HOAs: All Shapes and Sizes

Image courtesy: chaffeecounty.net

HOAs come in all shapes and sizes.

While condo towers, townhomes, and single family detached subdivisions might be among the more common, there is a huge variety of HOAs in which to buy. This blog looks at a few of the more unique HOAs in Colorado.

Turret Townsite

In the colorful mountains of eastern Chaffee County near Browns Canyon National Monument, is a very unique HOA known as Turret. The association is completely privately owned, like other HOAs. However, it is, interestingly, surrounded by the San Isabel National Forest on all sides. In addition, its incredible history distinguishes it from other associations.

For the most part, Turret is not new construction – or even nearly so. In fact, Turret is a former mining town site remaining from the days of booming mining activity in Colorado’s mountains. When its post office permanently closed in the late 1930s, the site was faced with likely abandonment. Fortunately, some investors rescued it and today it is a true HOA with year-round residents and a strong Board of Directors. Posted on the exterior of the Community Well House, a structure barely large enough to fit anyone inside, but essentially their clubhouse, is a map showing which roads are HOA owned and which are not. This is intended to assist recreationists in figuring out where they can drive and park. The road leading in is owned and maintained (except in winter) by the County. The road leading out and into the National Monument is owned and maintained by the US Forest Service. Indeed, the mosaic of land ownership around Turret makes for interesting land use planning and management. Even so, the residents of Turret enjoy a remote lifestyle on a landscape of striking beauty. Here, you really get to know your neighbors – perhaps something to envy from the viewpoint of an urban HOA resident.

Chateau Chaparral

In the unincorporated community of Nathrop is a HOA with a name that perfectly describes its surroundings: the Chateau Chaparral Owners Association. Indeed, the landscape behind the association is one of tangled shrubs and thorny bushes – but also of beautiful rock outcroppings and the majestic Arkansas River. However, the association is not one of huge homes, as the name might suggest. Residents like it that way, for it is a ‘camping association!’ What a fun twist on the nature of HOAs. Some spend the summer, some are year-round residents, and others maintain a second home there just for weekends or vacations. The “camping” characteristic comes largely from the fact that many of the homes are mobile or semi-permanent. The Lodge, which acts as their community center, hosts exercise and group dinner events similar to what you might expect at summer camp. With the incredible Collegiate Peaks towering above, this Arkansas River Valley HOA is scenic, close-knit, and generally a great time.

Roxborough Park

Adjacent to Roxborough State Park, this Douglas County HOA takes the natural-setting style of homeowners association living to a new level. It is situated against the foothills behind stunning red rock formations. It has 12 miles of private – yes, private – hiking trails. It has regular visitation by area wildlife. In short, this HOA may have the most to offer for Front Range residents looking to live in a remarkable natural setting.

Roxborough Park has very noteworthy shapes and size. Those red rock formations are none other than the famous, standing, titled slabs of red sandstone famous throughout the region. And the size…this HOA is big! On a map it appears nearly large enough to be its own town.

CAP Management has some pretty unique HOAs of our own. From an old theater turned into condos, and the same with an old school, to Colorado’s first LEED-certified condo building, we love variety and choice in homeownership and look forward to expanding our family of HOAs to include even more interesting communities.