by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
KB Home’s local division is looking west and north ... and just about everywhere else between Georgia and Daytona Beach.
Oh, and they’re looking at a 40 percent increase in business, too.
The giant international homebuilder is this area’s No. 2 (behind D.R. Horton) and Division President John Molyneaux says it’s a matter of doing what the company always does: keep working in their price range and “keeping it simple.”
“We have a platform of values,” said the 39-year-old Molyneaux. “We try to go the extra mile for the customer. We make sure the customer knows what’s going up.”
Molyneaux and his 130 employees here expect to build a little more than 800 units this year in the $90,000 to $280,000 range. That’s up from 565 in 2002, and way less than what they anticipate next year: 1,100, maybe 1,200.
“I think our game plan is sound,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of attention because of our design center (on San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin,) and it’s a key to our business.
“When our customer sees a floor plan, that isn’t the end. He’s not buying a spec home which is already furnished. The buyer goes to the design center and is able to pick and choose what he wants.
“It lets the buyer personalize the home, and it cuts down on surprises as the construction proceeds.”
KB Home, part of the French builder Kaufman & Broad S.A., moved into this market in July 2001 when it acquired Trademark Homes.
At the time, Molyneaux was with Pulte Homes, his second stint of duty with that company.
“I joined Pulte when I finished college (Michigan State,)” said the 39-year-old Molyneaux. “I moved here in 1997 to work for Maronda Homes, then went back to Pulte here in 1999. I stayed there three years and then was hired by KB Home.”
He’s been in building most of his life. His great grandfather and grandfather were builders in Chicago and “I started framing and drywalling, sweeping floors ... things like that,” said Molyneaux. “I always wanted to get into the business.”
Michigan State’s construction school was a natural — at the time, he was living in nearby Detroit — and he received a batchelor of science degree there in building construction management.
Today, he supervises the company’s work in 30 communities around the area out of the headquarters building a few hundred yards from The Avenues Mall on Jacksonville’s Southside.
“We’ve made a major move into the westside (of Jacksonville,)” he said. “We see great growth there with the Cecil Commerce Center development. North Jacksonville is growing, too, and we’re aggressive up there.
“But, we’re everywhere. I’m excited about a golf course development we have at the county course in St. Johns County. We’re able to build affordable homes with a golf course view.”