Trust the Process: Exploring the Mesa Verde Enclave

Episode Summary

What does a brand-new community look like on day one? In this episode, Krista and Michael dive into the Mesa Verde Enclave. This small, gated cul-de-sac features four custom homes in the Silverado Ranch area. It recently came to Trust through a longtime client and family. Michael shares how the opportunity found its way back to him, why the timing finally made sense, and the creative tension every build-to-sell builder knows. They discuss the balance between the "logical" move of using proven plans and the desire to create something distinctive. Listen in as they problem-solve in real time, landing on a plan that brings a fresh transitional, modern-farmhouse design language to the desert without resetting the timeline.

What We Cover

• How the Mesa Verde Enclave came to Trust — a longtime client/family and four pad-ready lots

• Why the timing finally worked: Foundry Square closed, funding lined up, inventory in a healthy place

• The build-to-sell bottom line vs. the pull of a passion-and-design project

• Bringing a transitional / modern-farmhouse design language to the Las Vegas desert

• Reusing the proven Serene floor plans with new elevations, rooflines, and exterior details

• Garage orientation, motor courts, porches, and courtyards that make four homes feel one-of-a-kind

• Where pricing may land (high $2Ms into the $3Ms) and a Q1 2027 delivery target

• Selling Mesa Verde and Serene in synergy as a single 10-home story

  
  

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Full Transcript

Michael: I don't see why you need to be stuck buying a stucco box. You should have the ability to have a beautiful home with a unique design language — one that isn't just "cheapest price per square foot." I believe we can achieve that with our model.

Krista: Welcome back to Trust the Process, the podcast where we discuss home construction, real estate, and the housing market. I'm Krista, here with Michael, our resident expert. Today, we're brainstorming a new community project. Michael has been working on this behind the scenes. It hasn't been released to the company yet, so this is a chance to start from the beginning. We'll cover challenges, development strategies, and design decisions. Welcome, Michael — tell us about this project.

Michael: Thanks. This is a small enclave of four custom homes in a gated cul-de-sac. It came from a family friend and brokerage client. I sold the family the two-and-a-half acres about five years ago. Their goal was to build a four-home compound for the family. However, circumstances changed, and they were left with just one sister. They had already completed the entitlements, utility plans, and site improvements. This same family also brought me another deal that will become our Aviana townhouse project. I've known them for about ten years, and there's a lot of trust between us.

They approached me to ask, "What do we do with this four-home enclave?" A few months ago, I had no appetite for it. We were busy with Serene and South Shore, and I felt we were overbuilt in the entry-level luxury market. I pointed them to other local builders, but for various reasons, those didn't work out.

Long story short, they came back a few weeks ago and asked if I would consider taking it. I realized things had changed. We had closed on Foundry Square, sorted out the NV Energy piece, and moved the existing mid-construction buildings into their next phases. I felt more confident about taking this on.

Krista: And Serene Estates is in a good place.

Michael: Exactly. Our funding line is solid, and we've pre-sold two homes at slab. I felt much better about it. I shopped this to my development lender, and they provided an LOI that worked. We'll likely acquire the parcel around mid-to-late July of '26.

What I wanted to brainstorm with you is the direction of this project. These parcels are ready to pull permits for vertical construction. We need to build the perimeter wall, do the landscaping, and install the private gate for the cul-de-sac. All of this can happen during the construction of the homes. There's no land development eating up time. These are essentially four pad-ready lots.

Of course, we could take one of our existing products — maybe four South Shore homes or our Serene product — and just put them out there. It's only about two miles from Serene, and these are gated. I think they would carry a bit of a premium. They are in the Silverado Ranch area, which is good, but I feel the eastern Serene area carries a slightly better premium.

Krista: It's a little more rural. 89123 is a slightly more rural zip code, but still a great value.

Michael: For sure. Being gated covers a lot of that. I believe these will probably carry similar sales prices. We're calling it the Mesa Verde Enclave because it runs along Mesa Verde and Placid. It could even go a bit more upscale because it's gated. This is a great opportunity to get creative with the type of product we put there.

I'm weighing the fact that we're a build-to-sell builder, whose bottom line should come first. This shouldn't be an ego project or a pet project for me. That said, when have I ever let the bottom line ruin the fun?

Krista: Right.

Michael: The most exciting part is that if I called the architect right now and said, "Take my Serene plans and plot them on this," we could start almost immediately. The mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural engineering are done. We have everything we need. We could close on the parcel in a month, have the site plans drawn within that month, and be trenching footers the day of closing, as soon as our insurance is active.

