When Steve O'Dowd was approached by the founders of Orlando's Park Square Homes in 1999, they confided a vision for growth that might have made most builders in Orlando's custom and vacation-resort home market scoff. After buying out Anil Deshpande, the third original partner when he wanted to retire, Suresh K. Gupta, Park Square's CEO and partner with Chairman Braham Aggarwal, had decided to grow their company into a big builder. In a market already awash with the biggest production builder names in the country, the goal–build at least 1,000 homes a year by 2002–was no small feat, considering that the company had only built 184 homes the year before. More
Measure twice, cut once. The carpenter's adage has become so clichéd that it's... More
WHY IT WORKED: This high-growth area outside Tampa, Fla., was ripe for a luxury... More
WHY IT WORKED: A great location on the west side of Elgin, one of Chicago's... More
Why It Worked: You could say that The Villages on Mount Hope Bay makes the best of... More
EVERY YEAR, DES MOINES, Iowa–based Bloodgood Sharp Buster Architects & Planners (BSB) holds an internal design contest among its offices across the country. Used as a way to foster healthy competition, the event has new meaning this year. Instead of a fictitious client, the winning house will be built for Seamark Ranch, a faith-based orphanage in Jacksonville, Fla. More
WHY IT WORKED: Clublands Antioch is one of the only mid-priced clubhouse communities in Lake County, one of Chicago's northern suburbs. Rolling topography and numerous water features are some of the highlights of this 450-acre site. More
WHY IT WORKED: Located west of fast-growing Orlando, Fla., Summerport manages to... More
Why it worked: Brand-new floor plans, with more efficient layouts and handsome... More
