THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
F R I D AY , S E P T E M B E R 1, 2 017
NEWHOMECENTRAL.COM
NH1
A S P E C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N C R E AT E D B Y R E P U B L I C M E D I A C U S T O M P U B L I S H I N G
WHAT’S INSIDE
2
September 2017
4
GRAND OPENINGS, HONORS, AWARDS Jackson Patterson Via Serenity Fulton Ranch
SEARCH
Home Locator Maps
INFILL COMMUNITIES Michael Duerinckx, INCKX Photography
Visit NewHomecentral.com for communities, home listings, home tour videos and more. See pages 5, 6 & 7
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MONTH
Talking Rock Ranch
Talking Rock Ranch
By The True Life Companies and Harvard Investments Set at an elevation of 5,000 feet, Talking Rock Ranch is a 3,600-acre luxury-home gated community offering a casual western lifestyle in a rural setting. Just minutes from Prescott, Talking Rock offers the option of building a custom home on a home-site or selecting from eight predesigned floor plans. The Ranch Cottages by TDLC Development feature four floor plans starting at 1,960 square-feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The largest — at 2,555 square-feet — has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. All include an attached two-car garage. Optional casitas are available as well as a three-car garage on select home-sites. Cooper Ranch homes, also by TDLC, offers four floor plans on larger lots. Homes start at 2,499 square-feet with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and go up to 2,629 square-feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. All have attached two-car garages. Talking Rock Ranch also has a wide selection of custom home-sites that range from one-half to more than two acres and offer views of the surrounding valley, scenic golf course or mountain vistas. The newest release in Talking Rock Ranch, Cooper Hawk Ridge, offers home-sites up to two acres with select home-sites featuring premium golf course views. Talking Rock Ranch amenities include the Jay Morrish-designed and Troon Prive-managed championship golf course that intertwines through more than 1,000 acres of preserved open space offering expansive views of Arizona’s high country. The community centers around the Ranch Compound which includes the Bar & Grill, Coop’s Coffeehouse, the Barn Fitness Center, a heated pool and spa, bocce ball courts, a tennis court and a basketball court. The community is about a 20 minute drive from downtown Prescott and approximately 90 minutes from Phoenix.
Getty Images
Smart choices
What’s hot — and what’s not A home-automation system, Ferger said, might include control of motorized window shades, heating, air conditioning, pool Home automation options continue to advance equipment, water features, lighting, security, cameras, entry access systems, energy management, speakers, TVs and a By Debra Gelbart media room — all controlled by an app, remote or voice control. For all these features, expect to pay between $10,000 uilding processes, construction materials and design and $20,000 or more, he said. elements evolve over time, but improvements in Notice we said a ‘media room’ and not a automation technology occur ‘home theater’. That’s because: “Dedicated year over year. media rooms — with multi-use options Currently, many experts are saying that — are now the norm and home theaters voice-activated control is especially in are largely a thing of the past,” Ferger demand. “Voice control has taken over,” said said. “Today, we are incorporating a large Travis Ferger, senior technology consultant at screen theater system with multiple screens, Scottsdale-based CCS Presentation Systems’ gaming technology, golf simulators, poker home division. “Many companies are taking Getty Images rooms and more. These rooms are much the lead from technology leaders like Google Maracay Homes more multi-faceted today.” and Amazon and [many] things are now integrated and voice-controlled.” launched HomeSmart™ For homeowners looking for more Marty Hayse, director of purchasing … in its 13 Phoenix- affordability, many builders are offering basic security systems or prewiring for at Phoenix-based Dennis Sage Home area communities as whole-home automation systems as Entertainment (DSHE), said that, in his a standard feature. standard features in new homes. view, manufacturers of totally wireless Maracay Homes, for example, systems driven from talking speakers suggest HomeSmart™ provides launched HomeSmart™ earlier this year “that hard wire is no longer necessary and smart technology in its 13 Phoenix-area communities as a everything can be done wirelessly,” he said. “that helps you stay standard feature. HomeSmart™ provides “This is good in concept, but not yet ready for prime time.” comfortable, in control, smart technology “that helps you stay comfortable, in control, connected and Now more than ever, he explained, a connected and able able to save energy — from anywhere,” home’s automation network is the foundation to save energy — said Elise Goodell, marketing manager for managing all electronic functions. “Keep from anywhere.” for Maracay. This includes CAT 6 wiring in mind that all of the voice-controlled —Elise Goodell, Maracay Homes for maximum network bandwidth and speakers have to be plugged into power,” prewiring for Wi-fi access points, she Hayse said. “Ultimately, manufacturers will said. In addition, at Maracay Homes’ community in Victory get this right — and certainly the thought of voice command is at Verrado (in Buckeye) every new home includes a wireless appealing — but I don’t think it’s quite secure enough yet.” security system, Wi-fi garage door opener, keyless front-door entry and Wi-fi programmable thermostats. Wi-fi is the most important thing in homes right now, Ferger said. “We spend a lot of time on the engineering side getting Wi-fi right and making sure it’s highly functional throughout the home,” he said. “We design and implement numerous Wi-fi antennas. Much like cell towers around town, we make sure homeowners are getting a reliable and constant user experience throughout the home.”
B
Wide range of pricing options In a new home that doesn’t include a basic security system as a standard feature, you may not have to spend very much to opt for one, Hayse said. For under $1,000 plus the cost of monthly monitoring, you can purchase a system that includes a security panel, contacts for three doors, a motion detector, garage door control through a smart-device app, a programmable thermostat and a key fob to arm and disarm the system, Hayse said. More features can be added later, he noted. A multi-functional system that includes security, lighting control, an interactive doorbell with video and two-way audio, indoor and outdoor video cameras, thermostat control, geofencing (a virtual perimeter that can include pet tracking), garage door control and door locks starts in the $2,500 range. The mid-range of pricing — in the $4,000-ish ballpark — provides whole-home automation, Hayse said. A totally
Talking Rock Ranch
i
NAZ
Number of homes: 230 currently; between 1,200 and 1,500 upon completion Prices: Homes from the low $500,000s; home-sites from $75,000 Address: 15075 Talking Rock Ranch Road, Prescott 86305 Directions: From Phoenix: I-17 north to Highway 69 exit. North onto Fain Road; follow around as it turns into Pioneer Parkway. Go north at end onto Williamson Valley Road. Talking Rock is on the right just past mile-marker 14. Sales office hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily Phone: 928-227-3139 Website: TalkingRockRanch.com
(SMART CHOICES, continued on page NH3) Julie Solomon Via CCS Presentation Systems