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Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
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New Avenue is a design–build company offering full-service design, permitting, and construction. We use proprietary software to facilitate transparency, organization, and clear communication that every project deserves. We also use historic cost data to help you set a budget and allow us to give accurate cost feedback. Most importantly, we are dedicated to creating beautiful and sustainable homes that empower everyone to live a more enriching life.
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Both! We serve clients by providing design and construction services, and our unique software makes the process as easy as possible. Our technology and expertise combined keep your project on budget and make every phase as stress-free as possible.
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Recognizing the opportunity to make housing more accessible and more beneficial for both homeowners and renters, New Avenue began designing and building accessory dwelling units, custom homes, remodels, and additions in 2011.
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New Avenue creates custom homes, additions, remodels, and accessory dwelling units. We provide everything you need to transform your home. This includes design, permitting, construction, and project management. We work with you to design the best solution to your needs, our team applies for your permits and work with the city offices to get your project approved, and then our experienced crews construct your project. From the initial meeting through the day you move in, your design–build team works to make sure every detail is right.
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Our clients choose New Avenue for four main reasons:
Transparency. Our design proposals and construction quotes are based on real data from hundreds of actual projects. If unforeseen circumstances arise (as can happen in any construction project), we work to make sure you understand what changes are needed and why before moving forward.
Communication. Your design professional and contractor will work together from the beginning to the end of your project. This team approach allows them to communicate with you and with each other so there are no misunderstandings or slowdowns.
Professionalism. From preventing unforeseen costs to maintaining a clean and safe job site, our designers and contractors keep your project running smoothly.
Design Excellence. Every successful project has to meet your goals and needs, be a highly functional and durable building, and also be beautiful and inspirational. It is our mission to design an inspiring space that is beautiful to look at, complements its environment, and makes you feel at home.
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A common complaint people have with construction is that projects may cost tens of thousands of dollars over the initial estimate. At New Avenue, we aim to prevent this by creating thorough, well-researched proposals. At the initial consultation, your designer and contractor both visit your site and listen carefully to your ideas. This allows them to give you an accurate proposal for the design fees for your project and an estimate of the permitting, and construction costs.
Occasionally, unforeseen site conditions, market fluctuations, or client direction may cause the budget to increase. If this happens, your designer will work with you to steer your costs up or down to meet your goals. We never make changes to your budget without discussing them with you and getting your approval.
It is also super important that you share your budget with us as part of the initial call with our team and confirm it when meeting with your designer and builder at the consultation meeting. It is better to know if we can deliver a project that meets both your goals and ideas as well as your budget from those early meetings before we get too far along.
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New Avenue’s design–build process means you get everything you need all from one company: design services, permitting, construction, and construction administration are all part of the project and are all included in your initial cost proposal. We also coordinate all sub-consultants needed to complete your project. The goal is to be a one-stop-shop for your project and deliver services that minimize stress while creating a high-quality project.
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An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) can be added to your property and used as a guest house, a home office, a home for family or friends, or a rental unit. You can convert an existing structure (such as a garage or shed), add an ADU to your main home, or build a completely new unit.
The beauty of the ADU is that it can serve many purposes over the course of its long life. It may be a rental unit one year, a guest house the next, and a home for your extended family the year after that. It’s an asset that will enhance your property for generations.
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New Avenue provides design and construction services in the cities and towns around the San Francisco Bay Area and in Portland, Oregon. We are actively growing our teams in cities all over the US.
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Technology
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It manages every phase of a multi-home project—design, permits, budgets, schedules, documents, and billing—in one place.
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It’s built specifically for homeowners and investors managing complex residential construction, not for contractors or designers. Powered by real cost data from hundreds of past projects, it provides the visibility and control that generic systems can’t deliver.
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Yes. Every line item is visible, updated against actual work completed, and tied to your fixed-price agreement.
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No, it strengthens collaboration. Our platform brings designers, builders, and owners together in one transparent system. The best results come from honest partnerships built on trust, shared goals, and accountability. And that’s exactly what our approach makes possible.
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You get a single source of truth. No guesswork, no spreadsheets, no surprises, so decisions are clearer and the build is far less stressful.
Enclave Developments
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An enclave is a single property transformed into multiple modern homes—designed, permitted, and built as a quiet, private cluster of residences within an existing neighborhood. Often owned by families, matriarchs, or close friends, enclaves create connected yet independent living spaces that foster community while preserving privacy.
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Enclaves attract those who expect more from where they live. They’re ideal for people who appreciate established, culture-rich neighborhoods but want the comfort, quiet, and innovation of modern, all-electric homes. For those who value design, sustainability, and enduring quality, enclaves represent the next level of living.
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Once built, enclaves are listed on sites like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia, and represented by real estate agents. Buyers can tour, finance, and close through standard residential channels.
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Yes. We specialize in turning a single lot into multiple residences, handling design, permitting, budgeting, and construction under one integrated system.
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Enclaves deliver modern comfort, privacy, and net-zero performance in locations filled with aging 100-year-old homes that cannot meet today’s standards for efficiency, air quality, or sound.
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Yes. Some clients build enclaves for multigenerational living with separate homes for privacy, while others use them as long-term investments or a mix of personal use and rental income.
Design + Construction
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We specialize in high-quality modernizations of classic homes, additional units, and multi-home properties called enclaves. We believe the future of single-family housing lies in modern, all-electric enclaves of two or more homes. Every project blends innovation with craftsmanship, celebrating timeless materials like stone and wood, and the warmth, durability, and beauty they bring to modern living.
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Unlike traditional approaches, your project is led by our design and construction teams, each empowered to make and challenge decisions to protect your best interests. This balanced structure ensures every choice supports your vision, aligns with your goals, and delivers the highest-quality outcome from start to finish.
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We’re the only company that uses real cost data from thousands of past projects to set a fixed budget upfront. We show you real budgets right away and then let you choose how to proceed based on your preferred scope and price point. Roughly 20% covers engineering, surveys, permits, and paperwork, and 80% goes to construction. Every dollar is tracked with percentage-complete billing, so there are no surprises.
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Our app-based project management system lets you track progress, view updates, and communicate with your team in real time, keeping you informed every step of the way. We also provide five price checks throughout the process—at the start quote, schematic design, permitting and engineering, selections and finishes, and final fixed-price bid, so you always know exactly where your project stands.
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In most cases, no. Our process is intentionally integrated because design and build work best when handled by one coordinated team using a shared system from start to finish. Separating those roles often leads to misalignment, cost overruns, and gaps in accountability. That said, there are exceptions. If you already have plans, feel free to send them and we will review to see if they can work within our process.
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We design for sustainability in both how a home is built and how it is lived in. First, we place people in the right communities, so daily life supports health and connection. Second, we reduce commute time which is one of the biggest sources of emissions and stress. Third, we modernize older homes and build new all-electric, solar-ready homes using efficient systems and responsible materials to cut long-term energy use.