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Noyes Development Company
By Virginia Bruce

One of the homes in Kinsley Estates, off West Rd. in "old" Bonny Slope

Peter Noyes has been working in the housing business most of his life. His passion for quality is evidenced in the homes he builds, and in his “car habit” hobby. And the quality of the homes the company builds isn’t just “skin deep.” In 2012, Noyes Development Co. became one of the only sizeable homebuilders in the nation to guarantee all homes will receive Earth Advantage Platinum certification, the highest level offered.

Founded in 1993, most of the company’s projects have been built in Washington County, with 80% north of Highway 26, and several in the Cedar Mill and Bethany area. Early in the company’s growth, Peter said, “We had a development in Camas, one in Sunnyside, and some townhouses on the river, and it took me all day traveling to visit them, each for only a little while.”

Peter’s busy office space , in the warehouse/workshop, showcases some of his collections along with paperwork for the many projects in process.

Peter grew up in Terra Linda, and now lives in Bethany. The company’s offices are nearby in the Bethany/Cornell area. This helps him and his staff to be very “hands-on” with each house during construction.

They currently have over 20 houses in various stages of construction. They can accomplish this by working on a tightly planned schedule with teams of subcontractors. Noyes says, “Most builders, including ourselves, sub out most of the homes’ construction. The key for NDC is the longevity of our relationships with our contractors. We only work with the best to ensure our homes meet our very stringent standards. Most of our contractors have been part of the team for the last 10-15 years. Having said that, our highly skilled field staff* is very hands-on—executing the fine details of the final product. This is what sets us apart from other builders in the area."

Peter and Clark look over some plans with supervision from Charlie, one of the office dogs

He continues, “I’m still involved on a daily basis; my role includes finding land for development, arranging financing for projects and homes, and overseeing sales. The day-to-day running of the company is under the watchful eye of Vice President, Mike Frey. Mike started with the company nearly 12 years ago as a laborer and through hard work, dedication and vision, now heads the company.” Clark Vorm, Land Development Manager, also works closely with Peter from the time a development is proposed until the groundwork is finished.

The staff of 11 includes Controller Danyel Rogers, who handles all the accounting and payments, and also is an expert photographer, with a side business mainly focusing on pet portraits. She gets plenty of practice with the menagerie of office dogs that greet visitors daily.

Designers coordinate the exterior treatments for their developments with charts and samples in the workshop.

Brittany is Mike’s assistant, supervising construction. Dan is the purchasing manager, buying all the materials to build the houses. Randy is our in-house designer/architect. Brittany and Clark update the website, working with a design company.

Current projects include Kinsley Estates in “old” Bonny Slope, Highlands at North Bethany where they will build 155 houses in two phases, and coming in fall of 2017, Iron Ridge Heights on McDaniel—a 24-lot neighborhood a few blocks east of Bonny Slope school and across from Iron Ridge Park. They are just in the beginning stages of developing the second portion of Bonny Slope West, with 85 homes proposed to be built south of Laidlaw Rd. Noyes says they also have “five years worth of land acquisitions ahead of us now.”

They can only build at this pace with their very good relationship with their bank, Community Financial. “They trust us and we trust them. While the recession took its toll, the company also has good cash reserves.”

Beauty that’s more than skin deep

In 2015, after three years of certifying their homes through the Earth Advantage Platinum certification program, they won Earth Advantage’s highest award, the 2015 Hall of Fame Builder Award. The award is based on their homes' overall 2015 EPS scores, Earth Advantage efficiency scores, air quality, and how the homes performed overall. Several of their homes were found to be 37% more efficient than the average home built to code!

In a few cases, they have renovated a house as part of a development. Peter says, “Sometimes a house is in very good shape and it sits where we can easily build around it. Most of the time we prefer to clear everything because it is more efficient. When a house is removed to make way for development, we donate usable materials to the Habitat for Humanity’s Re-Sale store for repurposing, it’s a great partnership for them and us.”

And in summer 2016, NDC participated in a Habitat for Humanity Home Builders Blitz, putting a new home together for a needy family in Northeast Portland. This was the second time they had participated. Mike Frey said, “It is a great privilege to be able to captain our team of trades people and vendors in order to support Habitat for Humanity and to provide a home for a family in need.”

The Noyes’ family “tailgater” for their trips to Beavers games

In addition to work, Peter enjoys spending time with his wife, two daughters, their husbands and his two granddaughters. He has fun with his small car collection, which is housed in the rear part of the office/warehouse in Bethany. He says, “ I was afflicted with the car disease early! My grandfather always had interesting cars… mostly Corvettes but others as well including a 1960s ISO Rivolta similar to the one we have now. My taste in cars is quite eclectic—ranging from 1960 four-door Impala to a 1940 Ford Woody.”

Visit the company website to learn more and see the homes they currently have for sale. The team loves to work with people who purchase homes in the early stages, so they can help you choose your own interior finishes.

*The Field Staff includes Site Managers Chis and Alex, Assistant Managers Alejandro and Mundo,  and Customer Care/Quality Control Manager Andy.

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