven’t — how do you imagine your ideal community? Is it an area with plenty of green spaces, a neighborhood with a variety of families, couples and singles, located near dining, shopping, schools and great employers? The good news is some planned communities today thoughtfully combine these and other priorities to create highly livable neighborhoods that blend the best of urban and suburban living.

Benefits of master-planned communities

In an ever-changing market, buying a new home in a master-planned community brings a lot of value to the homebuyer — including choices of builders, home types and even potential incentives. That’s partly because in many communities, builders now have inventory they didn’t have before, making them more willing and able to meet homebuyers’ needs. The best master-planned communities also ride the up and down waves better, helping to ensure that homes can sustain their values, even in down markets.

Pro tip: Speak directly to builders to learn about base pricing, upgrades and options — and if they’re offering current incentives for homebuyers.

How one planned community stands out

Baseline, a master-planned community in Broomfield, Colorado, is unique in terms of its three founding principles: Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Living and Innovation. Here’s how each principle has been intentionally designed to impact individual homebuyers, the community at large and even the planet.

• Environmental Stewardship: Sustainability is integrated into Baseline's plan in thoughtful new ways, from landscaping that uses less than half the water of other developments to carbon-footprint monitoring that will help minimize the community's environmental impact over time. The community prioritizes water conservation by using xeric landscaping and reusing water in parks and open space as irrigation and using rocks and mulch in select places instead of turf grass to further conserve water.
  Baseline is also the world's first of many certified Pollinator Districts™, with an environment designed to support pollinators throughout its operation. Baseline's Butterfly Pavilion will unveil its new, state-of-the-art facility — an 80,000-square-foot invertebrate zoo and research center dedicated to the smallest of creatures. Pollinator gardens and greenways, called "gardenways," and more are planned throughout the community. Future onsite agriculture and community gardens are envisioned that will further nurture pollinators and produce seasonal harvests.
• Healthy Living: Plentiful attractive, walkable shared green spaces that invite and encourage healthy activity is one of the most desirable features of this master-planned community. Parks plus walking and biking trails are designed to help increase opportunities for residents of all ages to stay active and healthy. In addition, the business district of Baseline is envisioned as pedestrian-centered for optimal access and walkability.
• Innovation: The vision for Baseline is a community that welcomes people of all ages — from young singles, couples and families through empty nesters, retirees and everyone in between — to live in a community where everything you need is right there near your home, from shops and recreation to great places to learn and work. Housing units vary to provide a home for everybody, ranging from planned affordable housing opportunities around 1,200 square feet to high-end single-family homes around 2,560 square feet. Baseline’s single-family detached homes, paired homes, rowhomes and townhomes are lower maintenance by design, with an intentional urban feel and always designed to work well for pedestrians, for biking and for sustainability. A K-12 STEM school is planned to open adjacent to the Butterfly Pavilion, allowing the next generation to learn about the natural world and how environmental stewardship helps protect the planet. STEM industry partners will work directly with students in the classroom on real-world projects. And Prospect Ridge Academy, a K-12 charter school within walking distance, offers a wonderful option for families with school-aged children.

"If you’re looking for a home community where you can walk or bike to everything you need for daily living, this may be exactly what you've been seeking," said Kyle Harris, senior vice president, master-planned communities and general manager, Baseline. "Our mission is to create amazing places where people can walk, bike, work, dine, shop, learn, volunteer and connect — in short, places where people can thrive."

Location, location, location

Apart from the homes themselves, the concept and the community overall, location is potentially the strongest draw for any community. Located in the Boulder/Denver triangle, Baseline offers easy access to Denver, Lafayette, Louisville and Boulder as well as Denver International Airport. Early-stage plans are underway that would ultimately provide bus rapid transport between Boulder and Brighton with a stop at Baseline’s central district and an additional stop at the proposed I-25 mobility hub that would provide access from Baseline south to Denver’s Union Station and north to Fort Collins.

So if you've dreamed of living in a community where people can thrive sustainably, be educated, work and play all in one thoughtfully designed area, visit BaselineColorado.com, and check out their Facebook and Instagram pages to learn more.