Living in Black Stone

Black Stone sits at the western end of Ivins, past the point where the big builders' neighborhoods stop. Here the land breaks into Red Mountain foothills and black lava rock. The rock that names the community is not a design choice, because it was already here. Builders set the homes around the outcrops (rock that sticks up out of the ground), so the desert still sets the look.

It feels different from the flat, raised ground in the middle of town. You are up against the wilderness boundary, where the protected wild land begins. The streets are quiet, and the night sky is truly dark, far from the valley glow. The downside is real and worth naming: groceries are a drive, not a walk, so learn the errand loop before you fall for the view. I lay that out in the errands section so there are no surprises.

The best part of the west edge is the evening. The sun drops behind Red Mountain, the heat breaks, the black rock holds the last of the light, and the only traffic is a neighbor walking a dog. If you can spare a few extra minutes to get to town, you get about as much room and quiet as Ivins offers inside the city limits.

Black Stone is a single-family, new-construction project with 31 home sites on the plat (the official map of the lots), off Morning Glory Avenue and Daffodil Way. Jon Crockett developed it. He is a general contractor who has built in Southern Utah for close to thirty years. Plans run from about 2,117 to 3,500 square feet, and most have four bedrooms and three baths, with a five-bedroom option. The look is modern Southwest, more contemporary than traditional. Lots are set into the lava rock and red dirt rather than scraped flat, so no two home sites look exactly alike.

Lots span roughly 0.17 to 0.31 of an acre on the sloped western ground. On that slope, a single-level plan can still sit over a walkout or daylight basement, which is a lower level with a door or windows at ground level. That means one-level living is not always the same as no stairs. The slope is also why the view matters so much. A home set into the slope with an open Red Mountain or desert view is a different property than an interior site two streets in. That holds even at the same square footage.

On price, this is upper-end Ivins. Because the homes are newly built, the plans have been priced into the high six figures, and the larger homes have gone past a million. Think of it as a neighborhood that can reach seven figures, not a lower-priced one. Lots are priced as each batch is released, so the numbers move as each phase sells. Once the community fills, few homes will resell. That is why I look at the latest sales and the homes for sale right now, not a blended average. Check the current figures against the live listings before you lean on any of them.

What sets Black Stone apart from the neighborhoods on the raised ground in the middle of town is that you can count it. There are 31 home sites, no more, along Morning Glory Avenue and Daffodil Way. Once they are built, the community is finished, which is a different deal than a subdivision with phases still on the drawing board. Your neighbors, your streets, and your view are largely settled from the day the last lot closes.

Where it sits matters as much as how big it is. Black Stone is on the Kayenta side of west Ivins. It is a few streets from the design-controlled arts colony that was founded in 1980 on 2,000 acres at the foot of Red Mountain. Kayenta holds the darkest measured night sky in the city, and this whole west edge falls under the Ivins outdoor-lighting rules. The cost is a drive to the grocery store. In return, you get a night sky and a horizon that the middle of town cannot offer.

Black Stone is a small neighborhood on the lava at the base of the mountain that can reach seven figures. It sits next to the arts village, under the dark sky. A contractor who has worked this corner of the county for decades developed it. If that is the life you are after, only a few dozen front doors deliver it.

Black Stone is part of the Washington County School District. The neighborhood is generally served by Red Mountain Elementary (grades K-5), inside Ivins at 263 East 200 South. Students then go on to Lava Ridge Intermediate (grades 6-7) in Santa Clara. After that come Snow Canyon Middle (grades 8-9) and Snow Canyon High (grades 10-12) in St. George. That is the same chain of schools that serves most of Ivins.

Boundaries can shift as Ivins and Santa Clara grow. For any home you are serious about, check the current assignment with the district rather than guessing from a map. For outside school data, GreatSchools and Niche both publish numbers you can weigh yourself.

The black rock is what sets Black Stone apart from the neighborhoods in the middle of town, where builders repeat a few plans. It is real basalt from the old Santa Clara lava flow, the same dark rock that gives Snow Canyon its black ribbons. It poured down this side of the valley and froze in place. In the neighborhood it shows up as outcrops in front yards, ledges along the streets, and walls of it at the back of lots.

As a feature, it is hard to beat. It does your xeriscaping (low-water desert landscaping) for you and holds the warm light late in the day. It is a big part of why the west edge looks like nowhere else in Ivins. When you are buying, it deserves a real look. Building on and around lava rock affects the flat spot the house sits on and the way the foundation is built. It also affects how a lot sheds water in a hard desert storm, and digging on rock is its own extra cost on the bill. None of that is a problem on a well-built home. I just want to understand it on a specific property before I call it a good buy.

That is why, on the west edge, I treat the lot itself as part of the inspection, not just the house on it.