Colleen Edwards, home building expert, works to meet needs for future buyers

Run date: November 22, 2008

While for some, each work experience is used as a tile or building block creating a path which leads to the next project, Colleen Edwards, a home building industry expert, also layers those blocks of experience to lift her up and enable her to gain a better perspective of how home building can be improved and better meet the needs of tomorrow’s buyers.

And what she sees are smaller neighborhoods, plus more and more “green” concepts being integrated into new home communities as well as a transition to “healthy home” features that embrace a wider definition of quality of life.

Commenting on this time period when homebuilders have dramatically slowed their projects and delayed some indefinitely, she is confident that great benefits will come in the future as the builders carefully examine their past practices and their plans for the years ahead. Her collaborative efforts with homebuilders have given her a positive perspective about the future of home building, not only in California but actually in many corners of the world.

“Builders won’t come back [in the months and years ahead] with the same old ‘stuff’,” she said. “They are taking time to figure out what buyers really want. And they are rethinking how they build homes, not just how to build more cheaply,” she said.
Particularly in California, where Edwards has focused most of her attention over the past few decades, she finds the builder community “is more focused” and looking beyond the homes to the complete neighborhood environment. This new focus means that land plans for new developments are carefully crafted with an eye to green living and quality of life.

Today’s master planning incorporates walkable neighborhoods with community gathering places as well as natural open spaces, she observes. Lots may be smaller than traditional ones of past years, “but we’re changing the definition of ‘your backyard’,” she said, by adding community parks and other nature features.

In newer neighborhoods there are multiple parks, there are trails for bicycling and walking, there are many features that encourage an outdoor, recreation-oriented lifestyle. School playing fields become joint-use fields, for example, so that more athletic events can be enjoyed in an area, promoting sports for players of all ages. For example, Edwards notes the Windemere community (with homes built by Brookfield, Lennar and Centex) in San Ramon, where the builders and developer teamed to create new schools with playing fields that are used during the school day as well as on the weekends, with city support for their maintenance.

And “open space” in a land plan…“it’s okay that it’s natural, not landscaped,” as the hills that ring Windemere attest, Edwards noted. Small neighborhood parks provide settings for active pastimes — games, running and play equipment — as well as social gathering spots for parents and grandparents.

“It’s a return to a small town setting,” she observed. She predicts that more and more developments will locate schools within smaller residential neighborhoods, encouraging parents and grandparents to walk to children’s schools instead of loading the youth in the car for a ride to school. “It’s just healthier,” she added. Walkable neighborhoods also encourage socialization between neighbors and enhance the daily experience.

Windermere did it — the land planners and the developers worked hard to help redefine the concept of neighborhoods and community. Others are following suit, both in the few undeveloped areas left in Northern California, as well as in areas that can be modified for a new purpose.

For example, at Hunter’s Point in San Francisco, land planners and developers are assessing the former military property, looking to repurpose some of the old buildings and “blurring the edge between old and new,” according to Edwards. The master planner, Lennar, has embraced the concept of mixed-use areas, she said.

“This [mixed-use] concept is filled with potential. It’s a 24-hour clock, not just a commute time or a school day.” People don’t just come home at night and go to sleep. Neighborhoods should reflect that, Edwards believes.

At Hunter’s Point, that means preserving the artists’ community which has occupied parts of the area for years while also building retail and residential areas. She predicts that future buyers will be “blown away” by the possibilities that the land planners and architects bring to life.

“People often don’t even know what’s in their own backyard,” Edwards said. They haven’t seen the bases and will likely be surprised at the many beautiful elements that exist in areas such as former bases — wide spaces, beautiful views, proximity to other attractions.

While builders await a better economy, they are focused on the future, and how they can better serve their buyers, offering convenient and mixed communities with a variety of services — schools, libraries, retail, transit stations and green or open spaces. Many of the same principles are being followed in infill housing projects as well, she reported. “Infills are by nature ‘green,’ because [such developments] are smaller neighborhoods, close to commute and job centers and encourage people to get out of their cars,” Edwards said.

Add in the new materials being used in construction and these developments are great for the environment and for the residents.

“All homebuilders in the Bay Area are aware” of the possibilities for change, “and are starting to integrate new thoughts, ideas and perspectives in their plans,” she said. “It goes beyond the four walls and roof,” she said.

“This slowdown is allowing builders time to test drive their ideas, to really plan carefully for future developments,” Edwards added. “Buyers of the future will have even higher expectations and I believe builders will really deliver.”

Neighborhoods which encourage social interaction among residents, and opportunities for enjoying the outdoors also will likely integrate more green features in the building of the homes themselves. Edwards likes to term it “healthy homes” instead of the narrower focus of “green homes.” This thinking “embraces the concept of healthy building materials because buyers are not only interested in energy savings, but in ‘what’s the quality of life for my family?’, she predicts.

This includes healthier paints, carpeting, flooring, ventilation options, as well as elements that insulate, provide passive heating or cooling, or make homes easier to maintain. And builders in the Bay Area are increasingly working with groups such as BuildItGreen and other programs which rate a home’s green features as well as its health, probably more so than many other areas around the country.

“Green is the norm now, and the buyers of green homes are generally more satisfied — emotionally and intellectually, they want their home to be healthier.”
Many developments in the Bay Area are seeking or have received good ratings from BuildItGreen (builditgreen.org). Ratings factor in healthy materials as well as use of recycled or sustainably harvested wood, water and energy-saving practices and the features of a complete neighborhood as the norm, she believes.

