Builder takes path of 'intelligent growth,' looks to future

In an economy like this one, according to James Chittaro of Naperville-based J. Lawrence Homes, "you can either bury your head in the sand and hope that the bad stuff goes away or you can keep your head up and continue looking for opportunities for intelligent growth."

Chittaro and his partner, John Wozniak, have chosen the latter path.

In fact, just last August they purchased Wheaton-based Smykal Homes, a fourth generation, 137-year-old firm, because Ralph Smykal wanted to retire.

"It was a unique opportunity and we seized it," Wozniak explained.

The acquisition greatly expanded J. Lawrence Homes' product offerings in the Chicago area. In addition to the Midlane Club in Wadsworth and Silver Leaf in Joliet, both of which J. Lawrence Homes had initiated, they now have Ashford Place in Joliet, River's Edge Landing in Minooka and Ravine Woods and the Carriage Homes at Ravine Woods in Channahon.

"Things are very slow, just like for everyone else," Chittaro acknowledged. "But we are holding our own. We are not going to force people to buy homes. Instead, we are positioning ourselves for the future by looking at other opportunities. And as consumer confidence grows, things will improve."

"We are selling about one home per community per month right now," Wozniak added. "And we are making adjustments. We have taken the Smykal communities, which were well under way, and we have created some smaller homes so that we can offer people a chance to live in those communities who wouldn't have been able to otherwise."

And they have diversified to help themselves endure the downturn.

In addition to J. Lawrence Homes, which they founded together in 2007, Wozniak and Chittaro own Smykal Renovations, a firm which does additions and renovations and builds custom homes, and Bio View Maintenance, a landscaping and maintenance company that does contract work for homeowner associations and active adult communities.

"We went through the Smykal files and sent letters to hundreds of former customers, offering our services for additions and renovations," Wozniak explained. "Who better to renovate your home than the company that built it? And we have gotten lots of work from that."

Their dream homes: Wozniak dreams of a traditional home near a beach in a warmer climate. Chittaro has visions of a Tuscan-style home with a courtyard in a warmer climate, as well.

Their favorite amenities: Island kitchens where the island has replaced the kitchen table and allows people to gather are Wozniak's favorite new home item. Chittaro enjoys technology so he likes the systems which tie Web access, security, television, lights and heating and air conditioning together under computer control.

Background: A graduate of Southern Illinois University's pre-law program, Wozniak decided to work construction for a year after college to save money for law school. He went to work as a laborer for United Homes and quickly moved up the ranks. He never ended up going to law school and recently quipped that "now I can afford to hire a lawyer."

After 16 years with United Homes during which he climbed the ladder to vice president, Wozniak moved to Summit Homes where he spent three years before it was acquired by NYSE-traded Lennar Builders. He then spent four years with Lennar before striking out on his own and starting a small residential construction firm, J. Lawrence Custom Homes.

Chittaro is a native of Canada who graduated from the University of Illinois-Champaign with a degree in economics. After graduation he went into banking, spending four years with Cole-Taylor Bank, followed by four years with Bank of America and finally, six years with the Royal Bank of Canada.

Wozniak, 47, and Chittaro, 36, met about 10 years ago. Wozniak was with United Homes and was teaching a course through the Residential Construction Employers Council. Chittaro was a lender who wanted to learn more about the business to which he was lending. The two continued to do business together and see each other at various builder association functions. In fact, Chittaro financed some of Wozniak's projects.

In 2007 they became partners in J. Lawrence Homes. Since Wozniak is John Lawrence Wozniak and Chittaro is James Lawrence Chittaro, the name worked.

The details: The homes J. Lawrence Homes currently sells range from the upper $100,000s to $400,000 but they are equipped to build much bigger, more expensive homes if there is a call for them and they are currently considering offering homes in the mid-$100,000s at some of their communities.

The Midlane Club in Wadsworth offers maintenance-free ranch and two-story homes along a golf course. The Carriage Homes at Ravine Woods in Channahon features duplexes and ranches for which there is no monthly association fee. Both have been attracting empty-nesters.

Located near an elementary school, Silver Leaf in Joliet is attracting first-time buyers and young families. Nearby Ashford Place, also in Joliet, is geared toward move-up buyers.

River's Edge Landing in Minooka is a mid-level estate home community where all of the base homes cost less than $300,000. And Ravine Woods in Channahon features their largest homes on beautiful lots which are selling in the $300,000s and are attracting families and move-up buyers.

Their philosophy: "We work on building quality relationships with customers, vendors, lenders and employees and we know that if we manage that well, it will fall into place that we build quality homes," Chittaro explained.

"We pride ourselves on long relationships with our subcontractors and good relationships with our 20 staff members," he continued.

The best part about being a builder: "We work in an evolving world and that is exciting, especially right now," Chittaro said.

Wozniak added, "Even in a down time, we are creating the right home for the community and our buyers and we love that."

Biggest changes they have seen in the business: According to Wozniak, the strengthening of building codes and improvements in the science of building has been striking.

"People talk about 'they don't build homes like they used to,' but the truth is, we are building much better homes today than we were when I started in the business," he said.

And the technical side of marketing has changed immensely. Chittaro said that how you get your message out to the world and keep yourself in front of people has completely changed and builders must stay on top of those changes in order to remain competitive.

Future plans: "We are constantly looking at new deals and we feel that now is a good time to buy," Chittaro said.

Right now, because of the Smykal purchase, they are heavily concentrated in the southwestern suburbs and they want to spread out more throughout the Chicago area, looking for infill sites that are near transit lines.

"As long as it makes sense and we are able to do it, we will jump on these opportunities," Wozniak said.

"Five years down the road, hopefully, we will be in a better, stronger position than we are today because of how we are positioning ourselves now," Chittaro added.

When it seems appropriate economically, he continued, they also plan to increase their commercial real estate holdings.

Contact: Call (630) 281-4700 or visit jlawrencehomes.com or smykalhomes.com.