Jay and Kashmira Sonecha are an unlikely pair of residential developers. And looking back, that is what has likely made them so successful. When they first got started building properties 35 years ago, they were just a young family. They approached every project, not as developers, but as a young couple building homes that they thought other people would enjoy. Approaching every decision with a “homeowner-first” philosophy, they have since gone on to earn nearly every industry award imaginable.

Most builders focus their attention on how many homes they can squeeze into a development. But the Sonechas are more concerned with how much life a homeowner can get out of their home and community. It’s not about the size of a home, but rather, how each homeowner will use every square foot. But the Sonechas don’t stop there. They also focus on how those homeowners will interact with their neighbors—and ultimately, how those neighbors will form the connective thread that runs through a happy and healthy community.

“What we leave behind for our homeowners and the local community is far more important than our bottom line.” It’s an uncommon set of ideals. But it’s what sets the Sonechas—and Blenheim Homes—apart.