CUSTOM HOMES MADE EASY

This builder minimizes the stress

BY PATRA TAYLOR | PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOLGER OBENAUS

When Steve Kendrick founded Structures Building Company in 1999, he was on a mission: To build custom homes of great quality and craftsmanship while providing his clients with a level of service, integrity and professionalism that would redefine the standard among custom builders in the Charleston area. As his reputation grew as a premier builder, so did his inspiring portfolio, which features custom-built homes in such prestigious neighborhoods as I’On in Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island, Sullivan’s Island and the Isle of Palms.

According to Kendrick, for certain clients, building a custom home—from a blank piece of paper to a move-in ready house—can feel like a long, arduous process that includes numerous meetings between clients and their builder, architect and designers. It involves literally hundreds of decisions. “Many of our clients really enjoy the process,” states Kendrick, “while others are overwhelmed by it.”

In recent years, Kendrick has been approached by clients looking for a faster and simpler way to build a home. “We heard that request over and over,” continues Kendrick. “It was a regular topic of conversation in the office. We recognized there was an entire group of clients that wanted the service-oriented homebuilding experience that we provide but without the investment in time and money that usually go into building a custom home from scratch. In response, my staff and I came up with a more streamlined, simplified custom-building process that provides the same service and quality clients have come to expect from my company. Riverside at Carolina Park in Mount Pleasant seemed the perfect location to launch SBC Home, a new division of Structures Building Company.”

Conveniently located along Highway 17 North near Highway 41, Carolina Park is one of Mount Pleasant’s fastest growing and most desirable neighborhoods. This master-planned community features spacious quarter- to half-acre homesites, added privacy and stunning natural views of parks, water and woodland. “It’s a place where homeowners can create their dream home from the ground up,” notes Kendrick. “Now SBC Home is in Riverside to help them do just that.”

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Before launching his company’s new division, Kendrick and his staff worked with local architects to create an exclusive portfolio of home plans for Riverside. These plans have been pre-priced and each can be personalized to a client’s individual style and needs. And all of the plans in the SBC Home portfolio have been pre-approved by Carolina Park’s architectural review board to help streamline the process.

“It’s the same quality fit and finish of a custom-built home, but a more simplified design and building process,” states Kendrick. “We have a number of clients looking to us to do a whole lot more than the volume builders who offer a restricted list of options. We’re much more flexible … and we offer a broader selection of finishes, depending on the style and budget of a client.”

In order to help prospective clients visualize this simplified custom approach to homebuilding, SBC Home constructed a model home based on one of their portfolio designs. It is currently the only model home in the Riverside neighborhood of Carolina Park and also houses SBC Home’s all-new design center. “When launching this new division, I thought it would be helpful for prospective buyers to be able to walk through one of our homes to see the high level of craftsmanship that we offer,” says Kendrick.

“We wanted a place for our clients to be inspired and really see the wide range of options they have available,” states Deborah Way, design manager for Structures Building Company. “We were definitely more edgy when designing our model, mainly because we wanted people to see that even within our simplified customization process, people can get very creative with their house design.”

Despite the lower cost of an SBC Home, the new division continues to use high-quality, locally sourced products. “For example,” says Way, “our cabinets are custom made locally. We will continue to depend on the many relationships we’ve had for a long time.”

She adds: “Mandy Shealy, our designer, is fantastic at creating amazing design schemes. She is great at listening to our clients in order to find out what’s important to them. She helps them channel their style and desires appropriately, then brings the plan for their house together with a cohesive design and look. Our clients love the fact that after a handful of meetings, they can sit back and enjoy the homebuilding process, knowing exactly where they’re going to land at the end.”

According to Shealy, the SBC Home design center is constantly evolving. “We do the research, from the latest design trends to new low-maintenance materials,” she says. “We always want the selections available in the design center to be fresh and new, and the best quality for the money.”

SBC Homes plans to roll out in other neighborhoods as opportunities arise. But for now, they remain focused on building exclusively in Carolina Park.

“Structures Building Company has an established reputation here in the Charleston area as a high-touch, service-oriented custom builder,” concludes Kendrick. “Our launching of SBC Home allows us to expand that reputation in order to offer another select group of clients a more streamlined, custom-built home with our same service and quality. We are excited to help redefine the custom building process with a dedicated division for this niche market.”

Patra Taylor is a full-time freelance writer in Mount Pleasant. Find out more at patrataylor.com.

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