The Lot
It took us a while to find the right lot. Some of what we were looking for:
Views: Almost any lot in Kanab will have a view of red rocks in the distance. Far views are nice, but we wanted more spectacular views, closer to the rocks.
Internet: We want to be able to work while we’re there, and people who rent it will also want to stay connected. Fast internet is a must. That ruled out options in the wilderness; closer to town, gigabit internet is available.
Orientation: The right orientation makes it easier to reach passive house standard. You’ll want the house oriented towards the south to get sun in during the winter, with overhangs keeping direct sun out during the summer. Windows to the east and west are harder to protect from the low sun, so not ideal to have the main views in those directions.
Also, a lot of sites in Kanab have clay soil, which makes building more expensive (basically have to replace the soil before building). Water mitigation is another popular issue (more on that in later posts).
La Estancia
After a while, we narrowed it down to lots in La Estancia. They were about to add new lots in a third and final phase, many of them with amazing views close to the cliffs. They are serious about flood mitigation, and were preparing the sites ready to build (no clay soil).
Here are the lots added in phase 3. We originally had our eye on the smallest lots (342 to 346), thinking their price tag might be smaller too. But with cliffs surrounding them on three sides, and nothing but BLM land behind, they were priced according to location, not size. So we pivoted to lot 360 (marked), which has a lot going for it, and was at least closer to our price range.
Our Lot
Lot 360 is 0.32 acres (about 1300 square meters). It’s reasonably flat, rising about 7 feet from front to back. The shape is interesting, with a hill intruding into the northwest corner. There’s a big drainage ditch on the east side (between lots 360 and 359). A road with sidewalk is in front, and the orientation is only about 10% off of true south, which is great.
Views are amazing in all directions.
South and southwest: Far view over Kanab and beyond. It will be partly obstructed by other houses on the other side of the road, but much of the view should be clear.
West: Far view to cliffs that light up in the early morning sun. Currently there is no house in the neighboring lot; it’s a large lot, so we hope that any house built there won’t be right in our sight line. Fingers crossed.
East: There will be a house 35 feet away and a bit higher up blocking the view straight east (lot 359). But northeast and southeast should still give us views of the cliffs behind.
North and northwest: Unobstructed view of the cliffs, with no other lots behind us. And a small hill starting right on our lot.
It’s a dream location. Now we just need a house to take advantage of it.