Stephens Hillside Farm is a single-family community on the north side of La Center, off Aspen Avenue and W 19th Street. Its one plat, recorded in October 2023, holds 85 home lots on about 42 acres, plus roughly 10 acres of HOA-owned open space with a small park, a playground and a gravel trail along its south edge. Two local builders sell here: New Tradition Homes, with 13 plans from $630,900, and Generation Homes Northwest, which offers 20 plans and has one move-in-ready home listed now.
The lots are the main reason to look. Most are around 8,600 square feet, which New Tradition calls "a rare find in today's market." It suits buyers who want a three-car garage or a single-level plan with room in the yard, in a small-town district where the elementary, middle and high schools are each five to seven minutes away. The trade-off is distance: I-5 is about eight minutes away, and the Portland bridges are a little over half an hour in light traffic.
Community overview
Builders: New Tradition Homes and Generation Homes Northwest (October 2026) Location: W 19th St and W 20th Way off Aspen Ave, inside La Center city limits (La Center 98629) (October 2026) Status: Now selling; about 53 of 85 lots are owned by households, and 32 are still with the developer or the builders (October 2026) Pricing: New Tradition base plans $630,900 to $818,900; listed homes $679,900 to $824,900; Generation advertises "low $600s" (October 2026) Home sizes: New Tradition plans 1,676 to 3,031 sq ft; Generation's recent homes 2,006 to 2,346 sq ft (October 2026) Homesites: 85 home lots, five HOA tracts (about 9.9 acres) and one privately held 5-acre parcel on the recorded plat (October 2026) Lots: About 7,500 to 13,000 sq ft, most near 8,600; a few edge lots are larger (October 2026) HOA: $80 a month on most current listings; one listing shows $88 (October 2026) Schools: La Center School District: La Center Elementary, La Center Middle, La Center High (October 2026) Sales: New Tradition's model at 112 W 19th St, Monday to Saturday 10:30 to 5:30; Generation by appointment through its Washington sales associate (October 2026)
The homes
New Tradition Homes
New Tradition builds its Discovery Series here: 13 plans, seven with the primary suite on the main floor and four of those fully single-level, every one ENERGY STAR NextGen certified with a published HERS score in the mid-40s.
| Plan | Style | Bed / bath | Sq ft | Garage | Base price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater | Single-level | 3 / 2 | 1,676 | 2-car | $630,900 |
| Vashon | Single-level | 3 / 2 | 1,877 | 3-car | $640,900 |
| Baker | Single-level | 4 / 2 | 1,816 | 2-car | $645,900 |
| Pacific | Two-story | 3 / 2.5 | 2,235 | 2-car | $664,900 |
| Alderwood | Two-story | 4 / 2.5 | 2,109 | 2-car | $666,900 |
| Grandview | Two-story | 3 / 2.5 | 2,463 | 2-car | $694,900 |
| Deschutes | Main-level living plus bonus room | 3 / 2 | 2,340 | 3-car | $699,900 |
| Everson | Two-story | 3 / 2.5 | 2,473 | 3-car | $704,900 |
| Cashmere | Single-level with den | 3 / 2 | 2,214 | 3-car | $731,900 |
| Whidbey | Two-story | 3 / 2.5 | 2,604 | 2-car | $762,900 |
| Willamette | Main-floor primary | 3 / 2 | 2,649 | 3-car | $782,900 |
| Laurel | Two-story | 3 / 2.5 | 2,926 | 2-car | $783,900 |
| Bainbridge | Main-floor primary | 4 / 2.5 | 3,031 | 3-car | $818,900 |
The current listings describe a heat pump with air conditioning, a heat recovery ventilator, quartz counters, an electric fireplace, a 50-amp EV-ready outlet in the garage and a fire sprinkler system. The homes are all-electric.
New Tradition homes for sale now (October 2026):
- 131 W 20th Way, Lot 7: Alderwood, 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 2,109 sq ft, $699,900, with a $34,000 buyer incentive
- 521 W 20th Way, Lot 22: Deschutes with a bonus room and its own bath, 4 bed, 3 bath, about 2,340 sq ft, corner lot of about 10,900 sq ft, $799,900 after a $25,000 reduction; the MLS shows it under contract with a "bumpable" buyer, so it may still be available as a backup
- 416 W 20th Way, Lot 29: Cashmere, single-level, 3 bed, 2 bath plus den, $824,900, with a $41,000 buyer incentive
- 415 W 19th St, Lot 45: Deschutes with a loft, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2,340 sq ft, $824,900, with a $44,000 buyer incentive
New Tradition's move-in dates for all four have passed, so they should be finished or close to it; we'll confirm that on a walk-through with you. New Tradition lists the Cashmere at 2,214 sq ft while the MLS shows 2,139, so we'll find out which figure is right before comparing price per foot.
