TEMECULA’S MASTER-PLANNED COMMUNITIES – AN OBVIOUS CHOICE

Temecula’s Neighborhood Expert provides you information down to the neighborhood level. Over the next few months I will be rolling out information and photographs on the major neighborhoods of Temecula.

My initial focus will be on the Master Planned Communities of Temecula. The first to roll out will be Harveston – a Lake Community, GlenOak Hills – a large lot, custom home community in the Temecula Wine Country, Paloma del Sol a community of parks and paseos and Temeku Hills, a golf community. I consider myself to be an expert on master planned community design. I worked for the Irvine Company on the design of a number of completed Villages and for Newhall Land, the developer of the Master Planned Community of Valencia.

Why should you know more about Temecula’s master planned communities? Because they add a lifestyle choice to your home choice. And in today’s real estate market they offer exceptional value.

There is a neighborhood designed just for you.

How do you know if you’re in a Master-Planned Community or simply a typical subdivision?

A master-planned community is a place where lifestyle features are integrated with a wide range of home choices. It is usually developed with specific buyers/renters in mind, and every detail in that community is designed to be attractive to that market. It’s a community in which thought is given to the future needs of the residents who are going to live there.

Master-planned communities typically have elements that define them: landscaping, environmental graphics or signage, wall treatment, lighting and architecture. They have design standards by which builders must abide. They generally offer a way of life, with amenity packages, including everything from walking trails, open space to parks and recreation centers.

Some contain public facilities – schools and sports parks and the largest approximate new cities with libraries, performing arts centers, fire and police stations and even medical clinics and hospitals – along with retail and other commercial enterprises.    Alternatively, the typical subdivision may have an occasional smaller park or recreation area, and the size of the local neighborhood will be much smaller than found in a Master-Planned Community.

While master-planned communities often incorporate many similar elements, they all are unique, expressing those commonalities differently. Every community takes on a life of its own, has its own identity.

Why do people purchase property in a master-planned community?

The lifestyle and wide choice of homes – for many this combination it is a desirable alternative to the cookie-cutter, detached globs of housing that still make up much of America’s suburban growth. Residents enjoy the sense of community that master-planned communities provide.

My planning has been directed by research that focused on consumer’s needs and aspiration. Research that show that a majority of consumers are aching for is a return to communities that embrace neighborhoods and promote social interaction as opposed to the post-World War II urban-sprawl neighborhoods that really were built more around the car.

Homes in master planned communities are often more expensive and mello roos fees and HOA fees add to the monthly cost? Is living in a master planned community worth this additional cost?

Fifty years of experience in developing successful master planned communities has shown that master-planned communities tend to hold their value. With a master-planned community, you understand what it will look like 20 years from now. Communities’ codes, covenants and regulations, how well they’re written and enforced, are the long term controls that create a HOA that is responsive to resident’s needs and protects real estate values.

Master planned communities represent a significantly higher investment than a subdivision; their development costs a minimum of ten percent more than that of a subdivision. Much of the investment/value in a master planned is easy to quantify; facilities such as clubhouses and pools and major amenities such as lakes, major parks and golf courses are obvious. But there is also value added by the quality of planning, amenities that were built with you in mind, construction that weathers the test of time and landscaping that matures into welcoming streets and parks. I know of many master planned communities that can never be duplicated again. These represent exceptional value to their residents.

This inherent value in master-planned communities makes buying a home there a better investment than purchasing outside of them. In addition, a well-planned master planned community creates values that are real benefits to buyers because they add to a very rewarding lifestyle.