Five Sneak Peaks For ‘25

In the coming year, the Epcon Franchising network could see as many as fifteen new Epcon Communities launch with new builders. We’ve had several great years of builder additions now, and we’re reaching the point at which many of them are finally through entitlements and land development. When I look down the list of what is coming, five stand-out projects are particularly exciting.

The Courtyards at Shurtz Canyon is one I have been anxiously awaiting, given my love of Southwest Utah. It will be located on the south side of Cedar City and will offer sweeping mountain views. Builder Roger Thomas and his team have put together a wonderful homesite and amenity plan, and I can’t wait to book my plane tickets for his homesite reservation event while – of course – working in a side trip to nearby Zion National Park.

Lakeside at Millican Reserve is another one that has kept me excited since Jesse Durden joined our network in 2020 and began working through the planning stages for it. As the name implies, it’s going to be located on a beautiful and secluded lake overlooking an amenity center in College Station, Texas. My visits to this area have proven that even a die-hard Buckeyes fan can fall in love with Aggieland, and I know our product is going to be a big hit in conjunction with the amazing community Jesse and the Kept Classic Homes team have put together.

If sweeping views are your thing and Shurtz Canyon is too far west for you, Chipeta Hollows in Grand Junction, Colorado, could be the Epcon solution for you. This community, coming to us from Charlie Gechter and Wendi Gechter of BOA Builders LLC, features views of the Colorado Monument in one direction and views of Grand Mesa in another. It will be one of the first franchise communities to feature our Farmhouse architectural style and will also offer the new Carriage Series line of home designs intended to make our homes and communities more attainable in an area that has a significant housing shortage.

Around the middle of the year, The Courtyards at Cross Keys will bring the Epcon name back to New Jersey. This community, being developed by the husband and wife team of Glenn Isaac, CFP? and Sarah Cohen, will feature our new primary-down townhome line, providing an attainable solution that I’m sure will be popular with active adults in another area that has a need for housing stock. Glenn and Sarah have been tremendous partners with us throughout the process, all while juggling a young and growing family in addition to preparing this amazing site to go to market.

I’ll close with one that is close to all of us on the Franchising team, both in terms of geography and our hearts. The Greens at Northstar will be revving up very soon in Sunbury, Ohio, which is a growing submarket north of Columbus. This one is coming to us from Morgan Knapp, who enjoyed a very successful career at Epcon Communities as a Sales Consultant, Sales Director, and Sales Recruiter. She and her husband Jay decided to join our franchise network about a year ago and are already bringing this exciting community to market in a great area of Delaware County. This neighborhood will feature golf course homesites, water views, and a dedicated neighborhood clubhouse in addition to its proximity to the Northstar Golf Club. Since it’s located only ten minutes from my home, this could be the one for me in ’25!

Given all of these great examples, in addition to the ones I don’t have space to mention, it’s easy to understand why I’m ending 2024 with both gratitude and excitement. Gratitude for a great Franchising team that makes communities like these possible, and for a larger corporate and franchise network that gives us strength in numbers. Excitement for so many new communities that will improve lives by allowing people to live independently longer. As my Gen-Z son would say, “Let’s go!”