Builder - August 2008 - (Page 36)

SUCCESSSTORIES OUTSIDE ART: Savory outdoor living spaces have given this project an edge over competitors’ products. Landscaped yards are outﬁtted with timed irrigation systems. to homeowners in other McCaffrey comMany value engineering decisions were munities helped draw site traffic and spark structural in nature. “We stacked walls to interest in the newest offerings. eliminate beams. We spread paired winIt helps that the average lot size in this dows to have eight inches between them in handsome neighborhood of single-family order to allow two small headers rather homes is 7,400 square feet, whereas com- than one large header spanning both winpetitors’ lots average 6,000 square feet. But dows,” McCaffrey explains. “We looked at the real edge is how each residence uses that ways to reduce the amount of structural extra wiggle room. Making the most of the hardware required, and repositioned winregion’s temperate climate, the homes go dows to efficiently stack exterior shear heavy on indoor/outdoor connections, fea- walls. We also stacked plumbing runs.” In the smaller plans, horizontal volume turing wide front porches, entry courtspaces stretching from front to rear helped yards, side courts, and rear covered patios. Shrewd allocation of material resources reduce interior framing—a move that conalso helped the project’s sales stamina in served wood and labor and elongated sight the face of the housing slump. “We began the design process at the height of the market. Prior to construction, it MBR 14’6” x 14’6” became apparent that the market was starting to deteriorate,” recalls builder Karen McCaffrey. “At that point, we brought in all the subcontractors to get their input on ways G to create value-engineered efﬁciencies while maintaining the design integrity of the plans and elevations. We ended up taking costs out of places that were not seen or appreciated by the buyer so BROAD APPEAL: Plans at Madison Place range from modest, single-story we could continue to include homes of 1,450 square feet to two-story move-up residences topping 3,892 authentic details in the places square feet. Plan 2 won a 2008 Gold Nugget merit award for best singlefamily detached home under 2,500 square feet on a conventional lot. that mattered.” lines—and made each house feel larger. But there were other architectural details the team agreed should not be compromised. Buyers have taken note of the community’s well-articulated façades, complete with exposed rafter tails, wrought ironwork, crisp window and door trim, generous use of brick and stone, and window mullions and shutters styled to ﬁt their respective elevations. Each home feels special, and the cumulative effect is major streetscape appeal. Since the project’s grand opening in May 2007, 87 homes have been sold, 60 of which closed and are occupied. Riding the momentum set by Madison Place, the builder introduced the same product to an ongoing community that had 13 lots remaining in September 2007. All of those homes have now closed, and the plans have made a third debut in another community in the nearby (see page 38) city of Clovis.—J.S. B 11’ x 10’6” Patio Great room 18’ x 19’ B 11’ x 11’6” photos: christopher mayer E G 36 ■ B U I LD E R augus t 2 0 0 8 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://www.builderonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Builder - August 2008

Builder - August 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Bmail Book It Inside Story Success Stories Top Shelf Green House Sales Strategies Products Digital Home National Beat Seiders' Economy Trade Secrets: Staying Afloat Sign of the Times Missing Links Ad Index Last Word

Builder - August 2008

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