Have horse, buy house and ride at Bridle Hill Estates

SEVERANCE — Horse lovers will soon be able to live in a residential community focused on the equestrian lifestyle in Bridle Hill Estates.

“It’s pretty much an equestrian community,´ said Jeff Crowley, Fort Collins resident and managing partner of a group of investors who are developing the 320-acre property at the northeast corner of Colorado Highways 14 and 257.

“There are riding trails and we’re building an on-site horse-boarding facility where people can actually buy a stall and own it, kind of like a horse condominium.”

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Current plans call for 74 lots split between half-acre home-only estate lots and larger equestrian lots ranging from 2.5 to 5 acres. The project, which broke ground in late September, also includes approximately 70 duplex townhomes. Single-family lots will range from $179,500 to $229,000, according to Crowley.

But the focus of the development will be squarely on equestrian living, Crowley said. “We pretty much envision it’ll be upscale and oriented toward the equestrian community,” he said. “It’ll kind of be like an equestrian country club out there.”

Interest in the development has been strong, according to Julie Perich, who’s handling lot sales for The Group Inc. “We’ve got about half the lots under contract already,” she said.

“All of the lots back up to a greenbelt.”

Equestrian lifestyle for all

Crowley said equestrian lot buyers will have plenty of room for a barn and a corral for their horses. But even the half-acre buyers can take part in the equestrian life, he noted.

“On the half-acre lots, somebody can build a home and still buy stalls (at the boarding facility) for one or more horses and board them in a professional environment and own the space. It’s really designed to make equestrian living more simple and easy.”

And more affordable, added Crowley, who works at 1st City Mortgage in Fort Collins. “I have financed a lot of properties for equestrian people but the amenities have become very expensive. We’re trying to create an equestrian environment that has affordability.”

A centerpiece of the development — if all goes as planned — is Saddler Arena, a commercial event center that would include up to 600 overnight horse stalls for horse shows and competitions.

Crowley said the development will have a dual water supply with potable water for residents and non-potable water for irrigation “so it always stays green.”

Another highlight of the development is Windsong Estate event center, which will focus on weddings but also be available for business gatherings, meetings and parties. Kenji and Connie Matsuda plan to build a 14,800-square-foot facility that will accommodate up to 300 people and offer breathtaking views of the mountains to the west.

“What we liked about the site is that place is supposedly the highest place in Weld County and the views from there are really good,” Kenji Matsuda said. “Plus, it sounds like the equestrian center is going to be a world-class place with lots of meetings that might use our facility, so we think it’s going to be a good partnership.”

Matsuda said he hopes the center will open “sometime in late 2007.”

Crowley said plans for Bridle Hill also call for other commercial development along Colorado 14, including a restaurant and small hotel. “I just think it makes sense to have some kind of small hotel out there.”

Severance jumped to annex

The development site is about five miles east of Fort Collins and about the same distance north of Windsor. But the property is annexed into Severance, which is about seven miles to the southeast.

Crowley said the site is part of Severance because the rapidly growing Weld County town jumped at the chance to have it. “They were real interested in having this project in their growth management area,” he said. “At the time we went to Windsor they were inundated with development requests and said it would probably be a long time before they got to it.”  

John Holdren, Severance town manager, said the site was annexed in 2004. He said the project holds great promise for Severance to be its biggest single source of sales and property tax revenues.

“It very well could be,” he said. “We’ve been really looking forward to this.”

Joining Crowley as partners in the project are Fort Collins residents Terry Hartlieb, Mick Occhiato and Harve Thompson and Dwain Immel of Denver. Other investment partners, who wish to remain anonymous, are from Texas, he said.

Crowley, who’s spent the last six years putting the development deal together, said he believes there is a strong demand for this kind of residential community.

“I have seen the horse become the new Harley-Davidson of the baby boomer crowd,” he said. “There’s a passion about horses that you don’t have with a lot of hobbies.”