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Does anyone have any information on the community Seven Bridges in Platte City (right out of city limits I think so possible platte county). Any information you can share (good or bad) would be wonderful!
Also if you have any information on Platte County R-3 school campus, that would be great too.
I'm not from that area but did a search on Seven Bridges, Platte county. This website has information on Seven Bridges community: SKW-INC - Seven Bridges MSE Bridge Headwalls (http://www.skw-inc.com/content/view/133/175/ - broken link)
Has far as the schools I guess I would do a search for Platte County schools.
Hope this helps.
It's on the southern end of the city with easy access to I-435. Platte County School is fairly large in terms of size and is more in line with suburban northland Kansas City area schools than the more rural districts (e.g. North Platte) to the north.
Last edited by MoNative34; 01-22-2008 at 11:38 AM..
Reason: sp
Seven Bridges is the newest and the most upscale neighborhood in Platte City. Although, it's really more on the outskirts of Platte City. Children from that neighborhood would go to the Platte City schools, which are wonderful! Homes here are not cookie-cutter and are gorgeous. Pretty pricey, though. My guess is no home under $400,000. The entrance to the neighboorhood is grand, with a huge sign with waterfall. There are sculptures of children at play throughout the neighborhood, and creeks and ponds. The club house is HUGE. Certainly a beautiful place.
I'm currently building a house in Seven Bridges and set to move in in June. I've been watching SB since last spring. Prior to picking SB I had seriously looked at building in Thousand Oaks (Riverside) , Running Horse and Lakes of Oakmont. I settled on SB when I saw the clubhouse amenities and found a cul-de-sac lot that backed up to one of the highly treed greenways.
Anything I say about the future is either hearsay or propaganda from the developer.
Lots run mostly in the $65-75k range. Some for $50-60k back up to highway N. Some as expensive as $87k back up to heavily treed greenspace or the various water features. Lots run about 10-17k sqft, which is about as small as you can go for these size homes. If you need a huge yard, go elsewhere. If you just don't want to back up to someone else's house, get one of the greenspace lots. Most lots will give you a walkout basement. Easily $20k (maybe $30k) of your lot price is the common amenities. If you don't care for the pools, clubhouse and walking trails, then you should look at Running Horse or Lakes of Oakmont instead. Ditto if you don't like kids, because SB is designed for active children and adults.
The development is about 1000 acres planned for about 2000 homes.
The HOA requires home value of $299-400k+ on the Orchard side and $400k+ on the Vineyard side. The actual price range seems to be $300-450k and $430-750k, respectively. You're required to have $3k+ in landscaping (plus sod) around move-in time.
Home sales are slow to this point. I count 21 homes occupied and another 5 under construction with sold signs in front (I think families started moving in last spring). There are about 40 spec and model homes available. It's a new subdivision, on the outskirts of the metro area, in the high price range, with unfinished pools. I'd expect home sales to be slow, even without the very slow economy. I've noticed a lot more shoppers around since the 1.25 point drop in interest rates last month, though. And I know of several families in nearby Lakes of Oakmont that are planning to move to SB just as soon as they can get someone to buy their current homes. But even with all that in mind, if you want to custom build on a lot that backs up to green/communal space, you need to get it soon or wait until future phases. The overwhelming majority of unsold or unreserved lots are on the interior (backs up to another lot) spaces. Those interior lots are all former farmland, so they have NO trees on them.
The lodge was finished long ago. Between the size (30k sqft) and it's location, you might mistake it for a small gradeschool. It has a very nice banquet hall (with wetbar) that seats 100 or so; I've been told someone is renting it out for a wedding (reception only?) this spring. A similar size cafeteria is below. There's a birthday party room (seats 10-15). There's an indoor basketball court. Huge fireplace and gathering area on the main floor. Another gathering area and a huge front projection TV are downstairs. There's a small weight and treadmill room. Mens' and womens' shower rooms downstairs link to the pool. A video arcade is set up, but full of either turned off or broken (old, stand up) video games. The top floor has mostly empty library type shelves along the wall and tables that flip over to poker tables. There are four public access computers for surfing the web. Don't buy any candy from the machines (gumball type); if they're full then they're jammed up. Besides, the developers usually set out free candy and sodas near the entrance.
