Innovative small builder concentrates on affordable, compact housing projects: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

As land in the suburbs disappears or becomes too expensive to purchase, developers big and small are moving into city centers, looking for smaller lots to redevelop.

One of South Florida's most innovative small builders has been New Urban Communities Inc. For the past seven years, owners Tim Hernandez and Kevin Rickard have pioneered new construction projects east of Interstate 95.

The company was recently singled out by the trade publication Professional Builder as a small company successfully competing with big builders in one of the hottest markets in the country.

Their first community, The Courtyards of Delray, was the first three-story townhouse neighborhood built in the city. At the time, no other builder offered new homes so close to the downtown. Also, no other builder was offering lushly landscaped courtyards and public areas, and garages built at the back of the units.

"We had no comparables, so it was up to us to figure out pricing," said Hernandez, a former Chicago city planner who worked for Pulte Homes for a decade.

"There certainly was more interest in the market than we anticipated. We probably could have gotten more, but we were just happy to make our money back."

After selling out The Courtyards, Hernandez and Rickard decided not to stick with only one mold, even if it had been successful.

The company took on other projects across South Florida from live/work communities in Wilton Manors and Miramar to single-family homes in Delray Beach.

There is no signature design that defines New Urban, but there is one common thread in each of the company's communities.

"Our aim is not to build on a golf course or anywhere in the suburbs, but to be downtown," said Rickard. "We don't want to be the biggest builder, we want to do good, traditional neighborhood designs that enhance the entire community."

Hernandez and Rickard are not concerned about the housing bubble bursting any time soon, but they do plan to appeal to a large segment of buyers who have been left out of the market because of rising prices.

Another factor in their decision to build lower-priced homes is the cost of building. The price of materials such as concrete, steel and roofing tiles has increased 22 percent in the past nine months.

"We're concerned enough that we've shifted our focus to be in the price range of $200,000 to $400,000 whereas before we went up to $800,000," Rickard said.

New Urban has been recognized for taking on the affordable housing crisis in South Florida. Working with two nonprofit agencies, the company won the bid for the city of Delray Beach's Atlantic Grove community, a mixed-use project on Atlantic Avenue west of Swinton Avenue. Half of the returns on the project are being reinvested in the surrounding community, said Diane Colonna, executive director of the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

"New Urban has been one of the few companies to be pioneers in urban redevelopment," Colonna said. "The project has really transformed the West Atlantic area."

The company also set its sights on Old Palm Grove, an enclave of small, single-family lots in Delray Beach. Resisting the gated community trend, New Urban created 33 two-story homes and 11 townhomes on 5 acres off U.S. 1.

"It was a challenging site," said Rick Gonzalez, owner of REG Architects Inc. who designed the homes. "Attention to details is what made that project work."

Gonzalez, who is also a proponent of urban infill and redevelopment, said most large builders do not value the architectural and landscaping details he included in Old Palm Grove. New Urban allowed him to choose items such as decorative railings and supported his vision of a neighborhood modeled on older Palm Beach County neighborhoods such as Flamingo Park in West Palm Beach and the historic neighborhoods of Delray Beach.

"Our competitive advantage is that what we're doing can't be replicated because it's individual to each site," Rickard said. "When we're considering a project, we look at the site and decide what fits best in that space not what we can copy from another community."

Alexandra Navarro Clifton can be reached at anclifton@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6529.

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