Published by The Builders Daily on Friday, February 7th, 2025.

Empire Communities, one of North America’s largest privately held homebuilders, has acquired Charlotte-based SouthCraft Builders, further extending its reach in the Southeast U.S. housing market.

This acquisition continues a pattern of regional consolidation. Well-capitalized private homebuilders — particularly international firms — are absorbing local operators to strengthen their market position, secure land pipelines, and scale more efficiently in an environment where land, capital, and homebuyer affordability are non-negotiable challenges.

Vaughan, ON – February 6th, 2025 – Empire Communities, one of North America’s largest privately-held homebuilders, has acquired Charlotte-based SouthCraft Home Builders (“SouthCraft”), expanding its presence in the region and strengthening its ability to serve a broader range of homebuyers. SouthCraft will continue to focus on value-driven homebuyers while maintaining its current operations and leadership team.

Willowdale Asset Management Launches as Premier Owner and Manager of Leading Real Estate Businesses

Vaughan, Ontario, Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Willowdale Asset Management, formerly the corporate division of Empire Communities, today announces its official launch as a diversified real estate asset manager, overseeing seven distinct businesses across the industry. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Willowdale’s legacy dates to its founding in 1993, growing from a single-project homebuilding company into a dynamic, vertically integrated real estate asset manager with nearly $5 billion in assets under management across North America.

For Immediate Release:

VAUGHAN, ON (OCTOBER 24, 2024) — Empire Communities and ERTH360 are proud to announce that they have been recognized with the prestigious Energy & Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) Excellence in Healthier Homes Award. This award, presented at the EEBA High Performance Home Summit in Salt Lake City, UT highlights the companies’ collaborative efforts to advance healthier living environments through innovative homebuilding solutions.

For Immediate Release:

Vaughan, Ontario, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Empire Communities Corp. (“Empire Communities” or “Empire”) announced today that it has closed its offering, on a private placement basis, of CAD$225 million aggregate principal amount of 7.625% senior unsecured notes due November 1, 2029 (the “Notes”). The Notes were issued at par and have been guaranteed by certain of Empire’s subsidiaries. Interest on the Notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, commencing on May 1, 2025.

For Immediate Release:

VAUGHAN, ON (SEPTEMBER 30, 2024) – Empire Communities, one of North America’s largest privately held homebuilders, continues its U.S. expansion with the announcement of a strategic partnership with Colorado Springs-based builder Covington Homes. The partnership further diversifies and expands Empire’s presence in the U.S. to 8 markets, including Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Charlotte, Greenville, and now Colorado Springs.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Vaughan, Ontario, August 12^th, 2024] – Empire Communities, an award-winning residential homebuilder in Canada and the United States is proud to announce that its standard home model featuring ERTH360 Air enhancements has achieved the rigorous clean airflow requirements of ASHRAE Standard 241 — the new high bar for infection resiliency. This first-of-its-kind achievement is a testament to Empire’s commitment to providing homes with the highest standards of indoor health and sustainability. ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, is a landmark standard published in July 2023 and applies to all building types, commercial and residential.

The clean air performance of Empire’s standard home with ERTH360 Air was evaluated and verified to meet the standard’s targets using a new test method that ASHRAE Standard 241 introduced to the industry, known as ‘air tracing’. Poppy, a venture-backed company based in San Francisco, has pioneered air tracing as a rapid, low-cost commissioning / retro-commissioning technology and service for any building. The Poppy Certify program has been used in over 1,000 locations globally, promoting gold-standard health measures while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Empire’s attainment of Poppy Certify status underscores the company’s commitment to creating a healthier and safer environment for its homeowners.

“In our 31st year of homebuilding, Empire continues its dedication to ensuring the safety and comfort of our homeowners while constructing more sustainable homes. Achieving Poppy Certify status is part of a broader initiative to introduce ERTH360 Air in select Empire communities,” states Dan Guizzetti, Co-CEO of Empire Communities. Andrew Guizzetti, Co-CEO adds, “This underscores our commitment to enhancing homebuyers’ health and well-being by providing clean and healthy indoor air, while minimizing environmental impact through balanced energy use.”

Empire Communities joins an elite group of sustainable, healthy buildings across various sectors that have been assessed using air tracing and have achieved Poppy Certify status. This breakthrough in single-family homes demonstrates that accessible HVAC upgrades combined with comprehensive testing enable a home with central air conditioning to meet the most stringent requirements of ASHRAE Standard 241. The Empire Communities standard home featuring ERTH360 Air improvements used a bypass HEPA filtration unit, alongside MERV 13 filters, and a 175 CFM energy recovery ventilator (ERV) to enhance indoor air quality and sustainability.

For the homeowner, ASHRAE Standard 241 offers numerous benefits by promoting healthier environments for occupants. These benefits include:

1. Clean air necessary to substantially reduce the risk of disease transmission.
2. Reduced occupant exposure to various pathogens, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19, as well as influenza viruses and other disease-causing agents that inflict significant personal and economic damage each year.
3. A separate area where a household member known to be infected can isolate with the clean air equivalent to a patient room in a healthcare facility.

“Poppy congratulates Empire Communities on achieving this landmark for single-family homeowners and builders. Poppy Certify is awarded to buildings that satisfy performance requirements linked to ASHRAE building standards for the control of infectious aerosols,” says Elizabeth Caley, Co-CEO of Poppy.

