Home Builder Awards 2026 The drive to build communities runs deep in the Hall family. This year marks 50 years since Howard Hall, then a well-known attorney, developed his first residential neighborhood, laying the foundation for what would become a multi-generational commitment to thoughtful community building. Nearly five decades later, his son Howard “Chip” Hall has been at the helm for more than a decade and now serves as Principal of Cottage Advisors, a family-owned company built on personal relationships, local ties, and long-term stewardship. Most Trusted Community Builder 2026 – USA & BUILD Client Service Excellence Award 2026 Since Cottage Advisors is inextricably linked with Howard, it pays to start with his story, which predates the company itself by almost 30 years. As mentioned above, it was 1976 when Howard developed his first residential community, setting in motion a chain of events that would define his family’s future over the following decades. After building this community, Howard worked as a principle for multiple development companies across New England, supporting large-scale residential and commercial developments alike. The work Howard has done in this space is defined by a dedication to preserve the natural beauty of the sites he develops, and it is this, combined with his passion for meeting and talking to people, which led to him exploring a new kind of residential development. This really began to take shape in the early 2000s, when Howard partnered with another developer in Westford, MA, to create the Village at Stone Ridge, a 110-unit development of age-restricted condominiums known for its open spaces and thoughtful design. In 2005, Howard would take this design ethos to new heights with Cottage Advisors, a company focused on combining efficient use of site land with high-quality homes and amenities geared towards social interaction. The vision was to bring back the sense of community that has been lost in the modern world of residential development, an aim that has remained unchanged in the more than 20 years since it first opened its doors. Cottage Advisors’ early days saw it create classic resort communities across New England and Canada, with just some of those it worked on as both a developer and a building partner including Summer Village at the Pond in Westford, MA; Seaglass Village in Wells, ME; and Sandbanks Summer Village in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Then, in 2014, the company took these principles and applied them to the residential home market, beginning with a pocket neighbourhood in West Newbury, MA and building out from there. Howard was the driving force behind Cottage Advisors through its various evolutions. When his son Chip joined him in 2007, he quickly shouldered significant responsibility, leading efforts in site selection, property entitlement, and community development oversight. In 2015, Chip assumed day-to-day management of the company and sharpened its focus on the residential development market. To date, he has overseen the permitting and development of more than 550 cottages, leveraging his specialty in maximizing space to ensure clients can make the most of their living environment without increasing square footage. With Chip’s at the helm, Cottage Advisors has gone on to create a range of energy-efficient home designs which help to significantly reduce the footprint of their communities. However, more than this, their focus on low-maintenance living, sustainable practices, and creating walkable communities sees spaces created where homeowners harmoniously engage with nature, building a better future for all. Most notably, these principles converge in one of Cottage Advisors’ newest communities, the Cottages at Pheasent Knoll, comprising of three condominium communities with 120 homes in the Greater Portland area, more than 110 of the homes in this vibrant, maintenance-free community are already taken, and with this development wrapping up its third and final phase with a target completion date of October 2026. Of course, with many other communities on the cards for this pocket neighbourhood developer, those who have missed out will not have too much longer to wait. Ultimately, by sitting at the intersection of residential development, community planning, and custom homebuilding, Cottage Advisors’ dedication to building cottage-style, right-sized homes in clustered neighbourhoods aligns it with the changing expectations of how people want to live in the US. As more homeowners seek out the ‘missing middle’ between large lots and high-density urban projects, these services, for which the company has been recognised with two well-deserved awards, will become increasingly sought after. Commenting on the company’s recognition in the Home Builder Awards 2026, Chip reflected: “I’m deeply grateful to my family, our employees, and our trade partners. Many of our team members have been with us for more than a decade, and their dedication, institutional knowledge, and unwavering commitment to continuous process improvement and client satisfaction have been central to our evolution and longterm success. It is especially meaningful to have my three sons involved in different aspects of our communitybuilding business, continuing the family tradition and helping shape the next generation of leadership.” Contact: Howard” Chip” Hall Company: Cottage Advisors Home Builders, LLC Web Address: https://www.cottageadvisors.com/
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUyMDQwMA==