Parkwood Homes Case Study: A Model Home Breaking new Ground

(in more ways than one)

The Foundation – a Brief Background

Parkwood Homes, a family-owned and operated home builder, founded in Maryland has been a groundbreaking company for over 26 years. As the principal builder of the nationally-acclaimed Kentlands, Maryland community, Parkwood helped spark a nationwide movement toward smarter development based on traditional neighborhoods. Kentlands, located just outside of Washington, DC, has been named by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) as one of the “Great Planned Communities of the World.”

Another one of ULI’s great planned communities? Central Park (formerly known as Stapleton) in Denver, Colorado. Parkwood was one of the founding builders of this urban infill redevelopment that is now home to over 30,000 residents. It was here, in the Central Park neighborhood, that Parkwood debuted their “Painted Ladies” product. An homage to San Francisco’s iconic, brightly colored, three-story single-family with innovative floorplans that buyers just love.

Building on their success in Maryland, and then Denver, Parkwood Homes decided to expand into the Utah market. Taking their groundbreaking floorplans and quality building style, they built an exquisite model home in the equally gorgeous Daybreak community. (Which in 2019, won the PCBC Golden Nugget Award for Master Planned Community of the Year.) To help tackle this new adventure, Parkwood Homes called on their old friends and trusted partners in interior design and model merchandising, Lita Dirks & Co (LD & Co).

And this is where our story begins…

Why Choose LD & Co?

While excited about venturing into the Utah market, Logan Wilcox, Parkwood Homes Vice President, understood he was about to enter uncharted territory. And as such, he wanted something/someone in the process that was reliable, safe, known. LD & Co fit the bill.

Parkwood Homes and LD & Co have worked together on several projects both in Maryland and Denver. And according to Logan, working with LD & Co is easy, smooth, and always results in beautiful products that sell. And it wasn’t just the people at Parkwood that enjoy working with the team at LD & Co, it is also the construction team. As Logan stated, “the construction guys appreciate how clean and clear the drawings are! It’s so enjoyable working with Lita and her team. They give valuable, thoughtful feedback on floor plans, brainstorm with us on different ideas, and they are just fun. I knew going with Lita Dirks & Co would make the execution smooth and stress-free.”

As the model home in the Daybreak community was going to be their first entry into the Utah market, Logan wanted to know that the flag they were planting was going to be a memorable one. He knew Parkwood had to make a great first impression.

Familiarity in Unfamiliar Territory

There was a myriad of unfamiliarity with this job. In addition to building in a new state, Parkwood had never built a home this big (7,000 square feet), on a lake, and the build – as well as the install – was done all remotely.

Logan was still working and living in Denver when construction started on the Daybreak model. Flying back and forth to oversee the construction was expected and planned for. A remote install, however, was not. The model was scheduled to install March 16, 2020.

On March 12, 2020, everything shut down.

All work was put on pause for a month to see what this “Covid thing” was all about. Once they realized that the virus wasn’t going away any time soon, and that it was going to get much worse before it got better, Parkwood pivoted.

They changed plans and strategized on how they could get the model installed remotely. Thankfully, Parkwood and LD & Co have a good, solid relationship that they were able to leverage. Together they made it happen. Logan had worked closely with the LD & Co design director overseeing this job, Amy, on previous models. In fact, this project was the third time that Logan had worked directly with Amy and as he expressed, “I really enjoy working with her. She’s so creative, responsive, and just easy to work with.”

Success

Together they devised a plan. At this point, most people were not flying commercially. Getting Amy from Denver to Utah was not an option. So, Logan hired a local interior designer to help execute their plan. Amy wrote up incredibly detailed instructions for the design of every inch of the 7,000 square foot model. She explained exactly how and where to place the finishes, furniture, art…everything. She also FaceTimed with the designer to provide real-time help.

It worked.

The model sold immediately! There was no grand opening, no special showings, just the model selling itself.

What’s Next?

After Daybreak’s success, Parkwood plans to continue to develop in Utah. Keeping it all in the family, Logan will take over the Utah expansion while his brother Matt will assume responsibility for their Denver developments. There is a plethora of opportunity in both areas, and Parkwood plans on being a part of it. While Logan and his brother become the face of Parkwood west as it were, there will still be a team in the DC area to continue their presence there, their hometown. Parkwood Homes will continue to provide beautiful, quality built homes for years to come.

About Parkwood Homes

To learn more about the Daybreak community and see some pictures of the beautiful model home discussed, please visit: https://www.daybreakutah.com/whats-happening/new-homes-in-daybreak-utah/parkwood-homes/

And to learn more about the rest of Parkwood Homes communities, https://www.parkwoodhomes.com/

And to learn how LD & Co can help your company create groundbreaking model homes, please contact us today.