From The Oregonian, By Connie Potter
A treasured part of Ekambaram Balaji’s day is quiet time spent in prayer. In his native India, homes typically have designated areas where family members pray at different times during the day.
So when Ekambaram and his wife, Lakshimi, purchased a new home in the Arbor Oaks development in Bethany, a prayer room was an important component.
The builder, Arbor Custom Homes, was happy to accommodate, converting a butler’s pantry that connected the kitchen and formal dining room.
“It helps us follow our culture of incorporating religion into daily life,” said Balaji, an engineer at LSI who moved to the U.S. from India in 1992.
With Portland’s growing international profile, more and more buyers are looking for homes that meet their cultural requirements, said Brad Hosmar, product development director of Arbor Custom Homes.
“The number of new residents from countries like India and Japan is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said, “and they are bringing unique and interesting ideas to the home design process.”
Many of the design-change requests come at two Bethany communities: Arbor Oaks, where homes range from $329,900 to $659,900; and Arbor Heights, where homes range from $449,900 to $689,900. Both communities are close to Nike and Intel, two of the area’s largest global companies.
At Arbor Heights, the multicultural pool of buyers represent well over 50 percent of the sales, said sales director Megan Talalemotu. They bring a variety of requests, such as making sure stairs don’t face the front door (which lets the positive energy out).
“Once we did it a couple of times and they knew we were open to it, it established an open-door policy, and we began getting more requests. . .” said Talalemotu. “Because we have an in-house design and architectural firm, we have been able to accommodate most modifications at a very reasonable cost to the home owner.”
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