After building hundreds of homes in various developments throughout the Birmingham, Ala. area, J. Harris Development recently found a new home for itself. In March, the family-owned company moved from its previous headquarters in Pelham to a newly renovated, three-story, 1880s-style building in downtown Birmingham. As a result, the company has seen a boost in business, and its customer satisfaction ratings have gone through the roof.

The move was a natural progression for J. Harris Development, placing the company in a central location to all of its communities. “When Jack Harris, the owner, hired me a year ago, he wanted to make the leap from good to great. He wants to see this company become a regional—if not national—player, so we’re starting with being a hard-hitter in our own city. That means changing just about everything we do,” said Alan Chandler, COO of the 30-year-old company.

On top of a complete corporate identity overhaul—new logo, mission statement, core values, and even a redesigned home page—J. Harris Development is implementing strategies to make the home-buying process a pleasure, not a nightmare. For instance, it has opened a 3,000-square-foot interior design center staffed by a full-time interior decorator, started a home plan center, and launched a 12-person real estate business. If that doesn’t seem like enough, it is also implementing state-of-the-art accounting/estimating software.

To position the company for further growth, Chandler has built up his staff to about 30 employees. “With the exception of a few people, everyone is new. We lost a few shared employees when we split from our sister company, and some people were unable to make the transition. Basically, we got down to our core and built up from there,” he said.

J. Harris Development is growing its new identity around an industry niche: customized production homes. “It used to be an oxymoron to say ‘customized’ and ‘production home’ in the same sentence. We’re breaking that mold,” Chandler said.

The company’s current subdivisions include 92 homes at Windsor Village, 250 in Smith Glenn, 80 traditional basement houses in Chatham Crest in Trussville, and 170 homes in Carrington Lakes, also in Trussville. Six more subdivisions are planned for this coming January, and the back log keeps growing. Chandler expects to close 250 homes in 2007.

The company builds homes at various price points, ranging from $170,000 cottage homes to $1 million estates. Chandler explains that the estate homes are custom homes in themselves. “The home owner brings in drawings for us or we design the home for them. They have control over every aspect of the design.”

But those who go for a lower price point don’t have to resign themselves to having cookie-cutter homes. The floor plans may be the same, but customers have complete control over colors and finishes, and they can make all their choices in the company’s new interior design center.

“They can choose granite or Corian counter tops, paint colors, door types, the shade of the bricks, lighting fixtures, even the pulls on their cabinet doors. Although we may build 27 houses with the same floor plan in a subdivision, we can give each of those home owners the opportunity to create their own identity,” Chandler said.

After plenty of market research, J. Harris Development discovered a new trend in the real estate industry. In the past, square footage and cost meant everything, but today, home buyers are less concerned about how much space they have and more interested in what amenities are included in that space.

“The number of options we carry is unique. Usually you only have a few choices because most builders aren’t willing to deal with the extra management needed to customize features—the less options they offer, the less confusion there is. But we see a niche here.”

And the company’s new accounting/estimating software, when implemented, will make customization even easier. For instance, if a customer chooses to build on a screened-in porch, manually inputting the changes can be a time-consuming hassle and often results in inaccurate estimations. But using the software, someone just needs to type in the changes, and the adjustments are made automatically.

“The program will change the purchase order to the lumber company and add the right number of two-by-fours, etc. It is particularly handy given how many customization options we offer. And when the subcontractors and vendors get involved, they know exactly what they need to do,” said Chandler. “It is a lot of front-end work, but once it is set up, it is amazing that only two people can do what it used to take an army to do.”

According to Chandler, amenities extend beyond a home’s four walls. Green space is an increasingly important factor for home buyers, so every one of the company’s developments has walking paths, parks, lakes, and other enjoyable outdoor spaces. Carrington Lakes, for example, has a clubhouse, junior Olympic swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, and walking trails in between two large man-made lakes.