For over 40 years, Traditions Building & Development Group has been paving the way for innovation and success in building branded master planned lifestyle communities. They know that a good home is more than just the sum of its bedrooms and the design of its layout. And in our country’s current climate, the preference for a custom, innovative lifestyle is palpable.
“Today, there has never been a stronger need for togetherness, but with spatial separation within the home,” says Traditions President and Founder Tom Humes.
“It’s impossible to have a conversation without mentioning COVID,” Humes says. “When it comes to our products and how we are presenting them, we are re-looking at our projects. New home construction is go- ing very well. The market is quite strong. People love new construction; today they desire it more than ever because it’s cleaner, it’s safer and it’s fresh.”
Traditions’ fundamental philosophy is about creating a functional, enjoyable living experience that incorporates timeless design and enduring value. For Doug C. Hinger, AIA, president of Traditions’ homebuilding division, Traditions Building Group, it’s all about location and what that location offers.
“We’re building in neighborhoods where there is more to it than just the house,” Hinger says. “The Wicks at The Vintage Club in Montgomery is an entire neighborhood with parks, an amenities center, planned retail and dining, a medical office building, and it is centrally located near additional conveniences such as shopping, restaurants and parks. We specialize in giving people the choice to design the plans and the homes the way they want, and we develop communities in great locations. That never goes out of style.”
“People want more than a home; they want a great lifestyle,” Humes adds. “People care about the community they are a part of, the neigh- borhood that they live in. We create that lifestyle concept in all our communities. It gives people that ‘at home,’ comfortable feeling, whether they belong to a family of one or five.”
This is something Traditions has been focusing on for a long time. Meeting clients where they are and understanding that good design, fundamentally, is key in creating that ultimate feeling of satisfaction in lifestyle.
“We accommodate for specific design choices, and all spaces must work together,” says Hinger. “When you’re entertaining people, it’s not like the kitchen gets tucked away. It becomes a theater. We have islands that accommodate anywhere from four to six to eight people. The kitchen serves as the central gathering space in our urban and suburban projects. The spaces that all work together are the more successful ones."
Humes emphasizes the importance of diversity of product with Traditions’ communities. “Each one offers a type of home designed for that specific neighborhood. For instance, in our new City Series proj- ect in Wyoming, the neighborhood has a classic old village feel, which we’ve reflected in our exterior designs. These are different from our single-floor Courtyard homes at The Retreat at Summit Park in Blue Ash. At our City Series community in Evanston, Merrimac Square, we’ve designed townhomes, carriage homes and single-family homes that blend into the urban context.
“Each community is crafted to meet the clear definitions of our target markets,” Humes continues. We’re very much a marketing-based company, and when we look at marketing, it’s not just advertising. It truly is the culmination of the product, place, price, promotion and overall positioning. It’s about making the community come together and creating the home that people really want.”
The Current Home-Buying Atmosphere
“There’s been a reinforcement of the fundamentals of what good housing design and construction is. People are taking a second look at many of the things we’ve been doing for years and saying, ‘That’s what I really want,’” Humes says. “I can’t think of anything more important now than outdoor spaces. All of our buildings, from our luxury condos to our village-style homes, have a private outdoor space which is always important, but even more highly valued in our current COVID environment. Not everybody is able to offer these spaces at scale.”
Human connection and togetherness are vital to the creation of a neighborhood, but so is meeting buyers where they are, and where they want to be.
“We like to think that while we maintain the best of the old, we also introduce the best of the new every time we get the opportunity,” Humes says. “We ask ourselves ‘How do we take something that’s good and successful and make it better to meet the needs of the market- place and consumer?’ One of the challenges is to identify the needs of tomorrow’s consumer today. These insights are the elements that go into what the product ultimately becomes — how much square footage, how many rooms, the types and layouts of rooms, as well as how the consumer will use, etc.”
“Housing and new development are site specific,” notes Hinger. “People are rooted in location. Beyond the interior of a home, we specialize in creating an attractive public realm that helps to reinforce the reason a person is there, whether it’s a great front porch like we have at The Retreat at Summit Park or an exterior design that comple- ments the fabric of a historic district such as our City Series project in Wyoming. We offer multiple design options, such as rooftop terraces or bonus rooms. This gives clients the opportunity to create what they want, and we help them make that decision by providing an exciting array of choices for both the interior and exterior of their homes.”
Traditions Building Group believes in great architecture and design, and also values clients’ desires to customize and reflect their own personal styles. “It starts with good design and we build from there,” Humes says. “Everybody wants something different, and we go out of our way to meet those needs. People want to personalize their home. They want to feel like it was handcrafted just for them.”
The Big Picture — It’s All About the Details.
“From a land development standpoint, our team spends a lot of time planning and thinking about how the community will live and feel beyond the homes themselves,” adds Vice President of Marketing Jamie Humes. “And that requires both thinking about the big picture as well as the numerous details. Everything from the street and sidewalk configu- ration as well as the overall streetscape aesthetic, how each homesite integrates with its surroundings, landscaped common areas and pocket parks, entry monumentation, down to branded street signage. The details matter. All of these elements are thoughtfully designed to create a strong sense of place and community.”
Expanding Beyond Cincinnati
According to Hinger, the Northern Kentucky area is a growing market. Traditions Group is beginning work on their first Northern Kentucky project as a select builder within the new Rivers Pointe Estates community in Hebron, currently under development. “Our partnership with the Toebben family, who is developing the full project, was the right opportunity for us,” he says. “Rivers Pointe Estates is a large and highly unique master planned community that will have up to 1,000 residences. We’ve designed the entry village neighborhood and get to help set the tone for the balance of the community. There is tremendous opportunity for innovation and the developer is planning a brewery, a fitness center, a spectacular community clubhouse and a restaurant or two. It’s highly amenitized and everything will be within walking distance. It’s a great opportunity and a good fit for what Traditions does well.”
Tom Humes credits the Traditions’ team with the company’s success. “We have a great team of people with diverse backgrounds. We have a highly professional staff of civil engineers, architects, accountants, sales managers, marketers, builders, etc. We have been both a successful builder and land developer. Today we focus on places where we can take the right location to develop both the land and home together, creating the ultimate maximization of return on investment and lifestyle enjoy- ment for the buyer. Upscale lifestyle is what we create, but it is upscale without being pretentious.”
“Real estate development takes strong vision and a long-term outlook. It also requires innovation,” Jamie Humes says. “We work hard to offer exciting, unique lifestyle opportunities and solutions for our clients and constantly strive to be on the leading edge of the market.”
Traditions Building & Development Group is located at 4000 Executive Park Drive, Suite 250, Cincinnati, OH 45241. For more information, call 513.563.4070 or visit traditionsgroup.com