Arcadia Homes Inc. Named NAHB Custom Home Builder of the Year; Finalists from North Carolina and Wisconsin Recognized

Arcadia Homes Inc. in Charlotte, N.C., has been honored as the Custom Home Builder of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Custom Home Builders Committee. Sponsored by Sherwin-Williams™, the award was presented at a ceremony last night in Las Vegas during the NAHB International Builders’ Show.

With 25 years’ experience building custom homes, Arcadia relies on attention to detail and a commitment to building lasting relationships with customers to create a culture of excellence in home building. Arcadia closes 12-18 fully custom homes a year ranging from $1.5-$15 million. Jeremy Schumacher is the president and managing partner, and David “AJ” Foard is the vice president and managing partner.

Arcadia has built a legacy of quality homes and has built a second or third home for dozens of clients. The firm emphasizes a culture of integrity and transparency. At Arcadia, home building is not just a job, but a calling. They demonstrate this passion through a commitment to integration: In order to advance the building process into the twenty-first century, Arcadia has invested in a cloud-based project management software, Buildertrend, that helps people at every step of the process collaborate and ultimately delivers a top-notch product to the client. New hires and interns are paired with the top project managers right off the bat, providing a strong education and professional integration experience.

Arcadia is distinguished in being the first company to construct a LEED Platinum certified home in North Carolina. Interestingly, though, the only difference between that home and their other, non-certified homes, is that they completed the process for the certification: standard procedure is to build each and every home to that designation.

“For over four decades I have worked with and observed exceptional builders across America,” said Carl Monroe, a member of the Society of Honored Associates. “On occasion, there will be a firm that rises above the rest. Case in point, Arcadia Homes—I have met most everyone in their growing organization, and they all want to be there. And it shows. They have incredibly high ethical standards, as advertised, and live them.

Finalists:

Mark Batson, owner of Tongue & Groove Design + Build (T&G) in Wilmington, N.C., believes that serving as a single-source solution for taking his clients from project inception to completion and beyond is key in creating beautiful, quality homes. As a boutique builder, T&G focuses on fewer, yet more personalized projects. With a small staff totaling 20 employees, Batson’s company takes on about six projects at a time and will complete three-four annually. Each custom project ranges in budget from $1 million to $6 million. T&G’s brand promise is to never compromise quality or coolness.

While T&G’s construction services are kept local to New Hanover and Pender County, the company embraces innovative tools to collaborate with soon-to-be residents of the coastal city interested in building a custom home. By using 3D renderings and aerial drone footage, T&G is able to involve clients in the creation of their new home.

Mike Hartman, president and general manager of Hartman Homes in Hudson, Wis., also prides himself on strict attention to creative detail when building a custom home. Hartman says that the component paramount to his company’s success is the standard of excellence that permeates each detail; by using the same high-quality team of subcontractors consistently, he can guarantee uniform excellence in each of the 20-25 homes that Hartman builds each year. With projects ranging from $450,000 to $2 million across the Twin Cities Metro and Western Wisconsin, Hartman is able to meet a wide array of client needs.

Hartman says that living and working in the upper Midwest can present weather-related building challenges throughout the year, but that their experienced team combats the various elements during the four building seasons to complete each home in a manageable timeline.