Krista: I'm looking at the mock-up and lot lines you shared. Did you create this in-house, or is it their plan, or just an inspirational thought?

Michael: I took the civil plan — page one, the site plan, is all legitimate, straight from the civil plans. I colorized it to give it some life. The mock-ups show what the homes would look like, but I don't have the exact layouts yet. It's more about product direction and rough size. The first one would likely be a single story with a bonus room over the garage, and the area over the front porch would be a clerestory — a two-story entry — with everything else living like a single story. The other would be a true two-story.

When I look at these, I think they could be closer to $3 million homes. They'd be true custom homes. I'd do two versions of each elevation and change the color palette a little. I think we'd land in the high $2 millions on these.

But this is the one project that would be ready to go, and that's what's so challenging. The one time I get a project handed to me with no design review board, no architectural committee, no site improvements left to work through, no entitlements — nothing — I could place my homes on it as if I'd owned the lots for years. The most logical thing is to drop in Serene or South Shore. But that's not what I want to do. I want to create these new homes. I want to take the company in this direction. I want to be the builder that owns this style — the way one of our competitors started small about ten years ago and came to dominate that desert-contemporary space. I want to own this space, and I think it's where trends are heading. I don't see why we can't bring this style to the desert.

Krista: Absolutely. A lot of it is southern Utah right now — that's the build style.

Michael: That's right. So that's where I'm at. I'm struggling to justify it beyond just wanting to do it. We actively have Serene selling, which adds another layer to why using Serene plans here makes sense. We'll have a model at lot five, most likely. We could say, "These plans are at this location and also down in Silverado Ranch in another gated location on slightly larger lots." The synergy alone would make this a successful 10-home story — six at Serene and four at Mesa Verde. So why can't I just get excited about that?

Krista: Because you're passion-driven. You want to create something you love, something you can put into the marketplace and feel proud of. Serene is that — but you've already done it. You've been there, done that.

Michael: A hundred percent. I've already seen it.

Krista: As trends, floor plans, lifestyles, and marketing needs change, design has to change too. Builders who don't stay current with exteriors or how homes function just don't stay relevant. They have to keep evolving.

Michael: They have to find another niche. Think of the "everything included" builder — quick delivery, some of the lowest price per square foot in the zip code, predictable timelines. That's their play. Or the KB-style builder — simple homes, floor plans that haven't really changed. You can see versions of their plans from 2001 in the Vistas; basic versions of that plan have existed for 25 years. Their play is, "We'll let you customize the finishes, deliver on time, and be among the cheapest price per square foot." Those are their niches. We don't have those niches, we don't have the scale for them, and I don't want them. I want to bring design, forward-thinking floor plans, and that wow factor our city has largely missed, especially as you go down-market. I want to deliver that at Foundry and Westridge.

I don't see why you need to be stuck buying a stucco box. You should be able to have a beautiful home with unique design language — one that isn't just "cheapest price per square foot" — and I think we can do that with our model while still hitting accessible price points. I love this design language, and going forward, it's hard for me not to speak it. The one thing I'm torn on is that this isn't a future project — it's a now project. It's not even next year. We could release this today.

Krista: And we could just call it a Serene extension. It could be Serene Estates Two — it doesn't have to be Mesa Verde Enclave. We haven't drafted an HOA or anything yet.

Michael: Right. They're ready to go. We'd be trenching in six weeks and probably have full building permits in ten. We'd likely be delivering these in Q1 2027 — before Westridge/Argos. If we do new designs, it's not life-changing; it doesn't push us to 2028. It probably adds about three months. So it's not the end of the world.

Krista: Three months — and a lot of decisions, because it's not as dialed in as Serene already is. It's a new product type and a totally different design style, so it's unknown on top of unknown. But there's an appetite. Even if the market doesn't know it yet, they will when they see it, because it's everywhere else — Dallas, all over Texas, Washington, Utah, Arizona, Flagstaff, Tahoe, northern Nevada. It's out there.

Michael: Utah, Colorado — it's all over Flagstaff.

Krista: And maybe it's not as big a question as you think, because you're not talking about a huge timeline difference — three months. We have houses to sell. We're not down on inventory needing something immediately. Maybe that's the gift in it: because we do have inventory, you can afford to be a little more deliberate about what goes in the ground next. That could be the silver lining.

