Estates of Highland Ridge: A new subdivision with established amenities

When Prieb Homes started building homes in the Estates of Highland Ridge subdivision, the idea was to take many of the amenities of a million-dollar home and put them into homes for a lower cost.

The two-story, five-bedroom, four-bathroom and three-car garage homes range from $300,000 to the low $400,000s.

Nestled in picturesque western Shawnee near K-7, Estates of Highland Ridge offers home buyers walkout basements, private, secluded treed lots and so much more.

“I always find it as a quiet little secret,” said Marti Lilja, an agent for Reece & Nichols. “It is surrounded by already existing homes. It has a lot of attractive elements. It already has a pool here. It has established trees here. It is a really nice, growing community that has families that already live here.”

Images of people walking to the pool and children riding bikes from one home to another remains strong in Lilja’s mind when she recalls what she saw last summer as she showed some of the newly built homes at the Estates of Highland Ridge.

Right away, Lilja felt a sense of calm, seeing so many people in a new subdivision enjoying the summer sun.

“It is a great subdivision to move into if you want a secure neighborhood,” she said. “There are a lot of people here who have children or enjoy children. It is fun to see everybody outside as a community comes together.

“You usually don’t put the pool in until the very end. It was nice the pool here is already in and up and going. A lot of people want to see the physical pool. If you say you are going to have a pool, great, but you actually want to see the pool. You don’t want to wait two years before the pool goes in.”

People who have viewed and bought homes in Estates of Highland Ridge love the colors, the brightness, the craftsmanship and the ceilings, Lilja said. Prieb Homes puts a lot of emphasis on details – small details that you might not think matter, but add up to a high-quality home.

“If you walk around the perimeter of the subdivision, it is lined with trees,” Lilja said. “That is what was so spectacular and what we love about this neighborhood. You don’t have house backed up to house backed up to house. You have beautiful yards that are filled with these trees that have already been here. The homes come with covered patios. It is very outdoorsy.”

Prieb Homes built five different styles of homes in various colors, making sure it wasn’t a cookie-cutter type of neighborhood in which all the homes look the same.

People like to be somewhere where everything is not the same. That was the thinking of Prieb Homes as it completed phase two of Estates of Highland Ridge and is now working on phase three.

“Inside the house, at the base price, it includes granite counter tops, tile floors in the bathrooms, hardwood floors and iron spindles,” Lilja said. “They have a mix of new painted cabinets, which has a craftsman look.”

Currently, there are six homes available in Estates of Highland Ridge that you can move into now. Five homes are ready to start construction.

“We started off with 10, sold four and are down to six,” Lilja said. “We are trying to put them up as fast as we can.”

Spring is the perfect time to buy homes. The weather is warming up, and the school year is nearing the end, making it easier to move if you have children.

Also, the annual Spring Parade of Homes by the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City takes place from April 23 to May 8.

“It benefits a lot of people because clients can come out and view houses during that time and show what is going on in the Johnson County area or the Metro area in general,” Lilja said. “Prieb always participates in putting houses on the parade.”

Prieb Homes is building in several other locations in Johnson County. One, Highland Ridge Crossing, is next to Estates of Highland Ridge. The homes are similar.

“Those houses run in the $330,000 to $350,000 range,” Lilja said. “They are like these houses, but a little square footage was shaved off to make it more affordable for people who can’t reach that higher price range. Eight homes are currently under construction.”

Both subdivisions are located in the De Soto school district.

“It is also really close to K-7, but far enough away that it is quiet, and still close enough where you can jump on the highway and go anywhere you want. New retail was just built on Shawnee Mission Parkway and K-7.”

Another subdivision that Prieb Homes is working on is Woodland Manor, which is off K-10 and Woodland Road in the Olathe School District.

Prieb Homes just started its second phase, which has 38 lots. Eleven houses are in the process of being built and approximately 120 days from being completed.

There will be two more phases after the second phase. The third phase will open in the spring of 2017, which will consist of 26 lots, and the fourth phase will have 30 lots. The prices range from $370,000 to $440,000.

The homes in Woodland Manor are similar to the ones in Estates of Highland Ridge.

Woodland Manor is secluded between an estate lot community and the Stone Pillar Vineyard & Winery. It enjoys access to a community-exclusive walking trail that connects to Olathe Schools, grades K-12. It is close to grocery stores and retail shopping, with easy highway access. Large lots with cul-de-sacs, a community pool and walking trails make for a true community atmosphere.

“Prieb is good at trying to keep the established trees that were already there, characteristics that people can keep forever with their house,” Lilja said.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 6:08 PM.