From 15” TVs in the 1960’s to 84” LED backlit TVs in 2018, we all have one or more TVs in our homes—television plays a major role in our lives. The family TV is usually crammed into our living areas along with sofas, bookshelves, tables, chairs, and lamps. Generally, it is near the kitchen and entryway, and often this is not a useful spot for private viewing, or is too small for large groups of friends and family.
During the last few years, Villanueva Construction has been a serious leader in building high-performance homes. For two years in a row, the company was recognized for building the most homes in the BUILT TO SAVE™ program, a high-performance home program sponsored by Magic Valley Electric Cooperative.
The New Year is a great time to set goals for improving your life. Whether the goal is to lose weight, to stop smoking, or to start a new career, it’s the season to set positive intentions and turn last year’s “would have, should have, could have” to “Yes! This year, I am going to!”
Divine Custom Homes was once again recognized by AEP Texas for building the home with the highest kWh savings from among those entered in its High-Performance Homes Program for 2018. The award is not new to Olga Treviño, the company’s builder/owner, having received it last year, as well.
Magic Valley Electric Cooperative and BUILT TO SAVE™ are proud to present Villanueva Construction with the award for building the highest number of BUILT TO SAVE™ certified homes in 2018.
Waldo Homes invites you to visit their newest model located at Canton Village, 2802 Esmeralda St. in Edinburg for a personal tour of this showcase home.
Monica Berry has been in the building-related industry for many years, including the 15 years since she and her husband, Lonnie Berry, founded Berry Homes in 2003. Operating mostly in the Mid-Valley area, Berry Homes is an established construction company, recognized as much for the owners’ integrity as for the detailed quality of their homes.
Waldo Homes was founded in 2004. This family owned company is exclusively owned and managed by the Waldo Homes team: Mr. Luis Waldo and Mrs. Teresa Waldo, along with their son Danny and their daughter Karen. Everyone has a significant role in the day-to-day operations, and their skills complement their duties—especially those of the women.
Stephanie Villanueva is proud to be part of the Villanueva Construction legacy of building beautiful homes for over 30 years. The company rallies around its slogan, “The Valley’s Original Builder” for good reason. Its long history in business predates many new start-ups and is a testament to its enduring reputation as a quality builder.
Since its founding in 2013 by Emigdio Villanueva Jr. and his sons, Emigdio Villanueva III and David Villanueva, Villa Homes has achieved a remarkable reputation as a builder of some of the Valley’s finest custom homes. The Villa Homes team includes Emigdio Villanueva Jr.’s spouse, Cynthia, and his two daughters-in-law, Brianna and Erica Villanueva.
Marisol Treviño works side-by-side with her husband, Mario Treviño, both, as owners of Treviño Construction sharing the same passion for building homes that stand out from the ordinary. This family-owned company has distinguished itself by building award-winning homes that are as unique as the customers who buy them. It is with good reason that Treviño Construction’s company slogan is, “Luxury One-Of-A-Kind Homes For Life.”
Sandra Brown is a builder. What makes her different is that she is a “woman” builder. The love for what she does is evident in her work. And her work involves a lot. In fact, it covers everything from the design and concept of the home to its finishing details. As the owner of Sorrento Fine Homes, Sandra has built a great reputation as both an architectural designer and a master builder. She is currently certified as a “Master Builder” by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), a designation she first earned in 2010. The “Master Builder” designation is one of NAHB’s highest designations given only to experienced veteran builders. Sandra is the only one that has been given the Master Builder designation in South Texas.
Our feature on the 2018 Distinguished Women in Construction would not be complete without honoring a group of women working for Proyecto Azteca, a non-profit organization based in San Juan, Texas, that provides a grassroots approach to affordable housing for the area’s poor in the rural “colonias” of the Rio Grande Valley. The women have been with Proyecto Azteca for many years, and together with other members in the organization, they work as one cohesive family towards the goal of improving the quality of life for under-privileged families in the Valley.
Lourdes Vargas started her career in construction in California, helping her husband, Pedro Vargas, who was doing remodeling. Customers were so impressed with the remodeling work by the Vargas family that word quickly spread of their detailed, quality work. It wasn’t long before the couple expanded into full-time custom home building. Today, after moving from California to South Texas, Lourdes works side-by-side with her husband and their son, Jonathan, in one of the Rio Grande Valley’s finest custom homebuilding companies—Innovative Construction.
Divine Custom Homes is one of the Rio Grande Valley’s few construction companies that is run by a woman builder who is actually a “hands-on builder.” What that means is that its owner, Olga Treviño, is the builder. Olga is personally involved in every project, from the design, to the construction, and to the finishing touches—and she would not have it any other way.
Mary Ramirez is the founder of Chris Ryan Homes & Investments, LLC. She is also the builder, personally involved in a “hands-on” capacity since the company’s beginning in 1995. With over 23 years of construction experience, Mary Ramirez truly embodies the definition of a “woman builder.”
The home building industry has long been considered to be dominated by men. In the Rio Grande Valley, however, there is a select group of women in construction who have distinguished themselves—not just because they are women—but because of the incredible contributions, they have made to the industry in the face of many challenges.
The Rio Grande Valley’s only 100% ENERGY STAR® Partner that includes airPlus, BUILT TO SAVE™, and GreenBuilt RGV certifications on every home they build.
The 2018 High Performance Home Workshop was held on Thursday, Oct 25th, at the United Way of South Texas facility in McAllen. Builders attending the workshop learned new strategies for differentiating themselves from those building to minimum code, and, more importantly, how energy efficient certifications provide the utmost in value for homebuyers: compliance with state code law, utility savings, homes that are healthier and more comfortable, reduced cost of home ownership in the long term, and future selling advantages with higher resale values.
Donating time, money, or goods after a disaster is a natural human reaction. Seeing families struggle, especially those in your own community, creates a desire to help them. Matt’s Building Materials has launched a program that will assist qualified individuals by providing discounts on products that will help restore homes that were affected during this past Summer’s flooding.
One of the hottest trends in new construction today is the transitional home. Put simply, a transitional home is one that combines two architectural styles. It may mean mixing elements of farmhouse design with touches of Tuscan design, or starting with Spanish architecture and adding traditional elements. By blending ideas from each style, you can create a fresh design that aligns with your own tastes.
Meet the builders who have stepped up to a leadership role in the construction of energy efficient, high-performance homes in the Rio Grande Valley—superior in every way to code-built homes.
Divine Custom Homes is the only builder in the Rio Grande Valley that builds 100% of their homes as qualified ENERGY STAR® homes; this automatically certifies the homes as BUILT TO SAVE™, as well. Even more, the company demonstrates concern for the environment by adding the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS label to their ENERGY STAR® qualified homes and “green building” through certifying their homes as “GreenBuilt RGV.”
The visual beauty of Innovative Construction’s homes, both exteriors and interiors, is impressive, and the company is consistently winning awards for their design and craftsmanship. Yet what is under all that beauty is even more impressive because Innovative Construction is a builder member of the BUILT TO SAVE™ program. This means the company has their homes inspected during construction and tested upon completion to make sure they meet the strict energy efficiency requirements of the program.
