Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 2, 2009
Cornerstone makes luxury homebuilding a family affair
Samara Litvack
As young boys often do, Dale Mabee spent his childhood building things. What set him apart, however, was the great joy he found in planning, building and executing even the smallest of projects. Luckily for residents of Chattanooga, his love of creating and building carried over into adulthood. Today, as president of Cornerstone Construction and Realty Group, he has been building single-family homes for more than 20 years.
“I have an urge to be creative,” he says, seated at the conference room in his North Chattanooga office. Beside him sits his son, Chris Mabee. Across the table is his daughter, Carla Mabee Johnston. Growing up in a homebuilding family, Chris and Carla both became interested in the industry, and their careers with the family business started early. Dale, like many small business owners with children, put his kids to work on weekends and summers while they still lived at home.
“We all started from the bottom,” says Carla. “(Chris) worked summers doing the hard labor. I cleaned toilets.”
“We worked our way up,” Chris adds.
“But that was all while they were in school,” says Dale, smiling back at both his children.
When Carla left home, she went to Middle Tennessee State University, where she earned a degree in interior design. Today, she is the director of marketing and design for the family business and is also a licensed Realtor.
“I didn’t necessarily see myself in the marketing end of it,” she says. “But then I’ve found that’s what I enjoy almost most. I like working with people and it’s something that’s always new and different and you never get bored. There’s always a different development or a different clientele to work with.”
Chris headed another direction when he left home – east, to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. There, he earned a degree in economics.
“Since I’ve been back, I’ve been overseeing the construction end of things and handling all the accounting,” he says.
Their dad is obviously proud to have his children working by his side, and since they have both come full circle, the business has continued to flourish. “Not many people could work together like we do, but somehow we end up doing it,” says Carla. “We all offer different talents and we all appreciate each other’s talents. We just kind of respect each other’s abilities… I know what he’s good at and I let him do it and he doesn’t come in and pick out a paint color.”
“I think we’re very fortunate to work with people that we trust and care about, as well,” says Chris. “Not everybody’s that lucky, to come to work every day in that type of environment.”
The Mabee family bond is reflected in its product. Cornerstone’s two most recent developments, for example, are upscale, gated communities that offer unique amenities and extreme customer satisfaction.
Hill Pointe, on Stringers Ridge, features 27 luxury townhomes with panoramic views of the mountains and city skyline. With three bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths, each of these homes features lower and upper story porches with high-end interior finishes.
Walnut Hill, located in the heart of downtown on Cherry Street, blends an old city feel with modern downtown living. Equipped with two-car garages (unheard of in downtown) and carriage houses (perfect for home offices or guest homes), Walnut Hill is minutes from the riverfront and the North Shore and each home includes front and rear porches, as well as a common courtyard.
While five of the first six Walnut Hill townhomes are sold, Cornerstone has just started Phase Two of the project. The second development of townhomes will also be on Cherry Street and will include six additional units.
“We’re really excited about that,” Carla says. “We’ve already got one of those presold. We’re just now making them available for presale, so we’re really excited. They’re starting from $625,000 and go to a million.”
But even with the success of their business, the Mabee family hasn’t lost its humility or sense of gratitude.
“We’ve been very encouraged by the acceptance in the market of our townhomes,” says Dale. “We feel that we have a real unique product in a very unique setting, so we’re very encouraged during this recessionary period.”
And Dale’s ability to create niche communities has set Cornerstone apart from other building companies in the area. While small in size, his company offers a product with which many others can’t compete.
“We’re not large in the sense of employees,” Dale says, “but we feel like we’re large in the sense of delivering an excellent product and service and quality to our clients.”
As Realtors themselves, Dale and Carla understand the differences and similarities in the homebuilding and home selling businesses. This gives them an edge when working together with Realtors on new construction or the purchase of one of their upscale homes.
“Since we wear a number of hats, since we’re developers, builders and Realtors, we think that we understand the process that can help Realtors in their efforts to work with their client,” Dale says. “Particularly on new constructions because new construction sales offer some different challenges.”
“It’s kind of scary, the idea of it,” Carla says. “We try to ease that because we know. We’ve been there, so we can kind of walk them through it.”
“We have a long-standing history of working with Realtors and trying to make their job easy in presenting our products to their clients,” adds Dale. “We think Realtors offer a very unique professional service that prospective homebuyers need and we’re very happy to work with the Realtors and we encourage Realtors to show our products. We are committed to making their job easier.”
This desire to go above and beyond with Realtors is reflective of Cornerstone’s basic philosophy of business – offer luxury product by building exceptional, niche communities and back it up with superior customer
service.
“We’re not trying to be all things for all people,” says Dale. “We’re not the Wal-Mart of our business. We’re kind of the Sax Fifth Avenue, so to speak, in terms of getting unique, quality products and unique locations.”
And with Dale’s vision, Carla’s design and marketing and Chris’s management, the Mabee family will deliver high quality product and service to the Chattanooga market for many years to come.
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