Building communities, one cottage at a time.
Since 2005, Cottage Advisors has led the
construction of more than 1,100 cottage homes.
Our Story
The seed for Cottage Advisors was planted way back in 1976 when well-known, Westford, MA attorney, Howard Hall developed his first residential community.
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By the early 2000's, Howard had partnered with another Westford builder to create The Village at Stone Ridge, a 110-unit development of age-restricted condominiums. Stone Ridge was noted for its preservation of open space and thoughtful design and construction. Howard’s dedication to preserving the natural beauty of sites – coupled with his own delight in meeting and talking to people – led him to explore a whole new kind of residential development.
In 2005, he founded Cottage Advisors to combine efficient use of the land and high-quality homes with amenities designed for social interaction. His vision was to bring back the sense of community that seemed to be missing from so many residential developments.
Our Experience
Cottage Advisors initially focused on creating classic resort cottage communities throughout New England and Canada. Working as both developer and building partner, Cottage Advisors has created The Cottages at Summer Village in Wells, ME; Summer Village at the Pond in Westford, MA; Seaglass Village in Wells, ME; and Sandbanks Summer Village in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
In 2014, Cottage Advisors brought these cottage and community design principles to the residential home market creating its first Pocket Neighborhood, The Cottages at River Hill in West Newbury, MA.
Our Connections
Cottage Advisors places a priority on personal relationships and local ties. The company is a family business, with Howard and his son, Howard “Chip” Hall, at the helm. Each Cottage Advisors community is built by a core Cottage Advisors' construction team working with local tradespeople. This commitment to using local craftsmen provides employment in the communities which reinforces the pride that subcontractors take in doing quality work in their own area, and is a cost-effective option to traveling construction teams.
Meet the Team
Howard John Hall, Manager
Prior to his tenure heading Cottage Advisors, Mr. Hall was a noted Massachusetts real estate and land use attorney for 35 years, as well as a developer. Since the mid-1980s, Howard has served as a principal in multiple development companies throughout New England, including large scale residential and commercial developments. He has successfully permitted hundreds of projects over his career, including age-restricted residential communities. He prides himself on his commitment to developing communities that offer quality homes with a unique lifestyle to residents. Howard's dedication to preserving the natural beauty of sites—coupled with his own delight in meeting and
talking to people–led him to explore a whole new kind of residential development. In 2005, he founded Cottage Advisors to combine efficient use of the land and high-quality homes with amenities designed for social interaction. He lamented the shift away from 1950s-era close-knit neighborhoods, as evidenced in the zoning trend of houses set more than 100 feet from the street. He also saw the need for affordable recreational properties that the working family could enjoy, as a large swath of North American homeowners were priced out of owning second homes. His vision for Cottage Advisors is to provide this sense of community to a new generation of homeowners.
Howard "Chip" Hall, Manager
Since joining with his father in 2007, Mr. Hall’s primary responsibilities have been site selection, property entitlement and community development oversight. With more than a decade of experience with cluster developments, he has overseen the permitting and development of more than 335 cottages. Prior to joining the family business, Chip held senior management positions for multiple high technology companies, of which seven were startup companies including two that he co-founded. Chip takes special note of what is important to people when considering a home: they want to right-size, leave a smaller footprint on the land, and maximize their living space without
expanding their square footage. Chip is actively developing two developments in southern Maine: The Cottages at Coastal Pines in Kennebunk and The Cottages at Pheasant Knoll in Gorham.
Kathy Hall, In-house Design Consultant
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Kathy assists Cottage Advisors offering input on home designs, staging model homes, and coordinating all selections for each cottage design. As the liaison between the client and the production team, she works with all home buyers during the personalization process, guiding them through interior and exterior design options to the finishing touches that turn a house into a home.
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Kathy’s goal is to help home buyers personalize a home that is a reflection of themselves that they can be proud of. She takes the time to understand each buyers’ “must haves” to help them make
the most efficient choices resulting in their perfect property. From the initial walk-through to move-in day, Kathy is there to support clients’ design choices every step of the way. Kathy, and the rest of the Cottage Advisors family, wants buyers to be excited about the home-buying process, and to participate in the creation of a property they’ll be proud to show off.