On Sept. 27, 2026, The New York Times featured Cohere in an in-depth article titled “Here’s Your New House. It Comes With Friends.” by Conor Dougherty. The article shines a national spotlight on how some master-planned community developers are intentionally creating neighborhoods that foster friendship, connection and belonging. It featured Cohere’s CEO Todd Hornback along with three Cohere-managed communities — Indigo, Two Step Farm and Silverwood — where our onsite teams work alongside our partners to put those ideas into practice every day.
It’s meaningful recognition of something we’ve believed for a long time: The places we create don’t just shape where people live, they can shape how people connect and experience well-being.
The story signals a growing national conversation about the role community can play in addressing loneliness and social disconnection.
Why belonging in community has to be designed
Todd Hornback told The New York Times that local institutions once fostered community on their own, but suburbanization and technology have since broken many of those connections. In new places, he said, community now “has to be designed and practiced.” That belief shapes Cohere’s approach to community managment and placemaking.
Cohere measures the ROI of belonging
Cohere treats connection as a business outcome, not an added benefit. As Todd described it to The New York Times, early residents who feel they belong recommend their neighborhood to their friends, which builds demand for homes in later phases.
When Cohere asks residents what they value most, they rarely mention their house — they describe the feeling of community. Cohere calls this the ROI of belonging and measures it across more than 45,000 homes nationwide.
Why this matters for MPC developers and HOA boards
The New York Times’ coverage reflects a broader shift in the industry: Homebuyers are increasingly weighing a sense of belonging and connection alongside square footage. Master-planned community developers that want to stay ahead of their peers can proactively work with a company like Cohere — one whose community management and placemaking expertise focuses on true community building — to create communities where the return on investment of belonging sets them apart in the market.
Read the full article in The New York Times
Read “Here’s Your New House. It Comes With Friends.” in The New York Times to see how Cohere and its MPC developer partners are shifting the service model offering from more amenities to intentional community building. It’s a shift Cohere has championed for years: Community is the most valuable amenity and belonging is a form of infrastructure.
