By BUILDER Magazine Staff. With just 38 residences, The Olson Co.'s Heritage Walk had to be marketed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The California Mission-style, "Citi-homes" on an intimate 1-acre site are within walking distance of the famed Pasadena Playhouse District, Colorado Boulevard, and historic Old Town Pasadena.
Heritage Walk's colorful logo and graphic signage highlight the architectural landmarks of historic Pasadena. Locals loved the "in-town" references, which helped sell out the community in its first release. To brand the identity of the community, The Olson Co., and its ad agency created an evocative logo, reflecting the unique in-town appeal of Pasadena. The sales office sold the new homes as part of an upscale urban community. This was done by integrating graphics of local Pasadena landmarks into icon-style designs in marketing materials, signs, and community collateral. Visitors easily identified the architectural landmarks. "We wanted to convey the 'heart of town' mood," says Lennette Harmer, marketing director. "The colors and mood of the graphics and sales office are rich but also retro in style, and we play off the word 'heritage' as something to be proud of. It gives the site a sense of place." The Heritage sales office logged 2,000 qualified prospects and averaged 100 qualified buyers per week. Heritage Walk sold out immediately at release.
Program: Community identity logo; Project: Heritage Walk, Pasadena, Calif.; Builder/Developer: The Olson Co., Seal Beach, Calif.; Price: $252,900 to $344,990; Size: 1,191 to 1,785 square feet; Sales office merchandising: $25 per square foot; Sales: All 38 units sold out in first release in summer 2000; Ad agency: Hayes Martin Associates, Costa Mesa, Calif.; Architect: Bassenian/Lagoni Architects, Newport Beach, Calif. Interior merchandising: Design Tec, Costa Mesa; Sales office interiors: Austin Johnson Interiors, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; Signage: Outdoor Dimensions, Fullerton, Calif.
