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Home builders
Garden party
By Jordan Whitehouse
Located just around the corner from Dartmouth’s Mic Mac Mall, Avonhurst Gardens will have 214 one-, two- and three-bedroom designer apartments when it officially opens in the fall. Apartments will be in one of two buildings (named “Banook” and “Albro” after two nearby lakes), with each featuring eight-foot-high ceilings, air conditioned living rooms, private balconies, hardwood-like flooring, granite countertops and birch wood cabinetry.
Photos courtesy: Dexel Developments
Nick Jay was only 19, and still a business student at the University of Prince Edward Island, when he decided to start building houses. Nick paired with his older brother, Cory, on an initial project: a ranch-style house with a walk-out basement in Stratford.
Undeterred, the brothers organized an open house even before the building was complete. “An hour after the open house, it was sold,” Nicks says proudly.
Thus started their residential construction company, Craftsman Construction Ltd.
In its first year, the company had revenue of just $600,000 and the brothers provided all the labour.
Nine years later, the Stratford-based company employs nine people and is expected to build 10 homes this year. Nick predicts 2014 revenue could go north of $3.5 million. The brothers also have plans to develop their own community of 12-15 houses. They’re currently hunting for land.
Reached in his truck at a construction site in Charlottetown, Nick says his company’s growth is partly explained by an enthusiasm for new materials and techniques. For example, the brothers ( ages 28 and 31) are the only licensed ENERGY STAR builders on P.E.I. Their current project, when finished, will be the first ENERGY STAR-certified house on the island.
The past decade has not been free of challenges. Financing has been a major hurdle. “We were five years in business before we were able to get any financing from a bank,” Nick says. “That is a big challenge, especially at a young age.”
The brothers’ first three years in business were particularly hectic. Nick was balancing his studies at UPEI with 40-50 hour work weeks. But he wouldn’t alter his decision to become a third-generation builder.
“We love what we do,” he says. “And working with your hands always brings gratification at the end of the day.”
By Quentin Casey
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