Current incentive: on a pre-sale home, New Tradition contributes up to 5% of the base price toward financing, upgrades or closing costs (about $40,000 on an $800,000 base), when you finance with one of its Trusted Lenders. The offer is valid through December 15, 2026 and doesn't combine with other incentives. The move-in-ready homes carry their own per-home incentives instead, also tied to a Trusted Lender for the full amount. We'll help you price the same loan with an outside lender, so you can see what the incentive is worth after the rate and fees.
Generation Homes Northwest
Generation offers 20 floor plans here but doesn't publish base prices by plan; its community page says "low $600s." Its standard list includes a Mitsubishi heat pump with cooling, a heat recovery ventilator, a heat-pump water heater, an EV charger, quartz counters, a gas fireplace, James Hardie siding, a covered patio, sprinklers and professional front-yard maintenance. Structural and custom plan changes are offered, with an interior designer through selections. Fenced and landscaped back yards come on its move-in-ready homes only, so budget for them on a to-be-built home.
Generation home for sale now (October 2026): 509 W 19th St, Lot 47: the Richmond, single-level, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2,006 sq ft, three-car garage, fenced and landscaped, move-in ready, $679,900. Generation lists $25,000 in Fall Home Savings on this home; the offer is limited-time with no published end date, so let us know you're interested and we'll get the amount and terms in writing. Generation's own tour of this home:
Generation's two other recent homes here, a Rockford at 508 W 19th St and a Lexington at 516 W 20th Way, are sold.
One strategy call before your next visit to the model home.
We’ll walk through your situation, show you where the leverage is in this community, and put what we find in writing before you sign anything.
Book a Strategy Call →The builders
New Tradition HomesBuilds on your lot · Semi-custom · Spec homesA family-owned Vancouver builder founded by the Helmes family in 1987 and one of the larger homebuilders in Washington.Builder profile →
Generation Homes NorthwestCustom · Semi-custom · Builds on your lot · Spec homesA Vancouver builder founded in 2008 by third-generation home builders Aaron and Mary Helmes.Builder profile →
Both builders are Vancouver companies. New Tradition was founded by the Helmes family in 1987, and its listings here describe a two-year workmanship warranty with ten-year structural coverage. Generation was founded in 2008 by third-generation builders Aaron and Mary Helmes and publishes a one-year warranty and maintenance guide; we'll find out what structural coverage comes with its homes. Both also build at Paradise Pointe in Ridgefield, and New Tradition sells at Walker Field and Amira's Song in Battle Ground and Si-Ellen Farms in Vancouver.
New Tradition's community video:
Schools
Stephens Hillside Farm is in the La Center School District, based on Clark County's attendance-area maps (August 2026), and the current MLS listings agree:
| Level | School | Grades | Drive time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary | La Center Elementary | Pre-K–5 | 5 minutes |
| Middle | La Center Middle | 6–8 | 7 minutes |
| High | La Center High | 9–12 | 6 minutes |
Drive times are free-flowing from the community. The district runs one school at each level, so every home in the community goes to the same three schools; in 2025-26 they enrolled about 814, 430 and 589 students. We didn't find any boundary changes or new schools planned for 2026-27. Tell us the home you're considering and we'll confirm the assignment with the La Center School District before you write an offer.
Inside the community
- Aspen Park: a small neighborhood park at the east end, on an HOA tract by Aspen Ave, with play equipment and picnic tables.
- Heritage Trail: a gravel path along the community's south side that continues east to the city's Heritage Park, a few minutes' walk away.
- Open space: five HOA tracts, about 9.9 acres in all, mostly along the south and center of the plat. New Tradition notes that select homesites have tree-lined views.
- Streets: public streets (W 19th St, W 20th Way, W Kestrel Ct, W Heron Ave) with sidewalks; there's no gate.
- HOA: $80 a month on most listings. Neither builder publishes what the dues cover, who manages the association, or the CC&R rules on fences, RVs, parking or rentals. The listings confirm recorded covenants, so we'd ask for the CC&Rs and the HOA budget early.
Parks and outdoors nearby
- Heritage Park: 3 minutes, or a short walk on the Heritage Trail
- Sternwheeler Park: 4 minutes; downtown La Center's riverfront park on the East Fork Lewis River
- Holley Park: 5 minutes; a city park near the La Center schools
- La Center Bottoms: 7 minutes; a natural area along the East Fork Lewis River
- Paradise Point State Park: 12 minutes; a state park on the East Fork Lewis River just off I-5
- Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Carty Unit: 15 minutes
- Lewisville Park: 24 minutes; Clark County's regional park on the East Fork Lewis River near Battle Ground
Getting around
Drive times in free-flowing traffic; rush hour adds time, especially at the bridges.
