The ease of Eastgate: Building with James Monroe Homes promises convenience, comfort

“We think of your home as your paradise away from the rest of the world.”

As houses are built to establish the Eastgate neighborhood in Nicholasville, this is the concept in mind for James Monroe. The Lexington-based builder has developed 50 lots in the subdivision with about 50 more going up in 2021.

“Nicholasville is a fast-growing community,” Monroe said. “It’s just minutes from Brannon Crossing, and just a few minutes beyond that to The Summit and all that Lexington has to offer for shopping and dining. It has a small-town feel, but (customers can) go to Lexington when they want to do the big city life.”

The new neighborhood sits beyond large stone walls lit with gas lanterns at the entrance, and with the homes set at a modest price point, Monroe said customers really get more bang for their buck. They can be built in six different floorplans, and each one is constructed with adaptive structural features.

“It gives you the option of having additional bedrooms or living areas all pre-packaged in the home,” Monroe said.

The house at 120 Maddrey Haven was designed with the Abigail floorplan, one of the company’s most popular, and it exemplifies some of that versatility.

“For example, this house has a morning room where it’s an additional room off the kitchen (another area off the first floor), then that leads into a large covered patio that’s outdoor living space,” he said.

That’s the trademark of James Monroe Homes—the flexibility for customers to make the houses their own.

“We have a vast array of structural options that you can get exactly what you want,” Monroe said. “So you can have more living rooms, more bathrooms, more storage—all built in so you can customize it to what your family needs.”

And this home is designed to be family friendly.

“The benefit of having it as a three-bedroom is the upstairs loft area is a nice play area for the kids,” he said. “This house also offers a three-car garage for additional storage, and because we’re located across from East Jessamine High School, we believe families with high school kids are drawn to our neighborhood. When they add that third car for their kid, they have that option (with the garage).”

Monroe said another trademark of his company is the ease of the building process. Customers can download the Build Confidence app and make their home’s selections from their device, monitor the everyday happenings of the construction schedule, and see who’s working on the house as well.

“You can be as involved or uninvolved as you want to be,” he said. “You can communicate with your project manager and have full transparency on your project.”

With luxury and comfort being the foundation of each Eastgate home, additional cornerstones are security and convenience offered through the company’s connected living package. A Ring Doorbell is installed in each one, which aims to keep the neighborhood ultra-safe. Those can be linked to the house’s lighting system, so when someone rings the doorbell, lights can come on to imply someone is home. The smart switches can be set to turn off at certain times and can get detect motion and turn on, which is useful in the night when walking through dark hallways. Wi-Fi garage door openers can be controlled through an app, and this type of garage door opener will be compatible with an upcoming Amazon offering that allows delivery drivers to open the garage once, place a package inside, and close the garage door, all to prevent package thefts from porches. The houses also have smart thermostats that can be controlled through phones to optimize energy usage.

“We really want (our customers) to be comfortable,” Monroe said.

And the houses look good, too. With three different styles—French country, farmhouse, and cottage styles—each one is built with a mix of stone, brick, siding, and shake to fit the personal style of the homeowner.

“We want you to pull in your neighborhood and be proud of what your house looks like. It doesn’t look plain, but it looks like a million bucks,” he said. “Pulling in here, you’re pulling into your own palace.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2020 at 9:25 AM with the headline "The ease of Eastgate: Building with James Monroe Homes promises convenience, comfort."