The Beacon Prestige: A Re-Imagined Modern Classic with Must-Have Features

Sometimes, with a few changes, a timeless classic can be re-imagined into something completely new — and even better.

A few years ago, Colony Homes in Shippenville, Pennsylvania, made a few tweaks to their Beacon series — a popular entry-level manufactured home. Dubbed the Beacon Limited, it was a basic home with limited offerings (hence the name) at a great price. The thinking was two-fold: provide a great starter home and a jumping-off point for customers to explore higher-end homes.

Sometimes you hit a home run. Sometimes you don’t.

Re-Imagining a Classic

“It didn’t work out as well as we would have liked,” said?Bryan McElravy, Sales Manager, Colony Homes. “So, we knew we had to reestablish ourselves in the entry-level market.”

That's where One Cavco Action 1 came into play for the Colony team. Owning their decisions and results with no excuses, they stepped back, took stock and put their heads together to strategize how to reclaim their strong foothold in the entry-level market.

“The idea was to go back and use the Beacon Prestige name that already had a great market presence and name recognition,” Bryan said. “Except we’d create all new floor plans and features that our customers would be excited about – offering them a little pizzazz.”

Offering Must-Have Features

Knowing that even their entry-level homebuyers still wanted interesting and exciting options — even if they didn’t purchase them — the Colony Team offered several add-ons typically only available in higher-end homes, including:

An Alpine Dormer

Exposed ceiling beams

Hidden walk-in pantries

A 60-inch ceramic shower

Along with other upgrade options, they also offered the newly reimagined Beacon Prestige in multiple sizes at different price points, focusing on the under $100,000 market.

The Unveiling of the New Beacon Prestige

The newly redesigned Beacon Prestige was recently showcased at the annual Fall Homes Show in Shippenville, PA, generating a lot of buzz among the more than 350 retailers, community owners and customers who attended.

Homebuyers who had purchased a Beacon Prestige from only a description and line drawing (since at the time there weren’t any built) were especially excited at the first chance to see the new home they’d bought. And they were in for a treat!

In fact, when these homebuyers saw the amazing options, like the Alpine dormers, hidden pantries and other features, many quickly updated their orders to include them.

Back in Business

The Beacon Prestige series doesn’t just hit the right price points in the bread-and-butter entry-level home market — it offers more for customers’ money and high-quality upgrades with an innovative, modern look.

"We’re back in the entry-level business in a big way."

So, has Colony Homes hit one out of the park with the new Beacon Prestige?

It looks like it. They’ve already sold 34 Beacon Prestige series houses — an overwhelming hit.

“The Beacon homes were the hit of the show,” Bryan said. “We knew they would be because they looked dynamite. So, to make a long story short — we’re back in the entry-level business in a big way.”