Newsletter July 2000
Design Research Trip/Trends
For over ten years I have been making trips to the Chicago suburbs in search of interesting floorplan ideas and design trends. Recently I went there twice, once with Jim Armstrong, our general manager. Some of the more significant ideas include dramatic stairways...some curved with arches, some straight up the center of the foyer to an intermediate landing and then a few more steps up in both directions to the top. We saw taller second floor wall heights...something we've been doing on first floors for years around here. A few of the master suites were unbelievable. We will show you some of these ideas in the near future.
Speaking of trends...our average house size being built this year is about 3,200 square feet. We have seen that figure grow steadily each year. Our largest this year will be a custom home of 5,600 square feet.
Trip to Venezuela
In April, my wife, Kathy, and I traveled to Valencia, Venezuela to spend a few days with our daughter, Barbara. Barbara was a wonderful Spanish-speaking tour guide. She is there on an 8 month marketing internship with Ford Motor Company before going back to Madison this September to finish her education. While there, we were entertained in the homes of Venezuelan residents and felt we got to know the culture of the country quite well. The countryside west of Valencia and on up to Merida in the Andes Mountains is spectacular and was our favorite part of the trip. We likened this experience to driving through our Rocky Mountains, except the Andes vegetation was much more lush. In Merida we stayed in a cottage and while there visited a village filled with local flavor. I was reminded of my geography class in eighth grade with Sister Agatha, (also the principal) at Holy Angels School in West Bend, Wisconsin.
Relay for Life
In June, Andrew Homes sponsored a team for the Relay for Life, an annual event that raises money for the American Cancer Association. Many of our homeowners donated money to the cause and lit a luminaria at the ceremony to remember a loved one.
"I
was calling the people on Andrew Homes' reference list, and they only said good things
about the company. After a few such calls, I made it a game to try to get them
to say something bad...and they still didn't"
-Sandy Van Den Heuval, Andrew Homeowner
Internet Housing Conference
Last month I attended a high-level conference on the use of the Internet in the housing industry. I found the event to be a pretty stimulating experience, especially since we have been Internet pioneers in our own back yard. We have had a website for over three years and some of the largest companies in the country are just now getting serious about their own sites. We were introduced to some new technological trends as well. Imagine this in the near future...When you put your groceries away in the refrigerator or pantry you scan the barcode. When throwing away this empty package later you scan the same barcode. Your in-house computer keeps a running inventory of your groceries at hand. Later that week you dial up the grocery store's computer and your computer uploads your grocery order and tells the store where and when to deliver the goods. Pretty amazing.
Where to Build
The last phase of the Wyldewood Subdivision in the Town of Algoma (Oshkosh area) will be ready for home construction by this fall. I will be one of the select few builders allowed to "cherry-pick" my choice of the best lots there around July 31. So...call me immediately if you would like me to "cherry-pick" one for you! There has been such a serious shortage in the Oshkosh area that these lots will go like...freshly picked Door County cherries! The lots available are one-third to one-half acre in size, located off Witzel (Fourth Street Road), just past Wyldewood Church. Also, we have remaining one 1/2 acre wooded lot in the Woodland Creek Subdivision in the town of Algoma.
In Fond du Lac we have 2 lots available in the latest phase of the Whispering Springs Golf Course Development. With both around 1/2 acre, one is open and on the golf course while the other is back in the woods across the street. We have one lot left on Estate Drive that is one-half acre. The next phase of White Pines Subdivision, off Mustang and Marten, will be available for building homes by the end of summer. I will be "cherry-picking" there in a couple of weeks, also. Call me!
We have only a couple wooded lots left in Bentwood Subdivision, Town of Grand Chute (Appleton area). In north Appleton we have a couple lots in Marshall Heights and a few in Thornbrook. There we are quickly approaching a real shortage of lots.
In Green Bay's Thornberry Creek golf course development, we have one cul-de-sac lot with a view of the course and pond and one lot actually on the newest part of the course.
Parade Schedule
It's Christmas in...September? Visit us in Appleton (starting September 9) to find out what surprises we have in store for this home.
In Green Bay we will have our new 4,300 square foot Lancaster model open in the spectacular Thornberry Creek golf course subdivision starting September 16. In Howard (northwest Green Bay), our second home on display will provide a unique demonstration of how we work with customers to develop a custom home plan. Built for Carl and Paula, this home will feature many signs with graphics and text explaining different design elements and how they came about during the "design/build" process. You'll be hearing more about "design/build" in the future...so pay attention. There will be a test!
In Fond du Lac, our Parade model will be a Kensington plan. This home sold recently and will close a few days after the event ends. The Parade of Homes in Fond du Lac runs July 28 through August 6. If you don't think you'll get to the Green Bay Parade, we can show you the "design/build" information at our Fond du Lac model since that is the plan used as a starting point for Carl and Paula's custom home design.