Michael: That's a good point. Right now South Shore has Miramar to sell; we broke ground on 12 Camino Barcelona; we have other homes in the pipeline. Serene has houses to sell. We're not waiting seven or eight months on Westridge before we go vertical — we're vertical and we're done. We have homes at every single stage available for purchase, all the way down to conceptual plans for this. If someone wanted to get in now as a pocket listing and understood it's an 18-month build, we could technically do that. We don't advertise that way, and I don't love running the business that way, but we own the parcels — nothing's stopping us. A lot of builders run their whole model on that: own the parcel, have the plans, and start building when you go to contract — especially in markets outside Las Vegas where land is cheaper and you don't get eaten alive on interest holding the land.

So that's a very good kicker: wait a minute — we have homes to sell. And that's why our new inventory is variations of the same — one's almost identical, and the other two are just bigger versions. By the way, we're doing the Volterra on 16, side note, because the Centinela doesn't fit. So our next wave is a 4,500-square-foot one-story, a 3,800-square-foot one-story, and a 3,200-square-foot one-story — not counting 12 Camino, which is a two-story.

Krista: Which is exciting. I think that was the right call.

Michael: And then we have this — compelling product, and you know I'm all about compelling. This couldn't get more compelling. If you want a home like this, we're the only game in town.

Krista: I know — can you build it for me? I want to buy it; I want my family to live in this little compound. They're beautiful designs.

Michael: Right? I wouldn't leave my home — but all four of these...

Krista: And the layout — they're perfectly square lots, which is really nice. The footprint lets you expand in whatever direction you want. Sometimes we're limited; on Westridge, the lots were odd shapes — random corners, wide backs — so you're limited on the footprint. These are straightforward, big, square lots.

Michael: They'll allow for great pools, accessory structures, and more. We can draft the HOA so accessory structures have to match the home — the board-and-batten siding, the same stacks — ensuring the community endures and looks good going forward. I think you're onto something. Maybe I extend escrow to seven or eight weeks to offset some of the time, and we get working on the plans. Ultimately, it's only two new sets of architectural plans because I'm not going to change the exterior much — mostly color. I'm probably not going to make two different roof plans.

Krista: The rooflines won't differ much from each other — but from anything else we're designing right now, they're entirely different. Maybe it's really just a fresh roofline on the Serene product. Those floor plans are already great.

Michael: Wait — hold on, I didn't think about that.

Krista: Architecturally, you can change the entire look of the exterior just with a different roof pitch, some stone, different details — shift it from the modern finish we did at Serene. Those floor plans are already an ace. Maybe a few small tweaks, but they're big, flowing, grand homes. The further along they get, the more I love them.

Michael: They're great. You're right. Maybe there's a compromise here. We do different elevations on the Serene plans — some stacked stone, some cladding, different window mullion patterns and layouts — and the engineering stays the same, the MEPs stay the same. Honestly, I don't even know what I'd change with the floor plans. We've got rec rooms; I'm looking at them now and there's not much I'd improve.

Krista: And then we could still sell it as an extension of the product: "If you want something in a more modern wheelhouse, we've got Serene; if you want this same floor plan in a slightly different location with a varied exterior, we've got Mesa Verde."

Michael: It's perfect. That's probably the solution. All I'm really looking for is the design language. You could easily do this — really, it would just be changing the roof plan.

Krista: Which affects the engineering to some degree, but it won't be a huge delay, and it's not a big product.

Michael: It actually just affects the truss package, which is separate — the truss calcs are deferred and done by the truss company's engineer, not the structural engineer. The rest is cladding. When I say change the windows, I don't mean the configuration — just the grid patterns.

Krista: The grid pattern, yeah. The windows at Serene are stunning, but they're a specific modern grid. You go a little more traditional — I don't want to say "farmhouse," because that's deceptive, but it's in that vein — and it lends itself to the new design. Those formats are already a ten.

Michael: They are. That's probably done in about the same time we're under contract. I'd just send them to Dennis, the architect, and say, "Draw this plan" — pitched roofs with gable ends and some embellishments. I can already see it.

Krista: And embellishments — that's it. You've added the stone and the wood.

Michael: I can already picture it. The Calico, with the bump-outs in the garage — if you go back to Mesa Verde, the shed dormers come off the front; the entry gets the gable, the shed dormer; and the two-story gets the high pitch over the staircase. I can already see it.

Krista: And there's room in that carport area as you enter for a little wood-covered patio next to the garages — in the rendering we're looking at, there are two little covered areas. You could absolutely have that as a whole porch off the front.

Michael: Totally. Easy. See — I knew a little strategy session would help. I was going so extreme: it was either all-new or nothing. I know I'm not inspired to draw new floor plans for that product because I don't know how to improve them. Normally, if I get excited about something, I start drawing a plan for it right away, even before I own the land — and I was already excited, which tells me there's not much I'd improve on those plans.

