Housing Giants - September 10, 2008 - (Page 27) as tHe movement of americans back to the city accelerated in the middle of this decade, many production builders — including public giants such as ck? www.Housinggiants.com But is it possible the pioneers of this diversification into high-density housing forms were not wrong, just premature? “If gas prices don’t come down, cities and towns are going to permanently contract,” predicts Littleton, Col.-based management consultant Chuck Shinn. “High-density development will urbanize our existing suburbs and mid-rises will be a larger percentage of a lot of builders’ businesses.” nipped in tHe Bud The housing crash caused large numbers of mid-rise condo projects to be shelved or canceled entirely. “We hired a high-density housing specialist,” says David Weekley, chairman of Houston-based giant David Weekley Homes, No. 19 in Professional Builder’s Giant 400 rankings with $1.34 billion in Pulte Homes, D.R. Horton, K. Hovnanian Enterprises and Toll Brothers — added mid-rise condo apartments to their product lines. A few even started building high-rises. Most of those builders are now nursing the burns such risk-filled ventures inflicted when housing markets began to tank in 2005. oll Brothers’ interior, from Strickland Collection at Naval Square 5. A Toll Brothers’ development 6. Trammell Crow Residential’s Piney Creek, Questar Properties, Laurel, Md. 10. Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek, Asset Plus Corp., College Station, Texas. 9.10.08.Housing giants 27 http://www.pulte.com http://www.drhorton.com http://www.khov.com http://www.khov.com http://www.tollbrothers.com http://www.davidweekleyhomes.com http://www.davidweekleyhomes.com http://www.probuilder.com/giant400 http://www.probuilder.com/giant400 http://www.Housinggiants.com
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