Wolf Creek residents praise luxury, quality homes

When Bob Wright and his wife were looking for a new home, he wanted to concentrate the search in Overland Park and Olathe. But his wife persuaded him to “just take a look” at the Estates of Wolf Creek in Spring Hill.

“My wife knew (builder and developer) Bob Garver and she wanted me to see his homes,” Wright recalled. “I didn’t want to be that far out, but we went to take a look. I was surprised at how close Wolf Creek really is and I was even more impressed with the quality of the homes and the price. I wrote a check for a deposit that day and I haven’t looked back.”

In fact, after living in Wolf Creek for a year, Wright couldn’t be happier. “I’ve owned five homes and this is the best one yet. I don’t plan on ever owning another home, but if I do decide at some point to move, it will be into another home in Wolf Creek. I love it here.”

And just exactly what does Wright love about Wolf Creek? He cites a number of things. First and foremost is his home, a two-story Savannah plan by Robert Garver Builders.

“When we visited Wolf Creek, Bob took us around to show us a number of homes under construction and I was impressed with the quality of work from the inside out,” Wright said. “I also was amazed at the number of standard features for the price — features that other builders consider upgrades that add a huge cost to the home. We even have granite in the master bathroom. We’d looked all over — in Leawood, Overland Park and Olathe — and a home with this much space and these features would easily cost $75,000 to $100,000 more in any of those communities.”

The standard features in Wolf Creek homes that usually are upgrades in other communities include granite counter tops, hardwood floors in the entry and kitchen, tiled bathrooms, wrought-iron staircase spindles, extensive stone trim, in-ground sprinkler system, silent floor system and energy-efficient heat pump. Each gourmet kitchen features stainless steel appliances, center island, large pantry and custom alder cabinets.

Another plus to Wolf Creek is having Wolf Creek Elementary School right in the neighborhood and Spring Hill High School just down the street. “We really like that,” Wright said.

Both schools are in the highly acclaimed Spring Hill School District. Wolf Creek Elementary has an average class size of 21 students and more than 98 percent of the parents last year participated in the fall and winter parent-teacher conferences. The Watch D.O.G.S. program, designed to encourage fathers to volunteer at the school, was so popular that it had a waiting list of dads eager to help out and the Parent-Teacher Organization experienced high participation.

The Spring Hill School District has earned 26 Standard of Excellence Awards and two Governor’s Achievement awards.

Unexpected benefits of living in Wolf Creek, Wright discovered, are the neighborhood itself and the residents. “You get to know your neighbors really quickly,” he said. “Some of them are retired and they are home during the day, which is nice because they look out for the neighborhood. We’ve had two neighborhood picnics and people get together for game nights. This is where I want my kids to grow up. People really care about each other.”

Another resident, Jennifer Blann who moved to Wolf Creek right after Christmas, echoed many of Wright’s comments. “This is our second time building with Mr. Garver,” she said. “We built our first house 11 years ago and loved it, but just grew out of it. We looked at Wolf Creek because we loved the location and then we really fell in love with our floor plan. When we discovered Robert Garver was the builder, we knew we’d found the right home.”

Having the elementary school within the community also is important to Blann. “Our two boys go to the grade school and they’ve had nothing but positive experiences,” she said. “We came from a different school district and all the teachers here, the staff, the principal are so much better. We absolutely love the school.”

The Blann family also has made extensive use of Wolf Creek’s amenities, using the pool and cabana in the summer, enjoying the adjacent playground and fishing in the five-acre lake. A second pool and clubhouse are in the planning stages.

Blann said the Estates of Wolf Creek is near everything her family needs. “I didn’t realize how convenient it is until we were living here. It’s only eight minutes to Target, 20 minutes to 119th and Metcalf. It doesn’t take long to get anywhere when running errands.”

Wolf Creek is only eight minutes from shopping on 151st street and Olathe Medical Center, eight minutes from Garmin headquarters and 10 minutes from shopping at 119th and Strang Line Road. Hillsdale Lake, Heritage Park and Sycamore Ridge Golf Course are also nearby. The community is near access to U.S. 69 and U.S. 169 highways, allowing residents to quickly reach all parts of the metropolitan area.

Those who want to see what Wright and Blann so highly praise can visit the Estates of Wolf Creek to select one of the 13 inventory homes in various stages of completion by Robert Garver Builders, Wolf Creek Homes LLC and Kelly Dunn Construction. These homes include two-story, 11/2-story and reverse ranch plans.

Or they may want to select one of the 15 walkout, lake home sites that will be available for building by spring. Reservations for these premium sites are now available.

Mitch Holthus, the voice of the Chiefs, is now the voice of the Estates of Wolf Creek, creating even more excitement for this community. You can get updates on the Estates during Chiefs Game Day and Chiefs Kingdom Mondays from 6 to 7 p.m. on 101 the Fox.

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Wolf Creek residents praise luxury, quality homes."