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House and Home Magazine - July 1956 - Return to Main Search
Preview Page 134 of 230 Preview Pages
Text Summary via OCR:

Pool and community center in J. C. Nichols project has been expanded by 13,400 sq. ft. clubhouse and lighted tennis courts

Does a community pool make sense for you?

Builders who've tried one say the community swimming pool is a hard-hitting sales asset.

In Kansas City, the J. C. Nichols Co. (who have built over 6,000 acres of homes), put in the pool shown above, found it appealed so much to buyers that, like Topsy, it "just grew." Nichols built the 60' x 150' pool two years ago. Its popularity rocketed so fast that they added a clubhouse and recreation area when more families clamored to sign up.

Among salesmen, it is said that "the one big thing they remember will bring them back to buy." No buyer can forget a pool; the impact is terrific.

All over the US, a small but growing group of project builders are including a pool as an inducement to buyers who want a more-than-minimum house.

You can put a pool in almost anywhere

As you see from the chart on the opposite page, there are few climate restrictions for pools. The same, hot humid summers that have boomed air conditioning in the Midwest and Northeast make pools as popular there

as in the South and Southwest. Families love pools because everybody young and old likes water fun. (Sharpstown built a golf course first, pool and clubhouse second, but would reverse this order if they had it to do over because of the whole-family appeal of the pool.)

Nichols had to bear only part of the cost of the facilities they put in. The residents were eager to take a hand. When 500 families signed up for country club membership (at a $250 fee), Nichols donated 14 acres of choice land and $25,000. When the membership reached 750 families, Nichols added another $25,000 (physical assets are now held at $430,000). After guiding the planning and construction of the club facilities, the Nichols firm gave up all control to officers elected by the members.

What's the value of the community swimming pool? President Miller Nichols sums it up this way: "We can pinpoint many sales made specifically because of these facilities. It is common to hear residents tell friends to buy their next home in our area, so they can belong to the club."