Arcadia Homes Inc. – Building dreams the right way

February 2, 2021

Arcadia Homes Inc.

Building dreams the right way

Business View Magazine interviews Jeremy Schumacher, Pres. & Managing Partner of Arcadia Homes Inc., for our focus on the U.S. Home Building Industry

A house is much more than bricks and mortar, wood and tile, it’s a home where families come together, grow together, and create memories that will last for generations. It’s also somewhere those families can relax and get away from the world and its challenges. A home is where people can de-stress and it should be a place you love. That’s where Arcadia Homes Inc. comes in. The company will move mountains to ensure a customer’s dream home is turned into a reality with the best quality workmanship, the highest standards, and a commitment to going above and beyond when it comes to customer care.

Arcadia Homes Inc. specializes in building custom designed luxury homes that also maintain a high level of functionality and purpose, what they call livable luxury. Livable luxury gives homeowners more ability and agility to enjoy every aspect of home life for as long as they live there. Arcadia is involved in every aspect of design and building from beginning to end, with a stringent focus on customers’ needs, wants, and desires.

President and Managing Partner of Arcadia Homes, Jeremy Schumacher, believes strongly in the connection with clients. After every project is completed the team gets together with the clients at the home to celebrate its completion. Schumacher shares, “There are certainly plenty of homes and aspects of homes that are just incredible and memorable, but the most memorable and gratifying part of our job is watching clients getting choked up when they’re talking about how much they enjoyed their experience and how much they are going to miss seeing some of us on a daily basis. Of course we reassure them that we are still there for them even after the build, but that is the most memorable and gratifying part of what we do.”

Arcadia Homes pool example of work Arcadia Homes is located in Charlotte, North Carolina and has about 20 employees, but also works with architectural firms and a whole host of trades subcontractors. The company was founded in 1994 by Michael Salamone and Robbie Bowers with a mission to create luxury homes, the right way. They constructed high end luxury homes with the best quality materials and the best tradespeople in the industry. Schumacher says, “It obviously took a whole lot of hard work and a lot of integrity and character. They built a very, very solid reputation and an incredible company over the course of two decades.”

Seven years ago when Schumacher came on board, he and AJ Foard (current Vice President and Managing Partner who has spent 15 years with the company) began to take on more of a leadership role. That hard work paid off when they both became co-owners in 2018 along with Salamone and Bowers. The two manage the day-to-day operations and love every minute of it. Arcadia completes an average of 12 to 15 new luxury home builds a year, along with a few exclusive renovation projects, which brings their total annual projects to about 20. Most of their work is focused in the Greater Charlotte area with projects from Weddington to Lake Norman and all points in between. Much of that work is in new subdivisions, but some are closer to the center of Charlotte, including tear downs, which Arcadia has no issue handling from start to finish.

Schumacher believes a lot of the company’s success is due to their devotion and passion to building timeless works of art that are completely custom and unique to what each client wants. They give great credit to the tradespeople at companies like Hardwood Creations. As Foard relates, “They’ve really done some beautiful and incredible cabinet work and millwork for us. They’re fun, they are creative, and really enjoyable to work with.”

Arcadia Homes is well known for their commitment to client care and customer service. Their standard of customer care is second to none. “We consider it a privilege to work closely with our clients,” says Foard, “and to deliver an uncommon level of care and quality in the place they call home.”

Arcadia has an unprecedented number of clients who have them build a second home, and even more people who refer them to family and friends. Schumacher elaborates, “Considering that the types of homes we build aren’t ordinarily what many people are building more than once, we get a lot of repeat customers. From a referral standpoint, we are very, very fortunate and blessed with our reputation and the relationships that we maintain with our clients. That referral business is a large part of our business.”

Arcadia Homes home exterior landscaping

In recognition of their success in the region, Arcadia Homes was named the 2020 National Association of Home Builders Custom Builder of the Year and also the Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte Builder of the Year. Foard couldn’t imagine a better place to work, noting, “It is so much fun to come to work and have a whole team of people around you that are like-minded and excited to be there. And you couple that with the opportunity that our industry and our company, specifically, has, along with the caliber of projects we do that are so unique and so interesting – that we get to play a big part in creating – it’s just a blessing and a joy to come into work every day.”

Although this year has presented challenges to all industries, Arcadia has maintained momentum with little interruption to workmanship or workflow. “The Charlotte area is experiencing a huge growth spurt with many of our clients migrating from the north,” says Schumacher. “They don’t ever want to shovel a driveway full of snow again.” Because the company was used to working with people who may not be in the area, or even in the state, COVID-19 didn’t really disrupt their operations on the communications and client care side. Arcadia has used a virtual communication platform for a few years, called Buildertrend, which allows clients to log in and communicate with employees, see how the work is going, and much more. Schumacher says they have always been adept at using virtual meeting platforms to keep out-of-area clients who are moving to Charlotte in the loop when it comes to their dream home.

During the pandemic, the company implemented safety protocols on job sites and their reputation with subcontractors, distributors, and manufacturers largely kept them insulated from the material shortage other companies have had to deal with. Schumacher admits, “We are lucky that even with our challenges, we haven’t had to tell a client we couldn’t get their house done on time.” A lot of that reputation is due to their company culture of service, not only to clients but to community coworkers and subcontractors; maintaining a high level of craftsmanship and continuing to do it right and never cut corners. And the fact that they strive to inspire others everyday has kept them in good shape.

“We want to serve our clients, not only before, during, and after we build their home but to serve in our community,” says Schumacher. “We like to be very involved with our community and carry ourselves in a way that would inspire people to do things the right way, to be transparent and full of character, and to hold each other accountable in a way that promotes hard work and accountability. I’ve seen other companies before where the culture is talked about, but more in a marketing and recruiting sort of a way. When I was told that the grass really is greener at Arcadia, I found that to be true. We live it, we breath it, it actually is our culture.”

In addition to their custom home building operation, Arcadia has also recently expanded their expertise into commercial construction with the addition of commercial industry veteran Nick Cunningham. But the company doesn’t plan to grow exponentially just for the sake of growth. They want to be very intentional in their future growth and be responsible in maintaining the ability to serve their clients with the unmatched level of care that they’re known for. They want to run their business like they build – the right way and with a lot of care.