McWhinney and Mountain Cowboy Brewing Co. announced the opening of Mountain Cowboy’s Loveland location, situated within Centerra’s new Kinston Hub—a central gathering place for all things fellowship and neighborly communion in the up-and-coming Kinston residential lifestyle community. Mountain Cowboy is opening its taproom this Saturday to the Loveland community and guests from surrounding areas.
The original Mountain Cowboy, which opened in Frederick in 2017, is known for drawing the community together, whether it’s guests gathering for conversation over freshly roasted coffee Friday mornings or music enthusiasts congregating over cold beers during open mic night. Entrepreneurial owners and Loveland residents Michelle and Ron Yovich are passionate not only about community engagement but also about farming and sourcing local products. For both locations, they roast their own coffee beans and grow their own hops for brewing. In honor of their newest taproom they created Kinston Kolsch, a beer that will be served exclusively at the Kinston Hub.
“We are honored to be partnering with McWhinney at the Kinston Hub and thrilled to be opening a second location in northern Colorado, especially since we are Loveland residents,” said Ron Yovich. “We are excited for the community to develop around us; we’ve been fortunate to influence the design of this new space to create a warm, inviting place for everyone to gather. We hope local residents and guests will come to enjoy and fall in love with our crafted beer, fresh roasted coffee, handmade baked goods and delicious snacks, and come to think of us as one of their top community go-to spots where everyone is welcome.”
Kinston is McWhinney’s newest residential village located on 625 acres on the east side of I-25 within Centerra’s award-winning master-planned community in Loveland. At full buildout, Kinston plans to deliver an estimated 2,800 homes oriented around parks and trails to help support the growing demand for northern Colorado residents. Kinston’s first phase of amenities include outdoor lounge areas, a splash pad, fire pits, demonstration gardens and interactive art. Single-family model homes are slated to open summer 2022 starting in the $500,000s. Kinston Commons, which will be the central amenity campus in phase two, is planned to include a fitness/yoga studio, a swimming pool and an outdoor amphitheater.
“We are proud to offer northern Colorado homebuyers and guests a new place to gather that connects to nearby community amenities, offers a spectacular mountain backdrop and provides opportunities to unwind, whether it’s a before-work coffee, an after-work drink or a weekend hangout spot to catch up with friends, family and neighbors,” said Abby Kirkbride, McWhinney vice president of community development. “We are thrilled to partner with Ron and Michelle Yovich of Mountain Cowboy to share a new Centerra hangout and welcome our newest residents to Centerra.”
Mountain Cowboy hours of operation are slated to be Tuesday – Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and closed on Monday. For more information, please visit https://mountaincowboybrewing.com/.
McWhinney and AHV Communities (AHV) announced they will be co-developing Built-for-Rent® homes at McWhinney’s 1,100-acre Baseline community in Broomfield, and at Kinston, within its 3,000-acre Centerra master-planned community in Loveland. McWhinney and AHV Communities solidified their Built-for-Rent® partnership this month and expect to break ground on 240 homes within Centerra’s Kinston community this year and have plans to deliver 242 homes at Baseline.
“In Colorado’s extremely competitive home-buying market, built-for-rent homes are a great option for those who aren’t ready to buy or need something larger than an apartment home,” said Ray Pittman, President & CEO at McWhinney. “We’re excited to partner and develop these new home offerings with AHV Communities. They have a strong track record of creating quality rental homes across numerous states, and together we will provide new options for future residents interested in our highly sought-after Baseline and Centerra master-planned communities.”
Baseline plans to offer the Finley rental townhome in Parkside West located east of Sheridan Boulevard. The Finley floor plan averages just under 1,400 square feet and is anticipated to open in early 2023. A second built-to-rent home option, the Grayson floor plan, averaging 1,800 square feet is anticipated to be available late 2023.
Baseline serves as Colorado’s first Pollinator District™ and is prominently located at the junction of I-25, Northwest Parkway (E-470) and Highway 7/Baseline Road in Broomfield. Baseline is quickly evolving as a new economic mixed-use community that completes the Denver/Boulder triangle. McWhinney’s development plans call for approximately 9,200 home options and up to 8 million square feet of commercial at full build out.
Kinston has plans to launch the VellaTerra paired-home floor plan offering approximately 1,345 square feet of space and is anticipated to be available early 2023. Kinston is McWhinney’s newest residential village located on the east side of the award-winning, Centerra master-planned community in Loveland. At full buildout, Kinston plans to deliver 2,800 estimated home sites to help meet the growing demand for northern Colorado residents and will become a part of Centerra’s Certified National Wildlife community.
