Over 100 New Families Make Blackstone Their New Home

April 27, 2012 - PRLog -- BREA, CA – Blackstone, the popular master-planned community in the hills above Brea is commemorating its first birthday, and more than 100 new homeowners have plenty to celebrate. Now it is your turn to come and tour the three impressive new-home neighborhoods and see what others have discovered, a great combination of beautiful homes plus exceptional community amenities and excellent local schools.

Since its debut in March 2011, Blackstone has welcomed 125 new home buyers, and the success is sure to continue as the birthday celebration coincides with the traditional spring home-buying season, and more and more families discover all the advantages that make Blackstone an unbeatable value.

Headed by abundant recreation, top-rated schools and an ultra-convenient location, those advantages are shared by residents of all three Blackstone neighborhoods: Sorano by Standard Pacific Homes and Amber and Jade by Shea Homes. Together they present a diverse array of imaginative residential designs that blend harmoniously with Blackstone’s natural setting, and they offer prices ranging from the mid $500,000s to the high $700,000s, making Blackstone a perfect fit for a wide range of home buyers.

With prices starting in the mid $500,000s, Standard Pacific’s Sorano has been extremely popular with young couples and families that are just starting to grow. A trio of two-story residences extends from approximately 1,739 to 2,001 square feet, including three to four bedrooms, den and as many as three baths. Impressive great rooms and convenience-oriented kitchens enhance the appeal of these homes.

Now selling its eighth phase at prices starting in the mid $500,000s, Shea Homes' Amber presents distinctive two-story homes that feature large great rooms, versatile lofts and spacious secondary bedrooms. The beautiful ridgeline setting offers the ideal location for exceptional views. Living areas range from approximately 2,015 to 2,199 square feet, including four bedrooms and two and one-half baths.

Shea Homes' luxury-home neighborhood of Jade provides the flexibility of many floor plan options to match and enhance individual buyers' lifestyles. Superb features such as desirable downstairs bedrooms, home offices, commercial-style kitchen appliances, and grand master suites leave no doubt that these homes are of the highest caliber.  Amazingly, these homes also offer up to three-car attached garages.  Measuring approximately 2,806 to 3,360 square feet, the homes encompass four to five bedrooms and three and one-half to four and one-half baths, and are priced from the high $700,000s.

The new Blackstone Recreation Center is the community’s social centerpiece, offering residents the opportunity to swim in a junior Olympic pool, relax in an invigorating spa, picnic and barbecue in a park-like setting and spend comfortable summer nights by an outdoor fireplace. And for youngsters, a wading pool and water activity center are “splash” hits.

Leisure-time opportunities also extend to Blackstone’s six intimate pocket parks, including one with a tot lot, and a planned 14-acre Brea city park, where family fun will range from picnicking under a tree to playing at the tot lot. With a charming gazebo as its centerpiece, the park will also offer a variety of athletic pursuits, including baseball, basketball, tee ball and soccer.  It will join 15 other community parks, including a popular sports park and a 12-acre historical park showcasing Brea's rich heritage.

At Blackstone, recreation goes hand-in-hand with education, thanks to the top-rated schools of the Brea Olinda Unified School District*. Based on their exceptionally high Academic Performance Index (API) scores, all of the schools that Blackstone youngsters will attend, from kindergarten through high school, will provide them with an A+ education.

Children who live at three Blackstone neighborhoods – Sorano, Amber and Jade – will attend Olinda Elementary, a California Distinguished School and National Blue Ribbon School which holds the highest API score in the district – 937 in 2010. Students also benefit from state-of-the-art facilities at the school’s brand-new campus, which opened in January.

The Olinda Elementary School has an API score of 889 and parents in all three neighborhoods will send their kids to Brea Junior High (866 API) and Brea Olinda High (854 API), both of which are California Distinguished Schools. In addition, the high school has produced over 40 National Merit Scholars in the last six years, and students can take over 20 Advanced Placement courses along with a variety of elective choices. Along with its academic excellence, the high school fields 22 varsity sports teams, many of which regularly win league and state championships.

With its rustic setting near Carbon Canyon Regional Park and Olinda Historical Trails and its proximity to the 57, 91 and 60 freeways, Blackstone offers the perfect balance of rural charm and urban convenience. Residents find it easy to reach employment centers and other destinations throughout Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside Counties.

Also nearby are exciting regional shopping, dining and entertainment venues, including Brea Mall and the shops of historic downtown Brea. Brea Mall has five major anchor stores: Nordstrom, Macy’s, Macy's mens children & home, Sears and JC Penney, with over 175 specialty stores and restaurants, including the newly remodeled Foodworks Food Court. Brea Downtown, popularly known as Birch Street, features over 50 acres of shopping and entertainment in a village-style, pedestrian-oriented promenade.

To join in the spring-long birthday celebration at Blackstone, take the 57 freeway and exit at Lambert Road. To reach Sorano, Amber and Jade, proceed east on Lambert Road and turn left at Kraemer Boulevard into the Blackstone community.  

Further details are also available by visiting http://www.blackstonelife.com or calling each community:  Sorano 714-223-0700, Amber 714-961-6011, Jade 714-223-6908.Blackstone is a development of Shea Tonner Hills, LLC and Standard Pacific of Tonner Hills, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Shea Homes Southern California is a division of Shea Homes Limited Partnership, one of America’s largest privately held homebuilders. As a member of the Shea family of companies, which is celebrating its 131st anniversary in 2012, Shea Homes has won numerous prestigious awards for quality, integrity, innovation and customer satisfaction. Shea Homes’ pursuit of excellence is typified by Shea Superiology, the art and science of designing and constructing homes that offer homeowners superior value by maximizing their quality of life, minimizing their costs and making a positive contribution to the environment. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.sheahomes.com.

Standard Pacific, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, has built homes for more than 112,000 families during its 40-year history. The Company constructs homes within a wide range of price and size targeting a broad range of homebuyers. Standard Pacific operates in many of the largest housing markets in the country with operations in major metropolitan areas in California, Florida, Arizona, the Carolinas, Texas, Colorado and Nevada. The Company provides mortgage financing to its homebuyers through Standard Pacific Mortgage, Inc. For more information about the Company and its new home developments, please visit our website at http://www.StandardPacificHomes.com.
*Schools serving residents of Blackstone are subject to change.

For more information on school assignments, please call the Brea Olinda Unified School District at (714) 990-7800.