When I heard about the Solaris Collection out at Daybreak I had to see it for myself, so last Saturday I packed up the family and headed out to Daybreak to see what we could learn. I honestly expected that I would be disappointed, that somehow the homes would be fatally flawed because it seemed too good to be true. I wasn’t disappointed (mostly).
The two model homes, style A and style B are built in the Northshore section of Daybreak, the newest, but certainly not the last of three phases of development. I was surprised to find a few really decent pieces of architecture near by, including a great visitors center and some modern lofts. There were certainly plenty of “Pleasantville” style streets, but that was what I expected. Truth be told, Daybreak actually has more architectural variety then most new suburbs these days.
The Solaris homes sit on a rather small lot with the average size being 4,500 sq/ft (.10 acres) which something you would expect to find in a old 50’s neighborhood not a new suburb. Refreshingly the overall square footage of the houses are a lot closer to 50’s standards than they are to 2009’s. The smaller of the two styles, style A, is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath that takes up a efficient 1,442 square ft. That small size is part of the secret to the amazing $206,000 price tag. For an additional fee it could be made 670 sq/ft bigger by adding a basement. Style B is slightly larger at 1,961sq/ft without a basement and 2,791 with. It includes a wonderful double height ceiling on the main floor and a slightly more spacious master bedroom and bathroom. Pricing is expected to start at $239,000 for style B. Included in that price for both homes is a large roof to solar panel system.
The interiors of both homes were very well done and had some lovely interior surfaces. Both models were slightly above base price due to flooring options such as hardwood throughout instead of carpeting. I was especially impressed with the tile in the kitchen and bathrooms which appeared vary high end. Of the two models my friends and I both agreed that model A had a better overall layout and feel to it, although I was pretty fond of the double height ceiling in model B. Luckily both homes will be offered with three different variations that change the overall floor plan, and even the square footage. This along with 5 different exterior colors should help to ease the feeling that you have a cookie cutter modern home.
Phase one construction of the Solaris homes is planned for the South Station area of Daybreak which seemed to me to be less desirable than the Northshore area of the model homes. The one nice thing about the planned development is that is sit right next to a charter school that has some really nice architectural features to it.
The homes can be built in an astonishing 30-45 days. That efficiency in construction is another thing that helps to keep costs down. The builder Garbett homes hopes to have all 20 families into their new homes by Thanksgiving. Currently over half of the homes are spoken for. Garbett plans to build a phase two in the Northshore area, but details are still being worked out as to the exact location and how many.
Full sized photo’s available on Flickr
Contact John at 801-949-0923 with any questions.
2 Comments
Say what you will about Daybreak. I think this is an important step in the right direction. The sales rep mentioned that Garbett gets calls all the time to build these homes on other lots outside of daybreak. Are you thinking what I’m thinking ? I think if your ready for a new home call and express interest, perhaps it will keep the builders aware that there is a market for such a style. Of course that might be like when everyone started liking the Cure in the 80’s….. yeah that totally sucked, never mind !
The effort in Daybreak was and has long gone. In fact Daybreak is struggling as the marketing which it started out with failed tremendously. My husband and I choose Daybreak in 2006 over the Avenues/Sugarhouse area, needless to say it was a HUGE mistake and we are happy to finally move out! We found beautiful Victorian in the Avenues, where we are close to great shops, amazing restaurants, parks and neighboors. I have to give Daybreak Builders credit for bringing in the Mix of homes in the area and the variety is amazing. But The HOA and Kennecott has failed the area with promises and unfair management. My old home in Daybreak was a cute “tudor” style rambler and we lived in a really good street, but the vibe, diversity and artistic charm of the homes in Downtown/Sugarhouse was never there and will never be there. The HOA/Kennecott always promised a compromise in the diversity of the neighborhood instead they ended and continue to drive good people away. DO YOUR RESEARCH if you are considering Daybreak!! While my family and looked for homes, we too wished we could just haul our house in daybreak and move it downtown! My builder was Hamlet Homes and they where amazing!