Can you believe we are more than halfway through the year! Time goes by fast doesn’t it? I recently saw the Harvest home count, which is 2,829 occupied homes, and was blown away! It’s hard to believe when I started nearly 10 years ago, we only had 100 homes on the ground. The growth has been steady. We still have a little ways to go to total buildout (4,074 homes).
One of my favorite things is hearing why residents chose Harvest as their home. The common answer I hear is the events and community culture, which makes my heart happy. Culture isn’t something that just happens. I have heard residents say that they never lived in a community like this before and I always say it’s because most communities don’t have a lifestyle program like we do. The culture we enjoy comes from years of building relationships, intentionality, authenticity and starting from day one. A few things you may or may not know is that a lot of developers offer the promise of lifestyle. They host public events like wine festivals and fall festivals in an effort to draw in prospects. Once the community is built out, that budget and programming often disappears. Typically, an HOA will allot a small budget for a homeowner committee to organize and plan a few events.
Hillwood wanted to change the game and it all started with Harvest in 2014. Our program was designed to be sustainable, meaning part of the HOA budget and not supplemented by the developer. This is great news for residents, especially as we inch closer to buildout. Having a sustainable lifestyle program means residents will continue to enjoy the life and community programming for years to come.
What most people don’t realize is the Harvest HOA team (which includes myself) work for an HOA management company, FirstService Residential. The HOA management company is the “boots on the ground” for the day-to-day operation of the community. They facilitate the directives of the HOA board, which for Harvest is the developer plus one homeowner.
When the community is built out and the developer turns the community over, the HOA team will report directly to a homeowner-controlled HOA board. While there will undoubtedly be changes, the goal is that the onsite HOA team will continue to manage and nurture the Harvest culture so it continues to flourish. After all, that is why many neighbors choose Harvest as their home.
Whether you live in Harvest or another HOA community, I encourage you to be an active participant — attend meetings, ask questions, and know your board members. Your community, like Harvest, was specially designed with the ability to flourish long after the developer leaves.