“Our team is excited to co-develop these new communities along the Front Range with McWhinney,” said Mark Wolf, founder and CEO of AHV Communities. “Not only will these two new communities help address heightened demand for quality rentals in the region, but they also mark our company’s entrance and expansion into the Colorado market, as well as highlight the heightened activity within our current $1.2 billion pipeline, which encompasses 15 communities and 3,000 units across numerous states.” The Finley and Grayson at Baseline and VellaTerra at Centerra Built-for-Rent® home communities will be AHV‘s first in Colorado. Like all AHV Communities, the rental homes will be managed and maintained onsite to ensure top customer service to prospective and current residents. Additionally, each community will be outfitted with an enviable suite of onsite, exclusive amenities including a pool, fitness center and a community center to gather. Additional amenities spread across the communities are planned to include outdoor spaces and game courts, barbeque and picnic areas, spa jacuzzies, bike rooms and conference rooms.
Climate Change highlights the need to conserve water in Colorado.
The Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) has awarded Centerra, a 3,000 acre master-planned community in Loveland, the state’s first ALCC Sustainable Landscape Community (SLC) designation recognizing the community’s commitment to water conservation and sustainability.
To increase water conservation in managed landscapes, ALCC, Colorado’s largest green trade group, created the Sustainable Landscape Management (SLM) program to educate public and private landscape professionals on sustainable, water-conserving landscape management principles. Based on best management practices (BMPs), SLM guidelines systematically reduce water consumption and plant loss in landscapes. SLC is an extension of SLM and recognizes large water users, including master-planned and HOA communities, commercial properties/sites and retail properties for using SLM guidelines.
Hotter drier weather, declining snowpack and lower river flows has brought water conservation to the forefront. Cities and water utility providers are looking to reduce water use and landscape water waste. Through its sustainability programs, ALCC is ensuring the landscape industry is part of the solution by reducing outdoor irrigation while keeping landscapes healthy and providing environmental benefit. Landscape irrigation uses about 3% of the total water used in Colorado.
According to ALCC Chief Executive Officer John McMahon, sustainable landscapes are responsive to the environment, re-generative and can actively contribute to healthy communities. Sustainable landscapes sequester carbon, clean the air and water; increase energy efficiency; reduce the heat island effect; and provide wildlife habitat.
“We need to use the least amount of water needed to keep landscapes healthy by using proven and vetted best management practices,” said McMahon. “Centerra’s SLC designation and sustainable landscape practices will serve as a model for other Colorado communities wanting to use less water.”
Centerra is honored to become the first community in Colorado to receive ALCC’s SLC designation and demonstrates our commitment to sustainable landscape practices and ongoing water conservation,” said Kim Perry, vice president of community design and neighborhood development at McWhinney. “We are not only cutting water use significantly, we are seeing major cost savings as well.”
Centerra has continued to reduce water consumption over the years and in 2020, compared the costs of installing, maintaining, and watering a native landscape area versus a manicured turf area. The native landscape was three times less than installing and maintaining a manicured landscape. Utility (primarily water) costs for a native landscaped area were an incredible twenty times less expensive that watering manicured turf.
“Creating and managing landscapes for aesthetic purposes alone is no longer an option if we are to conserve our native pollinators and the birds that are directly dependent on them,” said Jim Tolstrup, Executive Director of High Plains Environmental Center. “We must create and manage landscapes for their habitat potential, as well as for their aesthetic value. Indiscriminately destroying insects, or interrupting their life cycles, is counter to the goals of habitat friendly landscaping maintenance practices. The distinction of Centerra being acknowledged as the first ‘sustainable landscape community’ in Colorado is a reflection of practices that have been implemented within this community for well over a decade.”
In 2021, Centerra approached ALCC through the relationship they have with various ALCC member companies. Several ALCC member companies that support Centerra, including Brightview and Environmental Designs, have supported SLM since its inception. Because of Centerra’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, ALCC decided to pilot the Sustainable Landscape Community designation with the master-planned community.
Centerra applied for the designation, detailing how the landscape is maintained sustainably (based on practices dictated in the SLM training manual and photos of the site, which are also required). ALCC also requires that the landscape company doing the work on the property have at least one SLM designee on staff.
“Both the landscape industry and master-planned communities like Centerra are proactively seeking ways to reduce water use through sustainable landscape management practices,” said McMahon. “We want every landscape professional in the state who maintains landscapes to increase water conservation and reduce plant loss by following the same standards for landscape maintenance, using the same blueprint.”
That blueprint is a 125-page manual entitled Sustainable Landscape Management: A Guide to More Sustainable Landscapes in Colorado. It defines the proper maintenance practices to conserve resources and maximize the natural beauty of Colorado landscapes. The manual was drafted from input by landscape companies, municipalities, water providers and property managers from across the state, including the City of Centennial, the City of Greenwood Village, Northern Water, Denver Water, the Denver Metro Building Office Managers Association (BOMA), Colorado Parks and Recreation and the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
“Sustainable landscape practices require year-round maintenance, which some master-planned communities see as cost-prohibitive. But in the long run, they will save money by using less water, reducing utility bills and ensuring they don’t have to replace trees – one of the largest landscape expenses – because they were poorly planted and not properly maintained,” said McMahon.
