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Builder Profile
Jamestown currently builds 10 to 12
homes a year, but they’re still growing and
diversifying. They started out building
million-dollar, 4,000-square-foot homes
in one development. Now many of their
homes are up to 7,000 square feet and
priced for over two million. They have
a variety of product lines and have also
done some building in more up-and-
coming neighborhoods. “If we’re working
with a buyer, we listen to them and meet
with them and talk about their lives,
and then we’ll do hand-drawn sketches
in-house,” said Hawes. Working with a
buyer who already owns the land makes
more financial sense, but Jamestown still
does roughly half their building on spec
without a buyer lined up. They try to keep
these floor plans as flexible as possible,
and most of these homes are sold before
completion. Once a buyer comes into the
picture, Jamestown strives to make as
many requested changes as is efficient and
economically possible.
“Even if you buy a nearly completed home
from us, it can still be your custom home,”
said Hawes. “There are some custom
builders who don’t even want to paint the
walls a different color, and they don’t want
to list it for sale until it’s done because they
don’t want the buyer involved. But we build
homes for people. We want something
they’ll actually be able to live in and that
meets their lifestyle, and we try to keep
our ego out of it.” Despite the cost involved,
Jamestown has, for instance, changed a
newly-completed, beautiful wine room
into a home office to satisfy a customer.
Their buyers are often transplants to the
Houston area, and Jamestown considers
itself an ambassador for these new arrivals,
as well as an expert on resale concerns.
Putting two bedrooms on the main floor
is a common, aging-in-place design for
Jamestown. “We try to build homes that are
adaptable to peoples’ changing lives and to
be sure their home will be marketable if
they do decide to move.”
Jamestown takes pride in its concierge
customer service. “We have an outstanding
warranty program for our homeowners,”
said Hawes. “We’ll do anything, within
reason, to make our buyers happy and
help them enjoy their new homes worry
free.” And this is no exaggeration. A new
home owner once called Jamestown to
report their water heater had stopped
working. This was on a weekend night,
and Hawes went out there right away to
solve the problem herself. Jamestown’s
model is clearly working out well for them.
They are currently building a house for a
repeat buyer. “That’s really the ultimate
compliment we can receive,” said Hawes.
Although she doesn’t have any formal
training as an interior decorator, Hawes
has a real eye for design. “I enjoy working
on the interior design with buyers and
helping them get the look they’re trying to
achieve within their budget,” said Hawes.
“Seeing a home throughout the process and
then finally handing the keys over to the
buyer is a pretty special feeling.” All the
photos featured in this article highlights
a recent project Hawes worked on. She
described the look as “traditional meets
New York City loft” with exposed beams
and creative light fixtures. For the master
bathroom, she went for “cool, bright, and
spa-like.” This was a spec home completed
without a buyer, and when it did sell, the
new owner loved it so much they didn’t
want to change a thing.
So what would Hawes’ own dream home
plans include? “I’ve gotten so good at
understanding my buyers’ wants that
I haven’t put much thought into what
I would actually want for myself. My
personal favorite room in a house is the
lady’s master closet. I think a woman’s
closet should feel like a boutique more
than just storage, and there should be
mirrors and ways for them to display
their favorite clothes so that looking at
them makes them happy.” Although she’s
not quite ready to design her own house,
she was certain her current roommate’s
needs would factor into the plans. That
roommate is named Diva, a one-year-old
and much loved Pomeranian. “Honestly,
she’d probably have her own room.”
