The Nationals: Special Spaces

Before buyers spend years in a home, they'll spend critical hours in a welcome center, a sales center, or a design center. A disconnect at any one of these points can be the difference between a customer who is happy to refer friends and family and one who just wants to get the whole thing over with so they can move into their house. That's why these facilities are so important, and why The Nationals recognizes excellence in them.

When a developer brings an entirely different kind of lifestyle to a community, a welcome center becomes a focal point for introducing folks to what's to come. In the case of Ross Bridge in the Birmingham, Ala., market, the gold winner for best sales pavilion is also a place to help visitors connect to the past.

The 1,620-acre traditional neighborhood development takes its name from the family who had owned the land since 1858 and the massive bridge built on it by the Confederate Army as part of a rail supply line during the Civil War, says Dorothy Tayloe, sales manager for Ross Bridge. The entire development harks back to the resort days of the 1800s, when families traveled there by train to enjoy the nearby springs. Since those families' first look at the town would be the train station, the Ross Bridge welcome center is inspired by a classic station.

“The train track and railroad theme is the driving force of the design,” says John Burdeshaw with Expo Displays, the Birmingham-based firm that designed the 8,000-square-foot center. “There's an actual replica of a bridge, and train track in vertical orientation is the running theme.”

ALL ABOARD: Railroad cars (right) and tracks and ties (below) are some of the thematic elements that run through the Ross Bridge sales pavilion, aptly named The Train Station.

Greeters guide visitors through the center, which introduces them to the history of the property and the vision of the development, which includes a championship golf course and a Renaissance hotel with a spa. The center also serves as a gathering point in the community for events ranging from movies to a hometown fair, and a large town hall is available for residents to hold club meetings.

The welcome center has been a huge success, with 2,040 total traffic visits since opening in June 2005, says Margi Ingram, vice president and director of sales and marketing for builder Daniel Homes. Sales have averaged more than one per day, with no signs of slowing down.

Once sales are completed, the welcome center is scheduled to be converted to retail space. The rental income generated by that conversion will effectively reduce the cost from $222.22 per square foot to $50 per square foot.

This year's winner in the design center category had all the judges doing double takes because it didn't look like any other design center they'd ever seen. Where were the samples? They're hidden, just the way Jim Roberts wants it.

A self-described neat freak, Roberts, president of Taylor Roberts Design Center, designed custom work spaces at his firm to keep all the samples out of sight. They're in easy reach, but they're not stacked on counters or dumped on the floor. After working out of trailers for years, he wasn't about to let his new dream office look junky.

“We went from trailer park to marvelous,” says Roberts, whose Philo, Calif.–based design firm helps major builders develop specifications for their product. “We wanted to create the ideal space to work with our clients [primarily builders as well as a few custom home buyers].”

He designed the 8,300-square-foot building himself, focusing on large windows to enjoy the view of the design center's wine country location. Staff needed ample space for work tables, conference rooms for large meetings, quiet spots for client discussions, space for the fabrication operations, and warehouse space for the accessories and home furnishings division. And then there's the gallery wing, with the sitting area and project managers' offices.

“It's great having all the natural light,” Roberts says, “and it's created a good family environment because of the openness of it.”

What can the average builder take away from such a show-place, one that very few new-home buyers will ever see the likes of? Make sure your design center fits the needs of both your staff and your buyers. They're both going to spend a lot of time there, making very important decisions that will have a significant impact on your company's bottom line. Spend the time and money to create a place that is conducive to both.

CLEAN AND BRIGHT: The sitting area at Taylor Roberts Design Center (above) takes full advantage of the view in its location in California wine country. Custom-made work spaces (top) keep specification samples close by, but out of the way.

Category: Best sales pavilion; Project: Ross Bridge welcome center, Hoover, Ala.; Builder/Developer: Daniels Corp., Mountain Brook, Ala.; Architect: Looney Ricks Kiss, Memphis, Tenn.; Sales office designer: Expo Displays, Birmingham, Ala.

Number of units: 1,778 single-family and 600 multifamily

Price range: $199,900 to more than $1 million

Date opened for sale: June 2005

Sales volume: 33.25 per month

Total traffic: 2,040 total visits

Cost per square foot: $222.22, or effectively $50 per square foot when the building is converted to retail space and generates rental income

Category: Best design center; Project: Taylor Roberts Design Center, Philo, Calif.; Builder: Greg Hoyt Construction, Ukiah, Calif.; Architect/ Interior designer/Landscape designer: In-house

Square footage: 8,000; Cost per square foot: $125