Chelsea Building Group (CBG)
“A different kind of builder”
Business View Magazine interviews representatives of Chelsea Building Group for our focus on the U.S. Custom Home Building Industry
Based out of Charlotte , North Carolina, Chelsea Building Group (CBG) has been building exceptional custom and semi-custom homes in Charlotte and the surrounding area since 2014. As a local family-owned company, CBG brings experience, vision, and attention to detail to each home that they build, continuously looking for new ways to improve and innovate. Focusing on the needs of the homeowners allows the company to create lasting relationships, and satisfied customers.
With sold out communities such as The Bridge at Sharon View, Cityside West, Kale Mills, and ReAlta – Charlotte’s first solar neighborhood – CBG is always on the lookout for new opportunities. As Chelsea Building Group’s New Home Sales & Marketing Manager, Lexi Bickler is familiar with the challenges and goals the company experiences when searching out new land for building.
She shares, “We have always focused on infill and trying to remain proximal to the city and in areas that are already populated or have features that would be exciting to people and give them a reason to move to the area. As Charlotte becomes more populated, as it grows, we’ve certainly run into less and less land and opportunities to build. We are not a big national builder. We don’t buy hundreds of acres at a time where we can clear cut something and put down hundreds of houses. We are always focused on more manageable slices of land where we can build smaller communities, but with a high level of quality and a high design aesthetic.”
Based out of Charlotte , North Carolina, Chelsea Building Group (CBG) has been building exceptional custom and semi-custom homes in Charlotte and the surrounding area since 2014. As a local family-owned company, CBG brings experience, vision, and attention to detail to each home that they build, continuously looking for new ways to improve and innovate. Focusing on the needs of the homeowners allows the company to create lasting relationships, and satisfied customers.
With sold out communities such as The Bridge at Sharon View, Cityside West, Kale Mills, and ReAlta – Charlotte’s first solar neighborhood – CBG is always on the lookout for new opportunities. As Chelsea Building Group’s New Home Sales & Marketing Manager, Lexi Bickler is familiar with the challenges and goals the company experiences when searching out new land for building.
She shares, “We have always focused on infill and trying to remain proximal to the city and in areas that are already populated or have features that would be exciting to people and give them a reason to move to the area. As Charlotte becomes more populated, as it grows, we’ve certainly run into less and less land and opportunities to build. We are not a big national builder. We don’t buy hundreds of acres at a time where we can clear cut something and put down hundreds of houses. We are always focused on more manageable slices of land where we can build smaller communities, but with a high level of quality and a high design aesthetic.”
Loyal relationships with vendors such as Builder Firstsource, Distinguished Cabinetry, and Pella Windows means that sometimes the company is given advanced warning of a price increase, allowing them to order early and stay ahead of skyrocketing prices. Chelsea Building Group’s two sister companies, TruGuard and Floor Coverings International, have been able to keep prices down for customers by taking a cut to their margins, an advantage that other builders in the area don’t have.
Supply is another issue builders are facing, due to increased demand and delays due to COVID-19. Ordering certain products like lighting, plumbing, and appliances at the very beginning of a build is one way that CBG attempts to meet this challenge.
Chelsea Building Group Designer, Larissa Fontana recounts, “During COVID we saw a very brief pause where everyone was shut down, and nothing was happening. Once we opened back up, we got a flood of activity, specifically in our duplex townhome community, Cityside West. We ended up selling out that neighborhood very quickly. We really started scrambling to get things ordered and lined up because we needed to get all these homes out of the ground at a faster clip than we had originally anticipated. That was 20 units, 10 buildings, and we only had two and a half out of the ground pre-COVID. We are just thankful for the relationships that we’ve cultivated. I think that speaks to the family aspect of our business – even when we are not working within our family, we still try to keep that relationship in a similar manner, where we are treating people like family and working with them super closely.”
Taking time to get to know the client is a big part of the design process for Larissa Fontana, and something which sets the company apart with their custom and semi-custom home builds. She explains, “I definitely do get to know them very well, and I talk through a lot of things in their home with them, like how they use the space, who is going to use it, who their family members are that are living with them. I find out a lot of backstory. It really helps to guide the design. I know I’ve spoken in the past with some of the big box builders for my own personal homes, before we had our own company. When you go for your design meeting, you are sitting with someone who is just checking boxes and writing things down. No one is really giving you meaningful feedback that’s going to help guide your process and your design and be practical and thoughtful. I think that’s something that that we do for people that is unique, but it also helps us form those lasting relationships.”
Thanks to the pandemic, with people working remotely and having staycations, popular building trends now include office spaces in quieter areas of the home and outdoor living. Building beautiful homes and a customer-focused, exceptional quality experience are two very good reasons that make Chelsea Building Group “a different kind of builder” with a great path to success ahead.
AT A GLANCE
Chelsea Building Group
What: An outstanding custom home and community building company
Where: Based in Matthews, North Carolina
Website: www.chelseabuildinggroup.com
