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 In 2014 Brandywine Homes celebrates its 20th Anniversary as a homebuilder and developer in Southern California.  Join us this week as we look back at our history over the years.

Over the years, Brandywine Homes has revitalized transitional neighborhoods, brought life back into stagnating city centers and provided much-needed housing to underserved areas in Southern California through its unique ability to work in full partnership with city officials, regulators, investors and contractors. The following are just a handful of the vibrant communities by Brandywine.

Renaissance Plaza

The new downtown for the city of Stanton, Renaissance Plaza, is a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly development on 10 acres. Brandywine developed the master plan and designed three integrated home types, seven of them with live/work space with retail frontage on the ground floor. Completed in 2010, the project required consolidation of a patchwork of properties with a dozen different ownerships and 27 leaseholders  — and an extraordinary amount of planning, patience and persistence.

Renaissance Plaza is in a prime commercial location, with high visibility, on Beach Boulevard, which had fallen into disrepair. Retail businesses were either failing, abandoned or inappropriate for a residential neighborhood, and the city of Stanton used redevelopment funds to clean up the area. Existing tenants were relocated, and the city acquired the commercial portion of the property. Brandywine developed and helped the city write a  plan for Renaissance Plaza that transformed a blighted area into a cohesive and moderately priced mix of much-needed new housing.

Century Village

Located in the heart of Garden Grove, Century Village is a 2.67-acre property designed to attract young professionals and families  to a dynamic urban environment. With 53 spacious three- and four-bedroom townhomes priced from the low $400,000s, the community is close to freeways, award-winning schools and neighborhood events and amenities.

Brandywine worked with the city of Garden Grove to establish a new type of community to meet the needs of extended families with family-friendly floor plans and three-car garages. Located in the heart of the Century Triangle area, Century Village was built on a property that had been abandoned by several developers during the Great Recession. Now a distinguished, walkable community, Century Village has been key to reviving Garden Grove’s urban  core.

Cardiff Glen

Featuring 26 spacious homes on estate-sized lots on 16 acres in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Cardiff Glen is a coastal enclave bordering protected wetlands on the desirable west side of Interstate 5. The one-of-a-kind community has become a centerpiece of the neighborhood, with rustic stone and rough-hewn timber bridges over Rossini Creek and native trees, shrubs and plants that provide a natural sanctuary for birds and wildlife.

A nursery that dates to 1936 was still active when Brandywine purchased the property.  The entitlement process on the environmentally sensitive property  was complex, involving the California Coastal Commission and nearby homeowners who were initially opposed to the new development. Brandywine worked with government agencies and neighbors, eventually bringing everyone on board through a collaborative process. It took six years from the day the project went into escrow until the day it was closed in 2002.

Covington

Currently under construction, Covington is a 5.1-acre urban infill community with 51 townhomes across from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda.  The approximately 1,750- to 2,100-square-foot townhomes will incorporate craftsman elements into elegant architecture designed to blend with the surrounding neighborhoods. Covington,  which will also include a recreation center, a community meeting room and a pool, is scheduled to be completed by fall 2015.

Estates Pasadena

Offering the only new, detached single-family homes available in all of Pasadena, Estates Pasadena includes 12 four- and five-bedroom homes built in Cape Cod, Hastings English and French Provincial styles. The approximately 2,900- to 3,500-square-foot homes have family-friendly open floor plans, inviting front porches and authentic brick and stone exteriors and fireplaces. Less than a mile from the Foothill & Rosemead Shopping Center, the community has access to excellent Pasadena schools and is less than 15 miles from Old Pasadena, Paseo Colorado shopping center, Norton Simon Museum, the Santa Anita race track and more.

Waverly

Waverly, a 2.3-acre community of 19 single-family homes in West Covina, 18 miles east of Los Angeles, offers the first new detached homes to be built in the area for several years. The three- and four-bedroom homes at Waverly, ranging from approximately 2,150 square feet to 2,400 square feet, are a mix of French and Spanish design.  Community amenities include a tot lot and barbecue area. Just down the street from the Westfield Mall, Waverly is close to local schools, the GO WEST bus shuttle and public parks.

The Orchards

Located on the site of the former Alondra Center  in La Mirada, The Orchards consists of 41 three- and four-bedroom Craftsman-style homes ranging from approximately 1,300 to 2,000 square feet — the first new homes to be built in La Mirada in more than a decade. In a development deal with the city of La Mirada to revitalize the area, Brandywine in 2009 purchased the former strip mall, which was demolished in 2008.The gated community includes six homes for low- to moderate-income buyers at an affordable price.

Cobblestone

Cobblestone is a 34-unit rental community consisting of townhomes and flats on 1.1 acres in Garden Grove, the heart of Orange County. One of four rental developments that Brandywine has opened or is building in Southern California, Cobblestone consists of 12 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom and  six three-bedroom townhomes and flats ranging from 771 to 1,226 square feet. Just miles from Disneyland and  Knott’s Berry Farm, the community has quick access to the 2 Freeway and Westminster Avenue shopping centers and dining as well as Garden Groves’ award-winning schools.

Waterstone

Waterstone, a 25-unit rental community consisting of two- and three-bedroom townhomes and flats on .887 acres in Garden Grove, takes the edge off of the affordable housing shortage in Orange County. The 900- to 1,360-square-foot homes  are geared toward couples and young families, and the community includes a tot lot and barbecue areas. Waterstone offers convenient access to retail, grocery and dining as well as Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.

Through public/private partnerships with local governments and nonprofit organizations, Brandywine provides market-rate and workforce housing, finding innovative ways to help Southern California cities rebuild for the future. Brandywine communities are often mixed-use and include a variety of home types that appeal to a broad range of homebuyers.