2009 National Sales and Marketing Award: The Trails at Bridgewater, Huntington Beach, Calif.

A profile of 2009 National Sales and Marketing Gold Award Winner The Trails at Bridgewater, Huntington Beach, Calif.

By Felicia Oliver, Senior Editor
March 1, 2009
Professional Builder

The Trails at Brightwater, Huntington Beach, Calif. / Best Detached Community of the Year
Builder/developer: Hearthside Homes, Irvine, Calif.
Architect: Bassenian/Lagoni, Newport Beach, Calif.
Land planner: Forma Design, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Number of units: 62
Price of units: $899,000 to $1,099,000
Square footage of units: 1,700 to 1,953
Brightwater was designed to epitomize coastal living through its architecture.

Photo credit: Chet Frohlich and John Bare/DesignLens.com

"We've often refer to it as Western Seaboard borrowing from Eastern Seaboard roots," says Dave Kosco, Bassenian/Lagoni Architects' director of design and lead designer for the community. "In the stucco-dominant context of Southern California, never did it seem so context-appropriate to place coastal influenced architecture."
Kosco says early Huntington Beach communities are riddled with Craftsman, Victorian, cottage and seaside vernaculars. "There are a menagerie of colors, materials and textures evident that became the influence for Brightwater's direction."
Brightwater was a true labor of love for the developer.
"Entitlements took over 10 years," says Kosco. "What started as a much denser multifamily plan was ultimately reduced to approximately 350 single-family detached homes across four different product lines. The Trails represents the smallest in square footage and the highest in density."
It was a challenge to make The Trails' 1,700- to 1,850-square-foot homes on 45-foot by 65-foot lots feel like million dollar homes. But builder Hearthside Homes wanted potential buyers to walk out of the residences and feel they were unlike anything they'd ever seen.
"We put tremendous focus on private outdoor living space," says Kosco. "The Huntington Beach buyer is extremely discerning and very in touch with the outdoors. We designed extensive walls of glass and ten-foot plate lines to reinforce the home's connectivity with the outdoors.
"To date, they have sold 14 of The Trails' homes averaging roughly one sale per month," Kosco adds. "In today's environment, that's not bad for a million dollar product."

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Intro: The 2009 National Sales and Marketing Award Gold Winners

Site Point, Baltimore | Best Attached Community of the Year / Best Urban Sales Office / Best Brochure for a Community Priced over $1 million

Bridgeland, Cypress, Texas | Best Master Planned Community of the Year

The Trails at Brightwater, Huntington Beach, Calif. | Best Detached Community of the Year

Ritz-Carlton Residences Inner Harbor, Baltimore | Best Design for an Attached Community / Best Landscape Design

Miraval Plan 313 at Stapleton Court Homes, Denver | Best Single Family Detached Home Priced $400,000 to $650,000

Port 121 at Seabridge, Unit J, Oxnard, Calif. | Best Interior Merchandising of a Model Priced $400,000 to $650,000

Five Lanterns at Pinehills, Residence One, Plymouth, Mass., and The Ridge at Cintarosa, Scottsdale, Ariz. | TIED – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model Priced over $1 million

The Ridge at Cintarosa, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Five Lanterns at Pinehills, Residence One, Plymouth, Mass. | TIED – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model Priced over $1 million

Celebrate by Del Webb, Fredericksburg, Va. | Best brochure for a Community priced under $400,000 / Best Marketing Campaign for a Green Built Community

Giraffe Condos, Toronto | Best Overall Ad Campaign / Best Signage

1010 Midtown, Atlanta | Best Color Ad / Best Series of Related Print Ads

Simonini Builders Corporate Brochure | Best Corporate Brochure

MYC Condos, Toronto | Best Brochure for a Community priced $400,000 to $650,000

Artesana Rosewood Residence, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico | Best Black & White Ad

NXT at Windemere by the Lake, Toronto | Best Graphic Continuity

Shappell Matchmaker Campaign | Best Internet Marketing Campaign

'1' Hotel, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. | Best On the Boards Ad Campaign

Additional Gold Award Winners

Judges – 2009 National Sales Marketing Award