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You're ready to build your custom home. You've researched custom home builders in Omaha, you understand the process, and you've determined your budget. Now comes the challenge that determines everything else: finding the perfect lot.
For families considering custom home construction in the Omaha metro area, lot selection represents one of the most critical decisions in the entire building process. Your lot determines your home's location, your daily commute, your children's schools, your neighbors, and countless other factors that affect your quality of life for decades.
Two neighborhoods in particular stand out for families seeking premium custom home opportunities: Stillwater Lake in Valley and Capriana in Elkhorn. Both offer exceptional settings for custom homes, but they differ significantly in character, amenities, lot characteristics, and overall lifestyle.
This guide examines both neighborhoods in detail, providing the information you need to determine which community—if either—aligns with your vision for your custom home. You'll understand what makes each neighborhood distinctive, current lot availability and pricing, HOA requirements and architectural guidelines, the custom home building process in each community, and how to evaluate which neighborhood serves your family best.
Stillwater Lake represents one of the Omaha metro's most prestigious custom home communities. Located in Valley, Nebraska, approximately 20 miles west of downtown Omaha, this master-planned community centers around a private 60-acre lake that creates a resort-like atmosphere rare in the region.
The defining feature of Stillwater Lake is obviously the lake itself. This private amenity provides opportunities for kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing, and lakefront relaxation that most Nebraska neighborhoods can't offer. The lake creates both recreation and ambiance—even homes without direct lakefront access enjoy views of water and the open spaces surrounding it.
Beyond the lake, Stillwater Lake offers walking trails winding through the community, a community clubhouse for events and gatherings, well-maintained common areas and landscaping, and a strong sense of community among residents who chose the neighborhood for its lifestyle offerings.
The neighborhood attracts families seeking resort-style living, outdoor recreation opportunities, a tight-knit community feel, and homes with distinctive character rather than production-built uniformity.
Stillwater Lake lots vary significantly in size, location, and price based primarily on their relationship to the lake. Lakefront lots command premium pricing but deliver unparalleled settings. Lots with lake views offer visual connection without direct water access. Interior lots provide the community's lifestyle amenities while maintaining more accessible pricing.
Lot sizes typically range from 0.4 to 1+ acres, with larger lots available in certain areas. This generous sizing allows substantial homes with room for outdoor living spaces, landscaping, and privacy.
Current lot pricing ranges from $80,000-$250,000+ depending on size, location, and lake access. Premium lakefront lots reach the upper end of this range, while quality interior lots offer excellent value at lower price points.
Stillwater Lake maintains architectural guidelines ensuring homes meet quality and aesthetic standards that protect property values and community character. These guidelines address minimum square footage requirements (typically 2,400+ square feet), architectural style parameters ensuring compatibility, exterior material specifications, and site planning requirements for setbacks and building placement.
These guidelines don't dictate specific architectural styles but ensure homes achieve quality levels appropriate for the community. You maintain substantial design freedom while adhering to standards that benefit all homeowners.
The decision to build in Stillwater Lake typically reflects specific lifestyle priorities. Families value the unique lakefront lifestyle uncommon in Nebraska, the resort-like atmosphere of the community, the strong sense of community among residents, the natural beauty and recreational opportunities, and the distinction of building in a recognized premium community.
We've built custom homes in Stillwater Lake and consistently hear that homeowners love the community's unique character and the lifestyle it enables.
Capriana in Elkhorn represents a different approach to premium custom home living. This newer community emphasizes contemporary design, convenient location, and a more urban-suburban lifestyle compared to Stillwater Lake's resort character.
Capriana's location in Elkhorn provides significantly shorter commutes to Omaha's employment centers compared to Valley. This accessibility matters tremendously for families with daily work commutes or children involved in Omaha-based activities.
The neighborhood itself features wide streets with contemporary design, thoughtfully planned common spaces, modern infrastructure throughout, and proximity to Elkhorn's excellent schools, shopping, and services.
Capriana attracts families seeking modern design and contemporary living, convenient location minimizing commute times, excellent Elkhorn school district access, and a more traditional suburban lifestyle with urban conveniences nearby.
Capriana lots typically range from 0.3 to 0.6 acres—more modest than Stillwater Lake but still providing room for substantial custom homes with outdoor living areas.
Lot pricing generally ranges from $75,000-$140,000, making Capriana somewhat more accessible than Stillwater Lake's premium lakefront options while still delivering quality settings for custom homes.
The neighborhood's design creates varied lot types including corner lots offering additional space and design flexibility, cul-de-sac lots providing privacy and reduced traffic, and standard lots offering good value and straightforward building opportunities.
Like Stillwater Lake, Capriana maintains standards ensuring community quality and property value protection. Guidelines typically address minimum home size requirements, architectural compatibility, material quality standards, and landscaping expectations.
These guidelines tend to favor contemporary and transitional architectural styles consistent with the neighborhood's modern character, though they don't exclude other quality approaches.
Families building in Capriana typically prioritize practical considerations alongside lifestyle preferences. They value the convenient Elkhorn location reducing daily commute times, access to excellent schools and community services, the neighborhood's modern character and design, more accessible lot pricing compared to lakefront alternatives, and the vibrant, growing nature of the Elkhorn area.
Understanding how Stillwater Lake and Capriana differ helps determine which community better serves your needs.
