Woodbury-based home builder Creative Homes takes pride in being unique. Established in 2013 by entrepreneur Nick Hackworthy and serving 15 neighborhoods around the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin, its passion is to create and deliver an unmatched experience. A recent recipient of the National Housing Quality Award (NHQA), Creative Homes is focused on delivering better, new homes. “We really want to become the best and focus on operational excellence,” Hackworthy, Creative Homes president, says.
The NHQA acknowledges three home building establishments that strive to reach new heights in their operations, including the quality of their product and consumer satisfaction. There are three awards presented: two silver and one bronze. Creative Homes received the silver—the premiere award—and is the first Minnesota-based builder to win the award in nearly 20 years.
“This award has been a dream and visionary goal from the inception of our company,” Hackworthy says. There are only a handful of applicants throughout the nation and few get a site visit for their business. The submission alone is 20 pages in length, plus a 167-point application, where all applicants are evaluated on every aspect of home building.
For Creative Homes, it all stems from competing against the process, rather than other individuals and businesses. “The [NHQA] is a lot less about the award—it is about the journey and process of the judges,” Hackworthy says. Applicants are judged on several criteria by a set of panelists. It was concluded that Creative Homes, upon receiving excellent commentary and feedback from the judges regarding its culture within a company, was one of the best it had seen in 30 years.
Hackworthy and 10 out of 50 team members attended the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders Show in Orlando, Florida, this past February, where they formally accepted the silver status award.
Eight months later, Creative Homes is living up to its award. Its team is known for being engaged and passionate, and it prides itself in being able to adapt quickly to shifting market environments. That is a tactic that truly paid off during the pandemic. “Our company climbed through the height of the pandemic,” Hackworthy says.
The team was able to work through challenges that the home building arena has not seen before and, as a result, the company is most proud of high customer satisfaction. One of those satisfied customers is Barry Peterson.
“My wife, Kim, and I were very excited about purchasing a brand-new home in the Southpoint development [in Hudson, Wisconsin]. We had so much fun with our design studio specialist,” Peterson says. The Petersons continue to be impressed, even after the completion of their home.
While Creative Homes’ design studio specialist offered her expertise to the Peterson family, she encouraged the Petersons to make the home their own. Creative Homes is not a finish-and- forget-it builder. Throughout the entire home building process, staff members engage in a weekly call or “power hour,” as they refer to it, where the client and staff consultant discuss the process and debrief together. It engages with valued customers after the project is complete—an included perk that has left customers, like Barry and Kim, feeling seen and heard. “Any builder can execute a transaction, but if you are looking for a memorable home buying experience, it is Creative Homes,” Peterson says.
Branching off its values on being present with the consumer throughout the whole process, in the past two years, Creative Homes has opened a new, state-of-the-art design studio, which hosts open houses to assist in consistently delivering new and better homes. Studio visits equip clients with great material whether they are just starting out or updating their home.
The design studio, which serves a variety of home niches, features brands, such as The Tile Shop, Cambria, Holiday Kitchens and more. Pre-build orientations to meet with specialists and builders to confirm your vision; pre-drywall tours to view your home before electrical and plumbing are added; the ability to visit your home at different points during the construction process; financing, warranty check-ins and more are also offered to clients.
Creative Homes has been growing since its inception and produces 250 homes a year, with prices ranging from $400,000 through $1 million. “We believe Creative Homes is the best value, once you factor in quality, experience and personalization. Our niche is that we build homes, not houses,” Hackworthy says.
Creative Homes
707 Commerce Drive Suite 410; 651.289.6800
Facebook: Creative Homes
Instagram: @creative_homes_inc
