Tell us about MacKenzie Brothers – how you started, what your building philosophy is:
My brother Gary and I have been in business together for 30 years. Our approach may not always be the same but our business values have always been the same: to provide our customers with the highest quality workmanship and great value within the homes we build. Gary and I learned many years ago how valuable our employees are to our success. We realize every day that without them we could not achieve all that we do.
How did you get involved with The Pinehills in the first place?
It began when we learned that The Pinehills had started clearing land and putting in infrastructure and roads. I decided to send Tony Green a letter and informational package on our company. We set a time to meet so we could discuss the opportunities at The Pinehills. After “surviving” the interview process (well, it really wasn’t that bad!), we toured The Pinehills team through our current projects. Soon after, we were invited to join the team of custom home builders at The Pinehills and we haven’t looked back since!
What types of homes is MacKenzie Brothers building at The Pinehills?
We build both custom and cottage homes. The custom process starts with raw land, a blank piece of paper, your ideas and our architect. The “Cottage Style” homes include of five or six cottage designs that can be customized within the neighborhood standards for the customer’s home.
How was your experience working on the HGTV Green Home?
First, we thank The Pinehills and HGTV for being selected as the builder for the HGTV 2010 Green Home. It was a great experience for our company and our team. The time frames and construction deadlines were a challenge due to filming schedules. But we are accustomed to challenges in our business -- it keeps it new and fresh each day. I’d welcome the opportunity to work again with HGTV and their dedicated team.
Talk to us about custom homebuilding. How has it changed? The custom home building business relates to the lifestyle choices of our customers. At The Pinehills, many of our customers live there year-round. However, with our offices based on Cape Cod, those homes are often second homes for our customers. Whether we are building 2000 sq. ft. or 6000 sq. ft. homes, customers are looking for a home with a different “feel.” Today’s customers offer us new challenges. (We believe) that is due to changes in lifestyle. 10 to 15 years ago, homes were larger. Now, the customers are looking for smaller well designed homes that offer lower maintenance and open floor plans with a good sized dining area – not necessarily a formal dining room. When meeting a customer for the first time we talk a lot about their lifestyle and that feedback really defines the type of home they are looking to build.
Talk to us about cottages and pocket neighborhoods.
The “Cottage Style” homes are a trend that is here to stay. Each neighborhood is so different in its feeling and design…again, relating back to lifestyle. The homes are fun to build and offer very interesting ceiling lines, creative spaces and features reminiscent of Cape Cod. In the design process you learn how to do more with less square footage. I speak of lifestyle quite a bit, but I believe it’s the key to building our customers a home that they will be very happy with for many years to come.
