Pendry cites Summit's people and their commitment to excellence as the key to their success. "We recognize how important both the neighborhood and each individual house are, so I think we spend more time on our site planning and architecture than most developers," he says. 'We probably use three or four more windows per house than normal, design with nine foot ceilings and integrate two story volume spaces to bring more light into the houses to make them feel more airy, open and comfortable."
Summit Residential focuses on two specific segments of the metropolitan New York home buying market—the first or second time young family homebuyer and the empty nester.
"We offer a base house which is fully designed and ready to move into, but can be modified and/or upgraded," Pendry advises. "The buyer can do anything from adding an optional deluxe master bathroom (an offering with additional windows, a double vanity and a linen closet), to moving interior non-structural walls to alter room dimensions and relationships. The master bedroom or living room can also be expanded, or adding a second-story sitting room may be chosen instead of a two story foyer."
To
facilitate easy buyer selection, Summit offers a selection room at its
sales office. "There are carpeting, tiles, and cabinets ready for
the buyer to choose from, in addition to a selection book which shows
cut sheets of all our other options," says Maura Cannon, Summit's
Director of Sales. "We also have three decorated models, located
right next to the sales office, which display the available options."
Buyers may also observe different custom options
packages as they have been implemented in completed homes. "We have
a friendly relationship with all of our homeowners," Cannon explains.
"So we take our potential buyers through people's already sold homes
all the time. This way the buyer can see how the customization will look
in a realistic situation."
To reduce the cost for potential homebuyers, Pendry
says Summit has given local banks access to the sales floor in exchange
for reduced fees and free mortgage applications, as well as developed
programs which reduce legal and closing costs.
Great
Oak Farm sits on 115 acres of land adjoining Wolf Park in the Town of
Monroe. When Summit bought the project out of foreclosure, it had received
full site plan approval and a few homes had been started.
"We took one building and converted it into
a sales office," Pendry says. "Then we set about redesigning
the project, turning it from a traditional condominium community into
a planned community where we could create single-family homes for people
interested in a family-friendly neighborhood."
As Great Oak Farm nears completion. Summit Residential prepares to open three new projects: The Landing at Dobbs Ferry in Westchester County, New York; Old Ridge at Southbury, in Southbury, Connecticut; and Carriage House Crossing in Trumbull, Connecticut.
The Landing at Dobbs Ferry is a luxury condominium development located along the shore of the Hudson River in the Village of Dobbs Ferry. The project emerged from a situation similar to that of Great Oak Farm. The initial developer encountered difficulties and the property was forced into foreclosure. "There was some construction in place," Pendry recalls, "but the approvals had lapsed. Obtaining the re-approvals took much longer in Dobbs Ferry than it did in Monroe, so we are just coming out of that process now."
The Landing will ultimately offer 104 luxury, river front condominiums, ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet and priced between $400,000 and $600,000. The project has 34 different buildings with two to four units per building. Many of the homes will have spectacular views of the river.
Old Ridge at Southbury is a 150-lot planned community of single-family homes. Old Ridge will resemble the successful land plan of Great Oak Farm in that... (Next Page)