By Mark Samuelson

McStain Neighborhoods was a “green” builder long before their creative homes became a hit at green-minded Stapleton. Today you can come tour three McStain models designed on a concept so appealing that 80% of them sold out at Stapleton before anybody got a look inside.

Quite a few of those people purchasing McStain’s Penthouse Row Homes have come from inside Stapleton itself – buyers who are stepping up in size and features, getting closer to the newest parks, while keeping their access to all of the restaurants and shopping.

If that’s your own plan, you don’t have a lot of time to look. McStain has only seven row homes left, all of them facing Xenia Street, where they’e parted by a pretty street lawn. “On Saturday morning, everybody’s out there socializing with a cup of coffee and their dog,” says Brian Karpowich, Team Leader for McStain at Penthouse Row Homes.

Those quick sales, meanwhile, happened in an off-year, real estate-wise; but Karpowich says Stapleton, the master-planned community created from Denver’s former airport, is a “microclimate” that’s logged 3%-to-5% home appreciation right through the bad weather. This particular neighborhood is directly adjacent to new, 80-acre Central Park; and Karpowich says that makes for a limited opportunity.

“These plans really speak to people,” Karpowich told me as we sat out on the big, outdoor terrace above the 2,800-foot “Grove” model (only one of those is left!). “When they walk in they’re buzzed by how well these work for their day-to-day life.” Each has two outdoor living spaces, a terrific master, big appealing kitchen with big counter bar, 2-car attached garage, an option for finished space on a day-lighted garden level, and a low-maintenance lifestyle.

There’s another reason to look now: Interest rates are still hovering in the fives and sixes. “I attended a seminar where they asked us to raise our hands if we’d ever owned a house at an interest rate higher than ten percent,” Karpowich recalled. “About half of us had. So why not lock in on a 30-year note at these kinds of rates?”

On these final seven homes, McStain will sweeten the deal even more with financing options that are created around your own needs: Maybe something payment oriented, or a specific rate, or….

If you’re coming from Stapleton, you can walk north through Central Park and pick up a couple of bottles of water for your trip back, plus a few biscuits for your dog.