WE GET IT. DEVELOPERS ARE NOT ALWAYS WELL THOUGHT OF.
THAT’S BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS WELL MEANING.
Let’s face it, many developers are profit-motivated and seek to optimize their returns by completing as many transactions as efficiently as possible. While this is not unique to the developer industry, it can be particularly challenging because development activity is local. There is no avoiding it, development always occurs in someone’s “backyard.”
To make matters worse, the developer industry has become increasingly regional and corporate. It is not unusual for the project down the street to be operated by an out-of-state developer, a foreign-owned company and/or a large corporation that is essentially bottom-line driven.
WE THINK IT’S TIME THAT CHANGED.
What about a developer that aspires to improve the community along the way? When you buy a home, you are buying more than a home. You are also buying a community. It is a dual-consideration. Do we like…no love, the home? Do we like…no love, the community? We urge our buyers to never settle. You have to like, no love, both.
Is a community just a geographic location? Or a random group of people who share a longitude? Or even something more specific like a neighborhood? We don’t think so. At 3 Square we believe a community is more than that…or at least it can be.
WE BELIEVE COMMUNITIES ARE MANIFESTATIONS OF POTENTIAL.
The potential for a shared vision, common values and the desire to make something better. Its people acting on behalf of not just their best interest but their neighbors’ and future neighbors’ best interest. It’s work but it’s also a labor of love.
A community places the collective good ahead of selfish interest. And by doing so, creates tacit membership and belonging. Isn’t that what we all want…to be part of something greater than ourselves?
We think so. That is why at 3 Square, we aspire to everything a community can be. And by doing business the way we do, we hope to contribute to that potential.
WE BUILD COMMUNITIES ONE HOME AT A TIME.
This means two things. First, we are a small, luxury builder.
It’s literally just the two of us - no corporate offices or staff. Yes we have our general contractor, interior designer and other team around us who do all the hard work, but our “company” is a husband and wife, a company of two (and two teen boys who work behind the scenes). And since we only do 3-4 projects a year, we are selling one home at a time.
Second, embedded in our business model is the support of the communities in which we work. More about this in a minute.
A COMMUNITY IS THE RESULT OF AN ON-GOING RELATIONSHIP.
A community is not a transaction. In fact, it is just about the opposite of a transaction. A community is the result of an on-going relationship. And, communities create virtuous cycles. The stronger the relationship, the more viable the community…and vis-a-versa.
The local Little League team, your Facebook Group, #Frenchbulldogs or the neighborhood bar. Communities come together—and stay together—because of relationships. Put another way, relationships build communities. Transactions do not. In fact we have built relationships right into our business model.
OUR PARTNERS
When you buy a 3 Square home, you become part of a three-way relationship. You are part of a process that strengthens homes, families and consequently, the community. We do this by including support for the neighborhood elementary, middle and high school in which the home resides and a local not for profit, Savio House in every relationship
NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SAVIO HOUSE
Every time one of our homes is purchased, 3 Square will donate $10,000 among the elementary, middle and high schools in that home’s community. If desired, we will do this in the original home seller’s name. This is the Seller from whom we, 3 Square Development purchased the home. Without that individual our business wouldn't exist.
Additionally, every time one of our homes is purchased, 3 Square will donate $5,000 to Savio House, a 50+ year proven, local not-for-profit committed to supporting families who are at risk, historically under-served and in need of family services.
What differentiates Savio from any other Denver-based family service organizations, is 90% of their care is given in the home of the families they serve. Their home. Home is what makes us feel safe, allows us to unwind after at the end of a long day and come together as a family. In a community. Savio works tirelessly to give their families that same kind of feeling. Their specific mission is to eliminate violence, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse and neglect, and other destructive behaviors in families through care, support and education. Savio serves more than 2,000 families in Colorado, the vast majority of them residing in the Denver area.
WHY THESE TWO ORGANIZATIONS?
Steve and Julie believe in the ability of the public school system to meet the needs of the community’s children academically as well as socially. Additionally, without these communities we would not have a business by which to provide support. These communities and the families within them are the reason we can have a real estate business here. Steve and Julie’s boys have attended public schools throughout their academic careers and are currently enrolled at Merrill Middle School and South High School in the Cory-Merrill and Wash Park neighborhoods.
Also, there is a direct connection between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and Savio House in that most of the children and families Savio serves are because of DPS and other school systems’ desire to help these families and reach out when they see children struggling.
Lastly, the Executive Director at Savio House, Norma Aguilar-Dave was Julie’s college roommate, and their families continue to be very close to this day. Steve and Julie supported Savio with financial contributions and Julie was a volunteer on the Outreach Committee over the past 15 years so it was a natural connection and an organization that is personally close to us. And all of the adults are Ohio State graduates.
Go Bucks.
DENVER FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Denver Fire Department (DFD) started a program in 2021 called “Acquired Structures.” That same year we purchased 1674 S. Madison Street and it turned out that the owner we purchased the home from was a Denver Firefighter for over 30 years. He reached out to us about participating in this innovative training program which allows residential real estate developers and the DFD to work together to leverage a home that is already scheduled for demolition and provide an opportunity for them to train in a “real world” environment.
When we heard about this program, it was a no-brainer decision. The training involves breaking down doors and windows, opening up the roofs, dragging fire hoses into and through the house and using tools to break apart segments of the home in an effort to mimic an actual fire / emergency situation. So happy to have an opportunity to use our business to support the brave Denver Firefighters!
DENVER FIRE DEPARTMENT
