Westerly Named Community of the Year

Multiple Award Wins Come in Midst of Master-planned Community's Expansion

ERIE, Colo., Dec. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Westerly, Southern Land Company's nearly 800-acre master-planned community in Erie, Colo., has been named Community of the Year by the Denver Marketing & Merchandising (MAME) Awards. The MAME Awards is an annual event presented by the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, celebrating the industry's best people, projects, and spaces.

The Community of the Year award is presented for the best overall marketing and community presentation of a community. Community of the Year is judged based on design and sensitivity to natural or created environments; design appeal; creative use of space, materials, amenities; architectural continuity; landscape design and signage; and overall sales success.

"The awarding of Community of the Year to Westerly is an incredible testament to our team's unique approach to thoughtful design and hospitality," said Brian Sewell, President and COO, Southern Land Company. "At Westerly, we prioritize walkability and open spaces, elevated architecture, quality craftsmanship, and a curated lifestyle, ensuring homeowners and residents truly feel at home and connected to their community. While happy homeowners and residents are the most important measure of our success, it certainly feels good when industry peers recognize both our commitment to these priorities and the outstanding people on our team who contribute to Westerly's success."

In addition to the coveted Community of the Year award, Westerly won a MAME award in the Best Video category for a brand marketing video (linked here), and two Westerly team members were awarded for their individual achievements: Ben Smith, Purchasing and Operations Manager, was named Purchasing Professional of the Year and Shelbie Gehle, New Home Sales Counselor, was recognized for her 2024-2025 home sales.

Upon completion, Westerly will consist of a diverse collection of approximately 3,100 homes within a traditional neighborhood setting. More than 290 acres of the community will be parks and open space.

The southern portion of Westerly, which comprises 400 acres at the southwest corner of County Road 5 and Erie Parkway, welcomed first homeowners in 2023. It will consist of approximately 1,300 homes built by DRB Homes (formerly known as Brightland Homes), McStain Neighborhoods, and SLC Homes, SLC's in-house homebuilding division, when fully completed.

Westerly homeowners enjoy sweeping views of the Front Range and proximity to abundant outdoor recreation opportunities. The Westerly lifestyle is currently amplified by the Waypoint, a state-of-the-art wellness-focused amenity center. Designed as a central community hub, the Waypoint is outfitted with a resort-style pool, 17-seat hot tub, and fire pits, as well as more than 6,100 square feet of indoor space with a fitness studio, remote workspaces, and community room. Homeowners also enjoy access to regular and special programming coordinated by a dedicated community lifestyle manager. The Waypoint will be complemented with a planned, adjacent neighborhood retail offering.

SLC acquired an additional 391-acre parcel, currently referred to as North Westerly, from the Colorado State Land Board in 2023. North Westerly is bound by Erie Parkway to the south, County Road 10 to the north, County Road 5 to the west, and County Road 7 to the east. The parcel was approved to be rezoned in July 2025.

The rezone's reduction in density—a rarity in development and sought by SLC—speaks to SLC's intentional planning and community-building standards, which prioritize housing diversity, integration of uses, opportunities for events and programming, celebration of neighborhood identity, walkability, and abundant open space. While detailed plans for North Westerly are underway, SLC intends to introduce the following to North Westerly:

• Single-family homes, townhomes, live-work townhomes, multifamily, and active adult paired villas, all featuring unique architectural designs;
• More than 50 acres of dedicated parks and open spaces;
• Over 7 miles of trails that will connect to those in the existing Westerly community;
• Up to 150,000 square feet of commercial space within a designated village; and
• Infrastructure improvements around the community.

A second, larger amenity center is planned for North Westerly, which will provide Westerly residents with additional opportunities for fitness, lifestyle programming, and special events, and will be integrated with a larger town center retail village offering a mixture of restaurants, shops, and services.

In addition to creating a comprehensive residential community at Westerly, SLC will make significant investments to benefit the entire Erie community. SLC has plans to improve County Road 5 and Erie Parkway and to fund improvements to County Road 7. Additionally, SLC will provide 22 acres and $7.7 million to the Town of Erie for the creation of two neighborhood parks and will donate 12.5 acres within Westerly to St. Vrain Valley School District for a planned middle school, which will be highly walkable for students.

SLC's footprint in Colorado includes several other communities. In 2024, SLC opened Arden Karl's Farm, an expansive garden-style rental community in Northglenn. SLC previously developed, owned, managed, and sold Centric LoHi and Bespoke Uptown in Denver and REVE Boulder in Boulder.

SLC's portfolio of master-planned communities beyond Colorado includes:

• Westhaven, a 1,500-acre, 3,500-home, award-winning master-planned community in Franklin, Tennessee;
• Fairington, a 373-acre, 735-home master-planned community in Nolensville, Tennessee;
• Lunaroya, an intimate luxury home community in Dripping Springs, Texas;
• Tucker Hill, a master-planned community in McKinney, Texas; and
• Mare Island, a large-scale revitalized mixed-use community with housing, entertainment, hospitality, and business opportunities on a historic peninsula in Vallejo, California.

A full list of 2025 Denver MAME Award winners is linked here.

Find images of Westerly linked here.

A full list of SLC's communities is available here.

Statements regarding plans, amenities, services, features, facilities, pricing, acreage, and square footage are subject to change without notice. Certain amenities, services, and facilities may require the payment of additional fees, membership charges, or other costs, and availability may be limited or subject to change or modification. Renderings, images, and descriptions are for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect final construction or design. The foregoing does not constitute an offer to sell or lease real property, and any such offer may be made only in accordance with applicable laws.

About Southern Land Company
Southern Land Company is a national, full-service real estate developer that has been reimagining the industry since 1986. Rooted in the belief that visionary design and cultivation of community are at the heart of every successful development project, the company brings extraordinary living spaces and experiences within reach in the form of master-planned, single-family, multifamily, mixed-use, and hospitality developments, all created by a diverse team of industry-leading, in-house experts.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Southern Land Company has market-leading projects in nine states, with regional offices in New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Plano, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Vallejo, California. Southern Land Company's current project pipeline is valued at $3 billion. To learn more, visit www.southernland.com.

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SOURCE Southern Land Company / Westerly