The recreation out back is still being worked on. The tennis courts are done as well as a few basketball hoops and a shuffleboard area. The football/soccer field is done, including grass and field goal posts. There's supposed to be a childrens' playground going in, but I haven't seen any trace of it yet. Since last summer the three (two, technically) pools have been dug and concreted in, as well as most of the patio areas, but the hardware and hardscaping aren't in yet. They claim the pools will be open by June 1, 2008. Landscaping around the back of the clubhouse is hardly started. Work out back has been halted since last October or November.
The three pools are:
An olympic type lap pool with attached diving board section.
A zero-entry children's pool with fountain area.
A teen/adult pool with volcano sprayer in the middle. This is attached to the children's pool under a bridge.
There's also supposed to be a hot tub going in.
As someone else mentioned, the entryway monument is gargantuan. You then pass the back entrance to the Orchards and drive past the water system (it's far too big to be called a 'feature') and interwoven trails. Waterfalls on the north feed into a stream that flows along a bike trail under the road bridge to two ponds on the south. At a half mile in you reach the clubhouse where you finally split off to either side of the subdivision. There are lots of walking trails already in and tons more planned, including a conection to the Platte Valley trail system. Unfortunately, grass isn't growing in yet, so the trails have a lot of mud washed across them in sections.
The HOA bans chain link, plastic or wood fences (black metal picket seems standard), above-ground pools and detached structures (sheds, dog houses). Everything else is standard for a $400k+ subdivision. Yearly fees are $595 for maintainence of the common areas. Current phases are NOT maintainence-provided, so you'll have to open the phone book if you want someone to mow your lawn, shovel your driveway and paint your house.
KCI runways (3mi away) point away from SB, so airplane noise is uncommon and very low.
I hear the Platte City schools are excellent. The busses seem to drop off at the corner nearest to your house.
Platte City has been trying (unsuccessfully) to get a grocery store and small strip mall put in near 120th St and I-435 for several years. Shopping and eating out in Platte City is slim pickins, so you'll be heading down to the Zona Rosa or Legends areas for most of your shopping.
Highway D isn't plowed very well so when it snows you'll go up to Platte City to get onto I-435 instead of taking the 120th St. ramp.
SB is in unincorporated Platte City, so you don't have to pay any Platte City taxes. You're still looking at $4-5k/yr in property taxes.
The Barth brothers (developers) also started the highly successful Thousand Oaks about 7 miles to the south.
Seven Bridges is an awesome subdivision, but developers are having a hard time selling these homes and are experiencing financial difficulties. The neighborhood built amenities first, then homes second. This has come back to bite them. They have all this money sunk into awesome amenities and nobody is able to buy homes due to economic issues. If this subdivision was build 5-10 years ago, it would be a viable neighborhood, but timing has been bad for this unfortunate subdivision. Just consider the plans for the neighborhood. They plan to build up to 2000 homes, and only a small number has been built. I understand most subdivisions have "phases", but this one smells funny. A buyer could probably pick up a home in this subdivision for under "market" value, but good luck selling it later if the money is not there to support amenities. Look for association dues to go through the roof in order to maintain all the overhead. If I was in the market right now, I would look for foreclosed homes. These should be plentiful since several people unfortunately lived beyond their means and had "creative" financing to exploit their risky spending habits.
Seven Bridges is an awesome subdivision, but developers are having a hard time selling these homes and are experiencing financial difficulties. The neighborhood built amenities first, then homes second. This has come back to bite them. They have all this money sunk into awesome amenities and nobody is able to buy homes due to economic issues. If this subdivision was build 5-10 years ago, it would be a viable neighborhood, but timing has been bad for this unfortunate subdivision. Just consider the plans for the neighborhood. They plan to build up to 2000 homes, and only a small number has been built. I understand most subdivisions have "phases", but this one smells funny. A buyer could probably pick up a home in this subdivision for under "market" value, but good luck selling it later if the money is not there to support amenities. Look for association dues to go through the roof in order to maintain all the overhead. If I was in the market right now, I would look for foreclosed homes. These should be plentiful since several people unfortunately lived beyond their means and had "creative" financing to exploit their risky spending habits.
