Chimney Hill Estates Of Farmington Where Active Adults Can Purchase Top-of-the-line Construction

The Hearthstone model home at Chimney Hill Estates of Farmington is a top-of-the-line example of what builder Rejean Carrier of By Carrier, Inc. believes active adults 55+ are looking for in a semi-custom home. Rejean has more than 40 years of experience building homes in the Connecticut market and his designs combine a practical interpretation of what people need with an innovative twist on what people want in a home.

The Hearthstone has 2,841 square feet of living space and is the largest of the six semi-custom home styles offered at Chimney Hill Estates. It provides easy, first-floor living and also features two additional bedrooms on the second floor for guests and family members.

The main living area is centered around a spacious, vaulted ceiling great room with a gas fireplace. It offers direct access to a 20-foot-long rear deck facing a wooded border that provides restful views. The great room flows into an eating area that shares the sunny southern side of the house and also offers easy access to the deck. Adjacent to both the great room and eating area is a fully equipped kitchen featuring a granite-topped island with deep sink that helps define the great room space and offers a convenient serving area for entertaining. Attesting to the functionality of the layout, real estate agent Gayle Dennehy says, "We had more than 80 people attending the open house and you'd hardly know there were that many people here."

A traditional dining room offers additional entertaining space and is located just off the kitchen and front entrance. It is accessorized by a walk-in butler's pantry and sink station. Across the entrance foyer from the dining room is a study with front view that Rejean says can be used as a home office or music room.

The spacious master bedroom is located just off the great room and takes advantage of the south facing wall with two windows on either side of the bed. Two walk-in closets are a feature that Rejean likes to make standard in most master bedrooms at Chimney Hill Estates. In the master bath, a heated tile floor and six-foot jetted tub enhance the comfort level of life in The Hearthstone.

The two bedrooms on the second floor are separated by a loft that overlooks the great room area. The bedrooms are served by a common full bath that also features a six-foot tub. Each bedroom has walk-in closets and offers privacy and comfort for guests and additional family members.

The finished area of the basement features a gas fireplace, a pair of lighted, built-in bookcases, a walk-in closet and a bath with shower. The 1,100-square-foot lower level has plenty of headroom and could serve as an alternate area for entertaining or a mammoth recreation and hobby area if the owner is so inclined.

Rejean says that the core philosophy behind all the homes he builds is to first make the home attractive to the eye and then build in maximum energy efficiency. "Make it look good and make it efficient. These are my two key goals."

That design process, he says, begins with bringing in the expertise of a landscape architect in the first stage of planning the development. Site aesthetics such as the curvature of roads, orientation of each lot, its exposure to the sun and site privacy all come into play before residential architects even begin their work.

Chimney Hill Estates encompasses 44 lots connected by two arching roads that climb gently into a hillside of over 38 acres. Rejean calls it a green community of "high performance homes" built with high efficiency gas furnaces, tankless hot water heaters and solar orientation. Upkeep is handled by the development. The monthly association fee of $300 covers snow plowing, grass cutting, irrigation systems and maintaining the development's private roads and street lighting.

Rejean Carrier's home building education began with hands-on experience when he and his brother Yvon worked as independent framing contractors for other builders after moving to Connecticut from Canada in 1970. There was work to be done, but payments often came in slowly and the pair realized a need to address this problem. Rejean says that after reviewing the situation, both brothers came to the same conclusion: "Let's see if we can build houses so that we can handle the finances."

Their first development was launched in 1972: an 18-lot subdivision in Terryville done in partnership with other backers. With the seed capital from this development, they were able to fund other projects. The Carriers say that they gained invaluable experience from their early building projects. Not everything came out perfectly and the Carriers worked hard to address issues brought to their attention by homeowners. In doing so, Rejean says, they gained practical experience in the homebuilding business and began establishing their widespread reputation for homeowner satisfaction. "Every time you build a house you learn from it," says Rejean, adding, "Our clients become our ambassadors."

Having his own family roots planted firmly in the area, Rejean notes, should give customers confidence when choosing to purchase a By Carrier home. "We are in the community with our kids and grandkids. We're not here just to build and move to Florida."

Today the By Carrier business includes some fifty members of the Carrier family across two generations with each member offering expertise that enables the group to maintain high standards of construction and customer service. All of the principals are family members and include the six Carrier brothers who founded By Carrier, Inc. Rejean emphasizes that all six brothers have a share in the family business and take pride in delivering quality workmanship and maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The By Carrier company also offers a five-year limited warrantee on all their homes which Rejean says sets his developments apart from the competition and significantly exceeds the one-year warrantee mandated by the state. Keeping business in the family was recently extended to include real estate agent Gayle Dennehy two years ago when she and builder Rejean Carrier were married.

Dennehy, who is on the front lines of customer service, maintains that you won't find one unhappy customer among Chimney Hill Estates owners. "Everybody is happy," she enthuses. Open houses at Chimney Hill Estates of Farmington are held every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at 7 Hearthstone Lane. Tours can also be arranged by appointment anytime. Call Gayle Dennehy of By Carrier Realty at 860-747-9583 and visit www.chimneyhillofarmington.com.

Rejean was attracted to the Chimney Hill Estates building site by its central location that offers easy access to Hartford area employment, services and cultural events. His goal was to build energy efficient homes that offer empty nesters a maintenance-free lifestyle that meets their needs as they move away from multi-acre suburban homes and the associated burdens of upkeep.

Chimney Hill Estates Farmington, CT

• Builder: By Carrier, Inc.
• Price: starting at mid-$570K
• Style: Detached condominiums in ranch and other first-floor-master styles
• Rooms: 6 to 7
• Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 2.5 to 3.5
• Square Footage: 2,100+ square feet
• Acreage: 38-acre community
• Tax rate: 21.27 mills
• Best features: Premium construction, active adult lifestyle close to Hartford area
• Contact: Gayle Dennehy By Carrier Realty 860-747-9583