Colleen Edwards is a co-founder and CEO of EMC Creative, Danville, a communications and marketing agency that has, for nearly 30 years, worked closely with homebuilders, master-planned communities and land use development companies. She has been awarded the Lifetime Legend Award by the Homebuilder’s Assn. of Northern California and is in the California Building Industry Assn.’s Hall of Fame. In recent years, she has worked with builders and architects to research and develop housing projects in such destinations as China and Europe.

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HomeAid 7th Annual Trap Shoot raises $100,000

Run Date: November 15, 2008

San Ramon – HomeAid Northern California raised more than $100,000 at its seventh annual Trap Shoot recently. Money raised from this event at the Livermore-Pleasanton Rod and Gun Club pushed the organization’s seven-year total to more than $1 million.

A crowd of over 500, most from the regions home building industry, attended in support of HomeAid’s mission to provide shelter for those less fortunate in the Bay Area, and help them become more productive members of the community.

Julie O’Connor, executive director of HomeAid Northern California, expressed her gratitude.

“We are grateful to the Livermore-Pleasanton Rod and Gun Club, our sponsors, the home builders and all of the volunteers and participants. It is really because of them that this event has been so successful year after year. Our trap shoot event literally raised the roof on homeless shelters and in the process, we have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Participating home builders included Pulte Homes, Brookfield Homes, DeNova Homes, Shea Homes, Standard Pacific Homes, Ponderosa Homes, William Lyon Homes and Shapell Homes.

2008 HomeAid Chairman Steve Kalmbach, extended appreciation to the home building companies that continually give generously to HomeAid through the Trap Shoot.

“These are many of the same people who also work year round providing ongoing support, materials and labor for HomeAid’s shelter projects.”

De Nova Homes won High Score tem trophy this year. In addition, HomeAid presented the Spirit of Hope Award to Dave and Lori Sanson of DeNova Homes. This special award goes to the person(s) who best represents HomeAid’s mission in advancing the organization’s goals.

The Dogs of War team from Joseph J. Albanese Concrete in Santa Clara, led by Matt Maes, participated for the first time. On behalf of HomeAid, Albanese donated nearly $15,000 in concrete construction, services and materials to the Livermore-Pleasanton Rod and Gun Club.

For Information, contact Julie O’Connor at 925.820-7626x 218 or visit www.homeaidnc.org.

Windemere in San Ramon hosts successful media helicopter flyovers

Run Date: November 8, 2008

Recently Windermere BLC, San Ramon’s premier master-planned community, hosted three successful helicopter flyovers for members of the Bay Area and national media. The 90-minute tours enabled the media to discover why Windermere is celebrating more than 300 homes sold this year; it also showcased the community’s ample amenities — schools, parks, trails, architecture and neighborhoods.

Kevin Pohlson, vice president for Brookfield Homes, was present on all flights and remarked about the curiosity and enthusiasm expressed by each participant of the helicopter flyovers.

“The journalists were eager to learn why Windemere is so successful and to understand how all the different partnerships came together to create such a special community,” said Pohlson. “We only have about 450 homes left to sell. Sales and traffic continue to remain strong. Now that Windemere’s infrastructure is largely complete, we realized the helicopter tours provided a useful and informative opportunity to highlight the scope and scale of the community.”

One of the primary reasons why Windemere is such a hit with home buyers is the large number of magnet parks, each within walking distance of several neighborhoods, and each provide families a variety of play structures or sports activities and ball fields.

Play is taken quite seriously at Windemere in San Ramon. Along with what is perhaps the Bay Area’s best selection of new homes, this popular master- planned community includes more than 90 acres of parklands. Residents have easy access to recreational opportunities, both active and leisure, for individuals, families, casual play groups and organized teams.

Windemere currently offers distinctive new single-family homes and townhome-style condominiums by Brookfield Homes, Lennar Homes and Centex Homes. Each neighborhood has an architectural style all its own — ranging from Tuscan to Farmhouse to Craftsman.

This level of individualized design and detail is also reflected in the community’s parks.

The 2,300-acre Windemere master plan includes 18 parks, 15 of which are complete. From the initial drawing stages to the final installation of play structures, ball fields and water fountains, these parks are carefully designed to cater to the sports and activities that are important to people today.

“When we looked at the land plan for Windemere we decided to do something different and special with the parks,” said Tom Martin, vice president for Strategic Marketing for Lennar Communities. “We considered the sports and activities important to the full range of residents and designed a complementary range of parks. There really isn’t one park that’s like another in this community.”

The range of activities offered at Windemere’s parks is unmatched. In addition to play structures, there are dinosaur fossils with interpretive signs, climbing rocks, bocce, and horseshoes. A community sports park with competition soccer field, a community aquatic center, and facilities for volleyball, tennis, basketball, baseball, and miles of hiking/bicycling trails are all part of Windemere living.

A big benefit of Windemere’s parks is the social interaction they encourage. Families, singles, couples, kids, grandparents, teens and pets all gather and chat in these spaces.

“Mostly every time I come to a park (at Windemere) I make a new friend,” commented Samay Dubey, student at Windemere Hills Elementary School. “The trail that passes by the park is best for riding bicycles and hiking. The beautiful hills around the parks give me a chance to see nature closely.”

Windemere features communities from three leading homebuilders, Brookfield Homes, Lennar Homes and Centex Homes. Prices range from the mid $500,000s to more than $1 million.

The Windemere Welcome Center is located at 11440 Windemere Parkway and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 925-556-6000 or log onto VisitWindemere.com.