- I-5 at exit 16 (La Center / ilani): about 3.5 miles, 8 minutes
- I-5 / I-205 split at Salmon Creek: 20 minutes
- Downtown Vancouver: 29 minutes
- Interstate Bridge (I-5): 31 minutes
- Glenn Jackson Bridge (I-205): 31 minutes
- PDX airport: 39 minutes
- Downtown Portland: 41 minutes
- Transit: the community is inside C-TRAN's service area, but the county's route map shows no route within about two miles. If transit matters for your commute, ask us and we'll check C-TRAN's current service.
Daily life
- Groceries: La Center Market Place downtown (4 minutes) for everyday items; for a full grocery run, Rosauers and Costco in Ridgefield (13 minutes) or Grocery Outlet and Safeway in Woodland (13 to 14 minutes)
- Coffee and dining: Stonehill Coffee House, Podunk Pizza Co., El Rancho Viejo and The Last Frontier in downtown La Center, each 3 to 4 minutes; the restaurants at ilani, including Michael Jordan's Steak House and Line & Lure, about 9 minutes
- Library: La Center Community Library, 6 minutes
- Healthcare: Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center (20 minutes) and The Vancouver Clinic in Salmon Creek (21 minutes)
What it costs to own
- Jurisdiction: City of La Center. Police service is the La Center Police Department and fire is Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue.
- Utilities: Clark Public Utilities for water and power (underground lines in the community), public sewer through La Center, and Waste Connections garbage pickup on Wednesdays.
- Property tax: the 2026 levy for this tax code area is about $9.31 per $1,000 of assessed value, roughly $6,520 a year on a $700,000 assessment. New Tradition's online payment calculator assumes 0.74%, lower than the actual 0.93%, so use the higher figure when you budget. The tax amounts on current listings ($294 and $1,687) reflect partial, pre-completion assessments and will rise once the home is assessed.
- HOA: $80 a month on most listings.
- Impact fees: paid by the builder at permit and built into the price. La Center's 2024 fee sheet lists $3,502 for schools, $2,842 for parks, $7,561 for traffic and $7,800 for the sewer connection. Our custom homes guide compares fees across the county.
- Flood zone: FEMA zone X, outside the mapped flood area.
What's changing nearby
Construction continues inside the community: 16 lots are still held by the developer entity, 13 by New Tradition and 3 by Generation. Next door, the county's plat records show a pending 66-lot subdivision called Juniper Ridge on about 25 acres immediately southwest. About half a mile northeast, Lennar's Vineyard Vista is listed as coming soon, with one- and two-story homes and more than five acres of parks and open space. Expect more homes and more traffic on Aspen Ave and NE North Fork Ave over the next few years.
What to check before you buy
- Where the lot sits on the hill. County maps show steep-slope and potential-wetland areas along parts of the plat, mostly at the edges. Tell us which lots you like and we'll find out which back onto them, and pull the plat notes and any geotechnical or drainage conditions for the specific lot.
- Ongoing construction. With about 32 lots still to build and Juniper Ridge pending next door, expect building activity for a while. We'll ask each builder which lots are next and when.
- The commute. Bridges are about half an hour away in light traffic and longer at rush hour. Drive the route at the time you'd commute before you commit.
- Sizes and numbers on the listings. The Cashmere's square footage and the HOA amount differ between the builder's site and the MLS. We'd confirm both in writing for the home you choose.
- What each incentive is worth. We'll set the builder-lender offer beside an outside quote and get Generation's Fall Home Savings terms in writing, since no end date is published.
- Yard and fence on a to-be-built home. Generation fences and landscapes its move-in-ready homes only; price that work into a pre-sale home.
- The tax budget. Use the actual levy rate (about 0.93%), not a calculator default.
- Inspections. We'll help you line up a licensed inspector before closing and again before the first-year warranty ends, which keeps fixes on the builder.
How we help here
At Stephens Hillside Farm we'd start by putting the two builders side by side for the home you want: New Tradition's 5% pre-sale incentive against its move-in-ready discounts, and both against Generation's homes and savings, priced as total cost after the loan, not just the sticker. We'd pull the plat notes and the county's slope and wetland maps for the lots you're considering, and ask both builders which lots are next to build so you know what will be going up beside you. We'd get the CC&Rs, the HOA budget and the warranty terms in writing early, confirm the listed square footage, and coordinate the licensed inspections before closing and before the first-year warranty walk-through. Our construction background helps us spot what to look at in a new home before you sign off on it.
Before you commit to anything, you'll have a written Engagement Proposal with the exact scope and fee.
Also looking nearby? See Golden Grove in La Center, Paradise Pointe in Ridgefield, Walker Field in Battle Ground, and the full La Center new-construction page.
Last updated: October 2026