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THORNTON, CO-Frontier Communities is scheduled to open the first phase of a 400-unit townhome project in this city north of Denver in May. The completed value of the Cornerstone Townhomes at Colorado Boulevard and Thornton Parkway, in the heart of this suburb about 20 minutes from Denver, is estimated at about $75 million.

The units are priced from the $160,900 to $189,900 and are aimed at first-time buyers. Units range in size from 1,131 sf to 1,453 sf. Units will have either two or three stories. The townhomes will be built around a "resort-style," 5,000-sf clubhouse that will include a swimming pool and year-round spa. The clubhouse also features a full kitchen and business center with fax machine and two computers with DSL Internet connection. A fitness center, open 24-hours a day, will house Life Fitness free weights and cardio machines as well as a separate yoga studio.

Units, priced at about $142 per sf, are at least half the cost of comparable condos in Downtown Denver. The development is just west of Interstate 25 and north of the new Northwest Parkway, which allows easy access to the Denver International Airport. Frontier Communities, based in the mountain town of Edwards, also builds condos and townhomes aimed at first-time buyers in Aurora, Erie and Parker.