A Walk-Through Winterset: Our Partnership with Gale Communities

Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) is committed to delivering projects that result in strong, long-term partnerships with the clients we work with. We are proud to say that, on many occasions, our ability to deliver as promised has transformed our clients into advocates. Our continued leadership and performance in the industry often creates new opportunities for ESS to grow along with our partners, and Gale Communities is a leading example of this principle.

Gale Communities was established by Dave Gale in 1989 with just 245 acres of land. Dave first purchased the acreage as a sheer speculative project with one goal in mind: he always had an inclination for landscape design and believed he could transform this project into something bigger. In 1990, Gale Communities began constructing the development, “Winterset Summit” as its first Midwest project in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

According to Dave, the vision of Gale Communities has always been about “building quality communities that offer residents long-term livability.” The subdivisions present a unique environmental theme unlike any other in the Kansas City region, which residents have greatly appreciated. By maintaining the integrity of the land, residents can enjoy the natural beauty of the community with long walking trails, live water and appealing landscape composition.

Come 1999, Emery Sapp & Sons first entered the Kansas City market. At this point, we joined forces with Gale Communities for the first time on the Arborwalk community development project in Lee’s Summit as the heavy civil contractor.

Soon after this project, our participation on the Winterset subdivision project began. Our work proved our capability to work collaboratively with Dave and his company. Together, we have contoured the land with their community vision in mind. We continue to carry on this idea of long-term livability for residents through each new phase of development.

Emery Sapp has had the privilege of providing comprehensive civil construction services for Gale Communities on the last 10 phases of the Winterset subdivision development. Fast forward to what is now the 33rd phase of Winterset, our partnership has only strengthened and Winterset has naturally evolved into a large residential paradise for thousands of homeowners.

Dave Gale said “our partnership with Emery Sapp has provided us with peace of mind while new phases of our developments are under construction. We believe Emery Sapp will complete construction in a timely manner and effectively communicate with all parties from start to finish.”

Since its inception in 1989, Winterset has grown to 1,250 acres with a total of 6 different neighborhoods. To put that into perspective for you, 1,250 acres is about 945 football fields. Here are some other powerful stats about the Gale Communities projects:

• Over a span of 8 Winterset phases, ESS teams moved more than 251,299 cubic yards of earth, placed 22,447 linear feet of curb, and installed a whopping 43,706 linear feet of pipe.
• The Winterset developer, 3 home builders and the 3 realtors all live in the community.
• Winterset is now home to over 1100 residents, has 3 pools, and more than 10 miles of trails.

Looking ahead, Gale Communities has several new developments on the horizon. The company is also currently transitioning between 1st generation and 2nd generation ownership with Dave Gale passing the pursuit on to his son, Cutter Gale. Cutter has been with the company for 4 years. “We will continue to seek development opportunities that contribute to a quality lifestyle while protecting the natural landscape and local ecosystem,” said Cutter Gale.

Maintaining strong partnerships isn’t just a sure-fire way to see quality results, it’s part of our core values. ESS is excited to continue our partnership with Gale Communities for generations to come.

Watch this quick video with Dave and Cutter Gale who help us learn more about the continued growth of Winterset development and our successful partnership.