I think you have an extremely pessimistic view of the situation. The Barth brothers (developers) should have plenty of cash on hand from their continued building of Thousand Oaks. Seven Bridges only opened up to builders in 2006, so people only started moving in in 2007. To write it off as a failure already would be wildly premature. To say that they're out of money for amenities because they're not doing work now ignores the fact that it's winter. They can't put in plants; there's no point in rushing to get the pools done months before summer. My guess is that 95% of the money needed for the early phase amenities has already been spent. Who gives up that close to the finish line?
What's left to do? The pools need water, pumps, filters and some aesthetic doodads. The patio on the back of the clubhouse is about half done. Install a hot tub, playground equipment and fence. Finish the outdoor concession buildings. Plant trees and bushes. Sod and seed a lot of grass. It could all be easily done by June. MAYBE they wait a year on the hottub and playground. MAYBE they scale the landscaping back from over-the-top to simply pretty. But considering that the amenities are the selling point, I highly doubt it.
As far as timing, they're actually ahead of the curve, not behind it. The rapid growth in Platte City is why they picked the location. Lakes of Oakmont ($300-500k) is close to full and Running Horse ($250-300k and selling quickly) lots are too small to fit homes this size. In hindsight, they should have waited 2-3 years before starting SB, but they'll just have to ride out the downturn. There's a growing market for this price range in PC, and SB is ready to fill it. And last summer when the housing slowdown was the worst, they pushed on and did lots of landscaping and built the pools and patio out back. If they were going to bail, that was the time, not now when interest rates are dropping.
The slow home sales are to be expected, even without the market downturn. The lot prices have a premium of about $20k over similar lots in Platte City in subdivisions that have scant amenities. Since the amenities aren't very usable yet, the value TODAY isn't apparent. When I first came through SB, I made the mistake of thinking 'this area is pretty, but not $20k pretty'. You have to get out of your car and walk a half a mile to see everything you're getting.
If you're worried about HOA dues, I direct you to the Barth brothers track record in Thousand Oaks. TO is about 15 years old, also 1000 acres planned for 2000 homes. TO also features lots of greenspace, but nowhere near the clubhouse/pool amenities of SB. They're still about 1000 homes shy of being full. Their HOA dues are still just $495/year. I'd be highly shocked if they shot themselves in the foot by jacking up the dues, as it would guarantee the death of the subdivision and reflect badly on TO.
As for picking up a used ($350+) home far below market, go ahead and try. I unsuccessfully worked that angle for a year. The KC area never had a housing bubble; it just had a construction bubble where the builders were able to keep up with demand. There're a lot of homes available, but they're priced just barely below their construction cost. Nobody is willing to back off their asking price. And foreclosures in this price range are rarer than you would think. People in this price range aren't breaking the bank just to be able to afford the house they need. They're blowing their extra spending cash on extra guest rooms, home offices, home theaters, extra garage stalls and high end interior finishes. And they don't do stupid things like getting 50 year loans or three year arms when rates are at record lows. Even if they do see their rates go up, it just means they take their kids to Disney World instead of Euro Disney this year, or they eat at Olive Garden instead of Bravo!, drive a Toyota instead of BMW, and cancel the mowing and housecleaning service.
As for who's hurting, it's probably the builders. Not so much because the models are sitting unsold. These are high end, award winning Parade of Homes homes. They likely get the appliances, high end toys and luxury finishes on loan or steeply discounted until the house is sold since these homes act as advertising. They probably don't have to pay for the lot until the house sells. The typical builder in SB only has 2-3 spec or model homes for 'sale'. They're just hurting for the obvious reason that they're only selling a fourth as many homes as they were five years ago.
Keep a few things in mind: The first families only started moving in last summer. PC only has a population of about 4000 people. SB will probably house 8000 people when it's full. It'll likely take 30 years to get there. SB is just leaving the starting line.
Thank you for all your information. Since I originally posted, we have decided to move to SB. We have our builder picked out (Garrett Construction) and have already met with him. We actually meet with him again tomorrow (here at our current home) to go over more details.
We do have our current home on the market so as soon as it sells we will be ready to make our move to SB. I can tell you already that we are very impressed with the whole experience so far. I too heard rumors about SB going downhill and contacted one of the Realtors in the office about it. She assured me, that it was NOT true and they were just rumors. And later that day I received a phone call from John Barth himself who also assured me that the rumors were not true. He wanted to know who I heard it from so he could contact them and set the record straight as well. He also said that the community and clubhouse are both debt free.
