Guilford trails townhomes: a complete luxury package in Carmel.

• Position: PROMOTIONAL PROFILE

WHEN BROTHERS TOM and Steve Stoughton began thinking of developing townhomes in Carmel, they considered top-quality materials, totally customizable interiors and the latest in technology to be givens. But there was something else. They took a good look at the growing upscale Hamilton County community and decided to tap into its strength: urban amenities with a decidedly suburban feel.

"We're selling a lifestyle," says Tom Stoughton. "High quality, low maintenance, but in an urban area without an overwhelming big-city feel. We're walking distance from the Carmel Arts District and the Monon trail, but just a couple minutes away from shopping at Clay Terrace and from three major hospital emergency rooms." Owners love the setting, he adds, which is quiet and bordered by a school park, but within minutes of Meridian Street, which can whisk them away to downtown Indianapolis or north to Kokomo.

Another early decision was to make luxury features standard, not extras, which can add $50,000 to $80,000 to the price in some other townhomes. Included as standard in the all-brick Guilford Trails Townhomes are high-end cabinets, all appliances and granite countertops in the kitchen, marble bathrooms, Pella windows and a choice of custom colors. Other features include a 24-foot-long balcony off the kitchen, nine-foot ceilings, bay windows in the living room and master bedroom, and crown molding.

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About the only option available in Phase I is an elevator. It's been a winner for owners who have parents visit or are just planning ahead for their own lifestyle changes, says Stoughton. Or it can ease the transport of groceries or other items from the garage on the lower level to the kitchen on the main level or the bedrooms on the third. "It's very attractive in a resale market," he says. Phase I owners can also choose a dumbwaiter as an alternative in the same space to the kitchen level. The elevator has been so popular that it will become a standard feature in Phase II Guilford Trail Townhomes.

Amish quality, latest technology, Amish craftsmen from Berne, Indiana, were brought in to frame the townhomes, building quality into the structure from the ground up. "The skill that they bring to the work is incredible," says Stoughton. "It's pretty amazing to watch them work. They do it almost without having to talk to each other."

Contrasting with the Old World traditions of the Amish builders is the developer's commitment to provide the...