What's in a name?
It may not seem like it, but there is some method to the madness of coming up with subdivision and residential community names.
True to the old real estate adage of "location, location, location," Len Gengel, owner of C&S Builders in Rutland, said the site's history and placement have a lot to do with the eventual project name.
"What I do historically is I go after who owned the property before me," Gengel said.
Farms vs. villages
For example, Gengel said, he is currently finishing up a project in Rutland called "The Highlands at Brunelle Farm." "Highlands" because it is a hilly part of town, "Brunelle Farm" because the Brunelle family in Rutland operated a farm on the site for many years.
Gengel also explained that marketing and branding the project has a significant impact on the project's name.
For example, a project with the name "farms" in it will more than likely be a larger, single-family home development with bigger, "farm-like" lots, Gengel said. A "villages" project will be a little more dense, with smaller lots and a more town-y feel.
Gengel said he also solicits help from the community when naming projects.
Guy Webb, executive director of the Builders Association of Central Massachusetts, said that when it comes to naming projects, pretty much anything goes, depending on the builder.
"It's whatever they want to name it, really," Webb said. "But I like to think (developers) are savvy enough to put some marketing strategy into it that helps them name their projects."
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