Stillwater Lake offers resort-like living with unique lakefront recreation, a strong vacation-home feel despite being primary residences, more secluded character removed from urban activity, and emphasis on natural beauty and outdoor connection.
Capriana provides suburban convenience with urban proximity, contemporary lifestyle with modern design, more traditional neighborhood patterns with nearby shopping and services, and emphasis on location efficiency and practical daily living.
Stillwater Lake's Valley location means 25-35 minute commutes to West Omaha employment centers, 30-40 minutes to downtown Omaha, more rural character with limited nearby commercial development, and longer drives for shopping, dining, and activities.
Capriana's Elkhorn location provides 15-25 minute commutes to West Omaha, 20-30 minutes to downtown, immediate access to Elkhorn's commercial development and services, and shorter drives for daily needs and activities.
For families with daily commutes or children in multiple activities, this time difference compounds significantly over weeks and months.
Stillwater Lake's lot premiums for lakefront locations mean total project investments typically run higher. A custom home on a lakefront lot might require $600,000-$900,000+ total investment between land and construction.
Capriana's more accessible lot pricing allows similar-quality homes with total investments of $500,000-$750,000, making quality custom home ownership more attainable for some families.
Both neighborhoods offer access to quality schools, though through different districts. Stillwater Lake students attend Douglas County West schools, while Capriana residents benefit from Elkhorn Public Schools—both highly-regarded systems with different characters and strengths.
The actual building process differs slightly between communities due to their distinct requirements and characteristics.
Both communities require architectural review and HOA approval before construction begins. This process typically takes 4-8 weeks and includes submitting detailed architectural plans, material specifications, site plans showing building placement and landscaping, and timeline for construction completion.
Working with experienced builders familiar with each community streamlines this approval process. We've navigated both Stillwater Lake and Capriana requirements multiple times and understand exactly what the architectural committees expect.
Stillwater Lake designs often emphasize views and outdoor connections, with larger windows facing lake or common areas, outdoor living spaces integrated into designs, and architectural styles that complement the natural setting.
Capriana designs typically feature contemporary or transitional styles consistent with neighborhood character, efficient floor plans maximizing usable space, and modern amenities and technology integration reflecting the community's current development.
Custom home construction timelines run similar in both communities—typically 8-14 months from groundbreaking to completion depending on home size and complexity.
Site access and material delivery patterns differ slightly. Stillwater Lake's more rural setting requires contractors to plan delivery logistics carefully. Capriana's suburban location provides easier access but requires coordination with ongoing neighborhood development.
Choosing between Stillwater Lake and Capriana—or determining whether either community suits your needs—requires honest assessment of your priorities.
Lifestyle Questions: How important is unique recreation like lakefront access? Do you prefer resort-like settings or convenient suburban locations? How much do you value being part of a distinctive community versus practical daily convenience?
Practical Questions: What's your daily commute, and how much does commute time matter? How often do your children need transportation to activities? Do you want immediate access to shopping and services, or do you prefer more secluded settings?
Financial Questions: What's your total budget for land and construction? Are you willing to invest premiums for unique features like lakefront access? How important is resale value versus personal enjoyment?
Long-Term Questions: How long do you plan to live in this home? How might your needs change as children grow or as you approach retirement? Does the community support your lifestyle five, ten, or twenty years from now?
While Stillwater Lake and Capriana represent excellent options, other communities might better serve specific needs.
For families seeking more affordable custom home opportunities, consider emerging developments in Papillion, Bennington, or La Vista where quality lots with fewer amenity premiums allow substantial homes at lower total investments.
For families prioritizing acreage and rural character, outlying areas offer larger lots providing genuine country living within reasonable commuting distance.
For those wanting established neighborhood character, mature areas in west Omaha occasionally offer teardown opportunities to build custom homes in proven locations with established schools and services.
We've built custom homes in both Stillwater Lake and Capriana, along with numerous other Omaha-area communities. This experience means we understand each community's specific requirements, architectural review processes, and characteristics that affect design and construction.
Our design-build process starts with helping you find and evaluate lots that truly serve your needs. We don't just design homes—we help you understand how different lots and communities affect your daily life and long-term satisfaction.
Once you've selected your lot, we design homes that maximize the site's potential while meeting community requirements and reflecting your personal style.
We manage the entire architectural review process, ensuring your plans meet community standards while preserving your design vision. Our familiarity with both communities means we design appropriately from the start, avoiding delays caused by revisions required to meet guidelines.
From lot acquisition through final walkthrough, we manage every aspect of your custom home construction including all design and engineering, permitting and approvals, complete construction oversight, trade coordination, and quality control ensuring your home meets our standards and yours.
Whether Stillwater Lake's lakefront lifestyle or Capriana's convenient elegance appeals to you—or whether you're still exploring options—we'd love to help you understand your choices and create the perfect custom home.
At Davis Contracting, we've built custom homes throughout the Omaha metro area, from Stillwater Lake to Capriana and beyond. Our clients enjoy homes perfectly tailored to their lots, their lifestyles, and their visions.
Contact Davis Contracting today at (402) 298-3493 to discuss your custom home plans. We'll help you evaluate lot options, understand community requirements, design a home that maximizes your investment, and guide you through the entire building process.
Your dream home starts with the perfect lot. Let us help you find it and build exactly the home you're envisioning.
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