So we are excited about the move and hoping it comes sooner then later. We are building on the Vineyard side and are trying to decide between lot 124 and 122. We really want a lot that backs to greenspace and as you said, there isn't many of them left in the open phases.
We have our builder picked out (Garrett Construction)[...]
We are [...] trying to decide between lot 124 and 122. We really want a lot that backs to greenspace and as you said, there isn't many of them left in the open phases.
I like Garrett's work. Their spec house up the street at 12700 is georgeous. We like them, Casa Bella and Jay Jackson the best. We settled on Jay Jackson, mostly because we like the Madison plan so much (with a few modifications). We're currently building on lot 131 (the other cul-de-sac off Overbrook).
If you want a wall of trees behind you, I'd skip on 122. At least half of the trees on 122 are actually on your property, so you'll have to cut some of them down to build your home. On the SW side, you butt up against a lot in a future phase, so some of the trees on that lot will suffer the same fate. The west side is reserved greenspace that contains about 50 feet of tree depth, so those are the only ones truly protected. Lot 121 to the SE will have very few trees left and butts up against future lots in back, so keep that view in mind. If you just want to go hiking along (or through) the creek, you're fine. Bring a machete in the summer; it's thick.
Lot 124 is slightly cheaper and bigger and the greenspace behind it has a solid 100 feet of trees. If you can fit the house you want on it, I'd go with this one.
It may be worth asking if you can get lot 129 (or maybe 128) as well. It's had a builder hold on it since last summer, but no activity other than taking down the builder sign.
Keep in mind with the trees that you'll probably have to clear anything within 20-25 feet of the foundation, and 10-15 feet from your deck and patio. Anything closer risks getting stressed from root damage and dropping dead branches (or falling) on the house. We lost everything within 95 feet of the curb. We still have 35+ feet of tree depth on our property alone, but there were three large trees that were disappointing to lose. But in our case, there's still 2-300 feet of treed greenspace behind us in every direction.
Did John give you an update on when the pools and everything behind the clubhouse will be done? Or when work starts up again? It'd be nice to hear something closer to the source.
I like Garrett's work. Their spec house up the street at 12700 is georgeous. We like them, Casa Bella and Jay Jackson the best. We settled on Jay Jackson, mostly because we like the Madison plan so much (with a few modifications). We're currently building on lot 131 (the other cul-de-sac off Overbrook).
If you want a wall of trees behind you, I'd skip on 122. At least half of the trees on 122 are actually on your property, so you'll have to cut some of them down to build your home. On the SW side, you butt up against a lot in a future phase, so some of the trees on that lot will suffer the same fate. The west side is reserved greenspace that contains about 50 feet of tree depth, so those are the only ones truly protected. Lot 121 to the SE will have very few trees left and butts up against future lots in back, so keep that view in mind. If you just want to go hiking along (or through) the creek, you're fine. Bring a machete in the summer; it's thick.
Lot 124 is slightly cheaper and bigger and the greenspace behind it has a solid 100 feet of trees. If you can fit the house you want on it, I'd go with this one.
It may be worth asking if you can get lot 129 (or maybe 128) as well. It's had a builder hold on it since last summer, but no activity other than taking down the builder sign.
Keep in mind with the trees that you'll probably have to clear anything within 20-25 feet of the foundation, and 10-15 feet from your deck and patio. Anything closer risks getting stressed from root damage and dropping dead branches (or falling) on the house. We lost everything within 95 feet of the curb. We still have 35+ feet of tree depth on our property alone, but there were three large trees that were disappointing to lose. But in our case, there's still 2-300 feet of treed greenspace behind us in every direction.
Did John give you an update on when the pools and everything behind the clubhouse will be done? Or when work starts up again? It'd be nice to hear something closer to the source.
I hear that a lot of development is occuring outside of Platte City (city) limits right now. Do you think that Platte City will incorporate those areas over time, or will they have a seperate identity? You mention that the neighborhoods are mostly upscale. However, I think the majority of new home construction is very cookie cutter. I don't get why they build stucco exterior houses in the Central Plains/Midwest region due to climate.
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Awesome, but no money