The ERTH360 Air package was developed by ERTH360 to demonstrate that strategic improvements to standard homes can significantly enhance indoor air quality. ERTH360 also designed a Discovery Home at Empire’s Avalon community in Caledonia, Ontario featuring more substantial indoor environment improvements, including clean air, filtered water, and circadian lighting. This model also successfully passed the ASHRAE Standard 241 test, showcasing its effectiveness in improving indoor environmental quality.

About Empire Communities

Empire Communities is a vertically-integrated homebuilder involved in all sectors of the new home-building industry, including both low-rise and high-rise built forms. Celebrating over 30 years of building inspiring new places to live, Empire has an established tradition of creating prestigious award-winning new homes, communities and amenities, and has earned a reputation for outstanding attention to detail and customer service. Since its inception in 1993, Empire has built and sold over 35,000 new homes and condos. Today, Empire is one of North America’s largest privately held integrated residential homebuilders, with current communities in Toronto, Southwestern Ontario, Texas, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.

For more information, please visit Empire Communities | Building New Homes and Communities in North America.

About ERTH360

Empire acquired ERTH360 in 2022 and has established it as a separate business unit focused on designing healthier indoor living environments that improve occupant health and well-being while using more sustainable building materials.

For more information, please visit ERTH360.

About Poppy:

Poppy is the market leader in advanced air technologies for healthy, sustainable buildings. Poppy revolutionizes how buildings measure equivalent clean airflow, manage rising energy costs and secure health in buildings with their patented air tracing technology. Poppy serves locations in 25 cities, across Canada, US, Europe and the Middle East, helping building operators to reduce costs, decarbonize, and protect occupant health. Poppy was founded in 2019 and is based in San Francisco and Toronto.

For more information visit Poppy.com.

Published by Atlanta Real Estate Forum on September 28, 2022.

SVP of Sales and Marketing, Caroline Simmel with Empire Communities, joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to share 2022 milestones, new products and current Atlanta BeltLine developments. Simmel joins host Carol Morgan on the All About Real Estate segment.

There’s so much that happens in the heart of the city that it almost becomes hard to keep up with the news. It feels like new restaurants are opening up every other day while new retail centers are being developed, and even new means of transportation are being introduced too. To help you stay up-to-date with all of the new changes underway in Atlanta, we’re rounding up some of the most important updates.

Next, discover what’s within 10 miles of these three new communities in Atlanta and our insider’s guide to Avalon in Alpharetta.

Images courtesy of: Atlanta Magazine (Leave of Absence, Howdy ATL Biscuit Cafe); Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Fogan & Lions); GymTakeout (Guac y Margys); On the Grid (Parkgrounds Cafe); RoughDraft Atlanta (Miss Conduck); The Business Journals (Breaker Breaker); Reporter Newspapers (Westside Paper, Summerhill Publix); 11Alive (The Stitch); Microsoft Office (Microsoft); New City Properties (Old Fourth Project); Associated Construction Publications (Transform 285/400); Saporta Report (MARTA Pilot Program).

Increased privacy, safer streets and lower maintenance — what else could you ask for in a home? One of Houston’s most coveted communities just released a new line of homes designed for today’s homebuyer — the Enclave Series — and we’re rounding up the top reasons why you should consider purchasing one of your own.

They’re Located on Low-Traffic Streets

One of the most defining features of Empire’s Enclave homes is that they’re built in groupings of four. As displayed in the rendering above, two of the homes face the main road while the others are only accessible via a shared court which acts as a private street or cul-de-sac. What does this mean for you as a homeowner, you ask? Only that your home will be located on a low-traffic street. So when your kids are playing out in the front yard or you’re tidying up the garage, you won’t have a heavy influx of pedestrians walking by or cars racing down the street.

They Offer Increased Privacy

Another benefit of “court living” is having increased privacy. Because your road is only shared by four households, you won’t have the same traffic that you would with a typical single-family home. In addition to the grassy area just outside your front door, each of our floor plans come with an optional covered patio — located at the side or back of the home — so that you have a secluded place to retreat to at the end of a long day. Our homes also come with a private rear yard to host gatherings, backyard barbecues or to play.

They’re Easier to Maintain

Purchasing a lock-and-leave home means that your household responsibilities will be few and far between. This style of homeownership is designed for those who have an on-the-go lifestyle and value convenience, but still want to enjoy the amenities that a master-planned community provides. The Enclave Series was curated to meet those needs, with the idea that you’ll no longer need a house sitter or someone to tend to your garbage because your neighbors and the community’s homeowner association (HOA) will ensure they’re looked after if you’re away.

The Enclave Series has a variety of floor plans to suit residents’ diverse needs, ranging from 1,644 sq.ft. to 2,350 sq.ft. and featuring up to 4 bedrooms. Empire Dellrose is the first master-planned community to offer the Enclave Series in its distinct line-up of homes, offering its residents access to Cypress’ top entertainment and retail opportunities; Houston’s finest attractions a mere thirty minutes away; and the reputable schools a part of Waller ISD. Learn more about how to take advantage of these unique housing opportunities now, starting from the low $300’s.

Want to learn more about what Houston has to offer? Check out these fun attractions in the Houston area and top school districts nearby.