Joanne Graves describes her neighborhood as spacious. Carli Walker calls hers muddy but beautiful with a diversity of homes. And Brooke Smith calls her neighborhood peaceful.
Graves, Walker and Smith are all residents of the Forest Lakes subdivision, an eclectic residential area just north of Bayfield that was established in 1973.
Smith and Walker didn’t want to live in the neighborhood at first because of things they had heard about the subdivision. But once they saw how scenic and affordable the homes were, they quickly changed their minds.
“I didn’t initially want to move to Forest Lakes, but now I love it,” Walker said.
Walker purchased a 1,600-square-foot home in October with her husband and two sons. At $235,000, home prices in Forest Lakes were more affordable than Durango, she said.
It already was a difficult transition for Walker to move from Chicago to Durango, and she didn’t want to move to “the middle of nowhere.” But her house turned out to be everything she could have wanted for the price, she said.
Her street, she said, has more of a “builder” look where the houses are similar, she said. But, it also has more of a neighborhood feel where her children, who attend school in the Bayfield School District, are able to play in the street with other neighborhood kids.
The neighborhood is very diverse, and every street is different, she said. Some streets have big houses on one-acre lots while others have small, odd houses and modular homes.
Though she loves the neighborhood, she’d still like to change a few things.
Because Forest Lakes is so isolated, restaurants don’t make deliveries, and that’s been a difficult adjustment for her, she said.
The roads are unorganized and they don’t always connect to one another. They also tend to get muddy when it rains or snows. The neighborhood has a centralized mailbox, which isn’t always convenient. The neighborhood is not set up to use natural gas. Instead, everyone has a propane tank, which is more expensive.
Walker also finds going into Durango or even nearby Bayfield can be inconvenient.
Still, she loves her home and does not regret her decision.
Graves also is a fan of the subdivision.
She lives in a 2,300-square-foot home that sits on about three acres of land in a more isolated part of the subdivision.
Graves’s home was purchased in 1990 by her ex-husband for about $56,000, and she has lived there for 12 years.
In that time, she has seen the subdivision change and grow.
In her part of the subdivision – where lots are 1 acre or larger – Graves said she feels like she’s always on vacation. The nearby lake offers fly fishing, and she enjoys being surrounded by the San Juan National Forest, she said.
Her isolation also offers another advantage, she said.
In the more closely packed neighborhood areas, one dog’s barking can set off other dogs.
Price was a big draw for Smith, who purchased her 2,500-square-foot home for $197,000 about 10 years ago to accommodate her growing family.
“The price is what really brought us here,” she said.
She loves the fact her children can play with other children in the neighborhood, she said.
Smith even loves the commute back and forth to her job at the Pine River Library in Bayfield.
She does have some complaints, though. For one, Smith wishes there was a major grocery chain store in the subdivision. She also would like to have a natural gas hookup.
Heavy storms also can be a problem in the subdivision, with power outages often lasting for days.
Bonnie Unis, broker-associate with Re/Max Pinnacle who works primarily out of Bayfield, said the Forest Lakes subdivision initially was built to accommodate small vacation homes.
It has since grown with homes ranging in price from $189,000 to $975,000.
“It’s one of the biggest subdivisions in La Plata County,” Unis said.
Unis said she likes that the neighborhood has a wide range of homes such as smaller single-family homes to homes built on an acre or more. It’s a popular option for families looking for an affordable home and for families looking to live in a more picturesque area surrounded by pine trees and nature, she said.
So far, there are 780 homes and 1,000 lots in the subdivision. Last year, 57 homes were sold in the subdivision. There were 50 sales in 2013, Unis said.
And as the economy slowly picks up, she expects more families will build in the subdivision because of the affordability of the lots. Of the 50 lots available, the prices range from $6,000 to $74,900, depending on lot size, and water and sewage availability.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
Forest Lakes facts
Subdivision established: 1973
Number of homes: 780
Number of lots 1,000
Home prices: $189,000 to $975,000
Lot prices: $6,000 to $74,900
Source: Bonnie Unis, broker-associate with Re/Max Pinnacle
