The front porch has become a social event for families in Stapleton. Photo courtesy of Caren Baginski

Stapleton pioneers Linda and Aaron Bradford and son Finland, 3, enjoy a sunny Colorado day on the front porch of their Stapleton home. The family knew about Stapleton before most; an attorney, Aaron helped assemble a panel discussion among attorneys and city planners 10 years before ground broke on redevelopment. In March 2003, Linda and Aaron moved into one of the first 50 homes built, driven by location (they both work 10 minutes away downtown), the walkable community and this large front porch.

From the beginning, the redevelopment vision placed Stapleton garages at the back of house, bringing the front porch back into focus -- a major departure from most new home construction since the '50s-90s, said Aaron. (A side effect: Alleyways turn into basketball playgrounds for the kids to keep them off the street.) Front porches in Stapleton are the site of happy hours, and centrally-clustered mailboxes encourage friendly meet-and-greets. "Not having big lots, you go out to play and run and be with your neighbors," said Linda. "You feel like you know a lot of people more than you normally would."

Another large motivation to move to Stapleton: new homes. "To have a new home is really difficult to come by in an affordable way [in Denver]," said Linda. "Here, you have high on charm but high on maintenance. A 100-year-old house? to me that's just a problem. We knew that if you had new homes this close to Denver, it was going to take off."

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