Krista: Right. And we've already got the accessory structures to pair with them — the RV garage, a casita, however someone wants to lay it out. And with this lot size, pools, the works.

Michael: Same buyer — it's just a different aesthetic. Same buyer pool.

Krista: It's fun to bring the other aesthetic. We're really tied to what South Shore allows in that country club, so being able to bring something completely different was fun at Serene, and it'll be fun to do again. Westridge and Argos align nicely with this design, too. As we try to create a niche — being the builder bringing something unique to the marketplace — this aligns well.

Michael: Right. Hold on one second... Basically — I just did this in ChatGPT, but it shows you. Look at the floor plan. I said, "Make this elevation look like a modern farmhouse," and it came back "modern farmhouse with serene landscaping." Isn't that weird? I didn't say anything about Serene. Anyway, it shows you — and that's not even a steep pitch, and it's not architecturally accurate, but you get the idea.

Krista: You could do a higher pitch, a taller roof, more windows above the front door — definitely dress it up further.

Michael: The batten, the coach lights, the wooden corbels over the gables — it doesn't take much to change it. Increase the pitch... I love it. That's what we're doing. We're going to take Serene. That's it. And because we're doing new elevations, maybe just one new elevation per model. The Calico gets its elevation — it's only four homes.

Krista: It's only four, yeah.

Michael: One might have dark batten and stone; the other might have white brick and white clapboard in different areas. They're already unique enough. There's only so much you can do with those rooflines, but maybe one gets a front porch.

Krista: I love the idea of a porch with that design. Maybe there's a way to extend the garages out slightly and create a porch in that front area before you reach the house — in that, what's the word, motor court. If you pull the motor court back slightly. I don't know if it's even necessary, but —

Michael: It's a motor court, yeah. There are going to be ways to play with it — I'm already seeing them.

Krista: And there's room for porches on the two-story, since those are already set back with a step.

Michael: Yes. I'm going crazy not showing you right now — let me share the screen. Okay, so over this porch area, push it back, do a copper shed roof, then a gable over it so it reads as a porch. Poke that shed roof out, run columns that basically touch the house, and run the return across the whole front of the motor court — it comes out a foot in front of bedroom five. It's just an overhang with wood posts that look like they're supporting it. So it's a "fake" porch — and then you also have an actual porch. We can do it without changing the footprint.

Krista: Yes. And we could even turn those garages — we've had a couple of people ask about turning the garages.

Michael: We could turn the garages — these are bigger lots.

Krista: It's an opportunity to do that. There's a design to it, but if we were considering it, now might be the time.

Michael: One gets the carriage-house doors facing the front and a bigger front porch that bumps into where the motor court was. The other keeps the motor court and does the thing we talked about. Now they look like two different homes. Whichever cul-de-sac lot needs the frontage gets the side-loaded garage; whichever has the space to push the house back gets the front-loaded — same with the two-story. Now they look different.

Krista: And then they look different — you're adding more elevation and streetscape variety across the exteriors. Love it. That gives an even more unique look.

Michael: Hold on, I got really excited — one second. There's the two-story.

Krista: Okay, wow.

Michael: I like to think I have a pretty good vision, and I did not see that sitting inside this house. Now I'm looking at it, and there's no reason it can't be that way.

Krista: Wow. I'm moving in with you — we're neighbors now.

Michael: And you could still do one front-load with beautiful garage doors — maybe those get the carriage house with the light.

Krista: If you've got a really big center area, you could do a cute pathway or a little bridge to the front porch — some quaint landscaping that dresses up the exterior.

Michael: I'd run a half-wall and basically make that whole thing a courtyard — an arbor, the works.

Krista: An enclosed courtyard. Pretty.

Michael: It's not farmhouse anymore. It's —

Krista: It's not a farmhouse. I don't know what it's called.

Michael: It's transitional. It has elements of farmhouse — the batten, the raw wood, the black windows, the copper — that's all farmhouse aesthetic. But it's not the teapot that says "Mom's Kitchen" on it. It's not kitschy farmhouse.

Krista: Right. It's that modern-traditional — traditional-modern.

Michael: It's very popular in Utah, Colorado, and northern Arizona.

Krista: And it started in colder elevations because of that roof pitch — snowy areas where you build to suit the weather and snow slide. As you look at where it's been big for a while, it's those areas with real seasons.

Michael: Real seasons, yeah.

Krista: It doesn't apply to Las Vegas in that way, but the architecture is so captivating — a cross between farmhouse and modern, charming but clean, with lots of texture.

