Design Center for City Buyers

To make shopping for interior finishes for buyers’ new homes easier, Concord Homes has put a new twist on an old idea. With the development of five townhome, loft and condominium communities in downtown Chicago, the Palatine, Ill.-based home builder decided a large, centrally located design center -- the kind that area and national builders have been doing for years -- would best serve its city clientele.

"We felt it was important to offer our buyers a quiet environment in which to make interior selections. A construction site or a sales office is not always conducive to the kind of contemplation that’s required," says Roger Mankedick, executive vice president of Concord.

The facility in the West Loop area of Chicago allows buyers to see and touch everything from cabinets and appliances to carpeting and granite countertops before they make their choices. Sales offices at each community don’t have the space for the thousands of product samples featured at the downtown showroom, nor the full-time design counselors who meet with each buyer to work on options.

"Buyers love it because they’re away from the sales office where there’s lots of activity. When they come to the design center, it’s the most pleasant part of the buying process," says Mankedick.