FEATURE
Building family Text: R.J. Weick
“A
ll of the top, high-end custom home builders in this market will tell you they have the best product, they have the best trades working for them, and the best subcontractors—all of the things that we would say, which in our minds wasn’t really a differentiator, because it was subjective and everybody would say it,” said Tom Adams, chief business officer and partner at Birchwood Construction Company in Harbor Springs, Michigan. “We realized that what truly differentiates us are the relationships we build. We build homes for families. If we truly operate our business as a family our success lies in the relationship, and it is that which we truly believe separates us from our competitors,” Adams added.
38 GREAT LAKES
DESIGN
For 50 years, Birchwood Construction Company has served the northern Michigan region, building on a history and legacy of delivering distinctive custom homes and beautiful spaces for its clients. With a mission of building lasting relationships and crafting high-quality homes that exceed the expectations of those they serve, Birchwood Construction has developed throughout the years to become a tightknit and collaborative team of craftspeople and individuals dedicated to bringing their clients’ visions to life and committed to placing family at the center of every build process. The vision of Birchwood Construction began in 1972 by Bill Cottrill, the developer of Birchwood Farms. Shortly after the first home
was built, Birchwood Construction began to grow, and additional homes followed. In 1989, Gary Morton, a well-respected builder in the area, would join the company and assume ownership, with Larry Beck coming on board a year later in 1990. By 1994, Birchwood Construction would become involved in a comprehensive land reclamation project with the build of one of the very first homes in Bay Harbor. The community, which has become known as an idyllic destination with world-class recreational and retail amenities and high-end lakefront homes, is set on nearly five miles of transformed Lake Michigan shoreline that once housed an old cement plant. Throughout the next two decades, Birch-
PICTURED: (LEFT) KEN PROVOST, CHIEF BUILDING OFFICER; (RIGHT) TOM ADAMS, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER | PHOTOGRAPHY: BIRCHWOOD CONSTRUCTION