A five-minute walk from the outdoor charms of the Dale Maffitt Reservoir and Park, a $1.2 million Craftsman-style home was designed to appeal to owners unwilling to give up either country life or easy city access.
“It’s West Des Moines, but it’s not a part of West Des Moines,” Realtor Ingrid Williams noted of the secluded setting.
Located seven miles southeast of the Glen Oaks Country Club, during initial site preparation in 2012, developer John Mandelbaum expressed a cautious optimism to the Des Moines Register that the marketplace would support sales of seven-figure properties on the 38-lot parcel. “I think there is demand. Whether it will take three years, or five years or nine years to sell all those, I’m not sure,” he said.
More than a dozen years later, million-dollar homes are no longer a novelty in any corner of West Des Moines, and this custom-designed, walkout ranch was constructed with the luxury home buyer in mind.
Built at the end of a short cul-de-sac, the four-bedroom house is surrounded by a dense border of mature trees and views of “abundant wildlife,” Williams added.
Owned by the same residents since its construction in 2018, quality wood finishes create a common design thread throughout the property, including the flooring and the plentiful Amish-built cabinetry with soft-close doors and pull-out drawers. “Very customized,” Williams noted.
Two bedrooms are located on the main level, a 2,297-square-foot layout often favored by empty-nesters and retired couples. An enclosed screened porch offers uninterrupted views of the backyard trees, and a covered porch is available during cooler morning and evening hours.
A casual dining area has been set up a few steps from the large kitchen equipped with a rectangular center island and a convenient walk-in pantry.
Behind the kitchen space, a primary bedroom is hidden at the end of a hallway, providing a separation from the main home. On the opposite side of the property, a second large bedroom was constructed with a split layout and its own reading nook facing a fireplace, an unexpected feature Williams described as “very special.”
Downstairs, the 1,990-square-foot finished basement includes recently upgraded carpeting, another family space, a potential theater room and exercise area, a wet bar, and two additional bedrooms.
In addition to an attached three-car garage, a separate utility garage is large enough for storing gardening tools or can be converted into a workshop.
Outside, a permanent basketball hoop has been anchored next to a pair of picnic tables, and stacks of wood that are used in the main family room’s working fireplace and the outdoor firepit.
Beyond the backyard, a private one-mile walking trail bends through the community, a shorter alternative for residents not heading across the street into the neighborhood’s centerpiece, the 1,500-acre Dale Maffitt Reservoir Park.
The park’s own 4.5-mile nature trail winds around a 200-acre lake and is open for fishing, picnicking, birding and kayaking. A ban on motorized watercraft anywhere on the lake has made it one of the quieter natural escapes in the metro.
A short distance from Jordan Creek Town Center, West Glen and the West Des Moines Community School District, the Maffitt Ridge development’s motto of “let nature be your neighbor” still applies today, for “anyone that wants an elevated experience,” Williams explained.
“It definitely could be for a family with children, or it could be a retired couple. It could appeal to a lot of different people, but I think anyone that wants to escape city life,” she added.
The home is listed at $1,200,000 by Ingrid Williams with the Ingrid Williams Real Estate Team at REMAX Concepts. Contact her at 515-371-5277 for more information and a private showing.
Richard Lane is a freelance writer based in Des Moines.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: This $1.2M West Des Moines home makes nature part of daily life
Reporting by Richard Lane, Special to the Register / Des Moines Register
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By Richard Lane, Special to the Register | USA TODAY Network