Michael: Right — clean lines, still elegant, simple. It's funny: not to go down a rabbit hole, but we have a lot of Spanish influence in Las Vegas for obvious reasons. Spanish architecture is for hot climates. Even Spain is one of the hottest parts of Europe. That hacienda style — interior courtyards, low-slung roofs, long overhangs — was all to adapt to the climate. It worked in California and blended into Las Vegas, but we've kind of bastardized it. We still default to clay tile roofs — half the time they're concrete anyway. We can do this style here, but you can't bring our typical style to Salt Lake City — it's not practical; the concrete roof tiles would crack every frost, and they're not meant to hold that much snow. A shallow pitch wouldn't work there, and if you increase the pitch, concrete tiles get too heavy or cost-prohibitive. Asphalt shingles are light and cheap — even the architectural ones are way cheaper than a concrete roof.

Krista: And they hold up in all weather types.

Michael: Right. So — really cool. Okay, this was worth the price of admission.

Krista: That was fun — I love the chance to talk it through and brainstorm. So, watch for that. I can't wait to start picking finishes and designing these, because everything inside gets to change a little, too.

Michael: Watch for that — Mesa Verde Enclave. Yeah, we'll bring down the lid in plan one, the Calico — maybe to a ten or a twelve, and then bring it to a vault.

Krista: In the main room. And then we'll add beams to the vault.

Michael: Yeah, that's the way to go. Then we can do a clerestory over the front door — it gives us a reason for a shed dormer. The clerestory would be up twelve, fourteen feet, but just the foyer; then drop back down into the great room, maybe a ten-foot lid with a vault up to fourteen.

Krista: Beautiful. Where do you think our price point lands? I haven't done market research on 89123 recently. We're slightly lower — we talked about that — but do you think we're still at a 1.8? A 1.7, 1.8?

Michael: I've got a three-twelfth vault... We're definitely at a 1.8, because this isn't on a busy street — it's more of an enclave, it's gated, and it's only four. The custom stuff in 89123 — every now and then you get a one-off for three or four million. Peter Lik did a project there, or was a designer on it — one-to-two-acre luxury homes. There's one on the market again. I don't even love that desert-contemporary style, but they kicked butt on that project and did really well.

Krista: Right.

Michael: My point is, given where these are — nobody's really going to have a view, so that's a factor — but overall I think it's maybe even a little more, especially if we do them really, really well.

Krista: I'm excited. And I'm happy it gets to start soon — I don't want to wait the extra time to re-permit it. I want to go now.

Michael: Exactly. I love it.

Krista: It's been fun with Foundry Square, because we've gone in this direction there too — the exteriors of that product really start us on this road. We're picking things a little differently, the coach lights are different, all the little details that add to the whole picture. It's fun to think about adding that now. We've started playing in it a bit with some of the finishes we've been ordering for Foundry Square. So being able to add that whole facade to an entire home — that's the direction I was hoping to go.

Michael: It's cool. And then getting creative on the inside is just a lot of fun. Let me do one more thing before you go.

Krista: And those square footages at Serene are perfect — exactly what we need.

Michael: They're perfect. So here it is — this is that other project I was thinking of over here, and Mesa Verde is down here, at Mesa Verde and Placid. It's not on any major road, but look — you're right here.

Krista: Which is what a lot of people want. They want to be tucked into an enclave. If they want something more accessible, we've got Serene — so selling them in conjunction, we can leverage location or home style based on what people want.

Michael: Exactly. Maybe they have an objection to not being gated — and we can answer that. Here are some comps. Modern, of course, but this sold for a thousand dollars a square foot. We could be in the threes. This is 89118, but it's really the same market.

Krista: Is that 89123? I'll pull up some comps too.

Michael: We're down here. I think the I-15 is the cutoff for the zip code. Four-point-one for 4,100 square feet, four-point-five for 6,700, four-point-one for 6,000 — and this is a little enclave, almost the exact same thing.

Krista: Nice.

Michael: Cool. Anyway, that's what's going on over here. Let me stop sharing.

Krista: Okay — come on, Mesa Verde. I'm ready for it.

Michael: I'm telling you, there's not much I'd leave my house for, but that would be one of them. Anyway — I appreciate your time today. I guess this kind of turned into an episode — a brainstorm.

Krista: Thank you — I appreciate the chance to talk it through. And thank you all for being here. It was fun to bring you in on the new ideas and where we're going, and as they come to fruition, we'll share that with you too. Thanks again, and we'll see you on the next episode of Trust the Process. Bye-bye.