Epcon Franchising Adds 23 New Franchise Builders in 2020

Epcon Communities Franchising, Inc.
Published: December 23rd, 2020

December 23, 2020 // Franchising.com // COLUMBUS, Ohio - Epcon Franchising welcomed 23 new Franchise Builders in 2020.

The 23 new franchise builders represent 14 states (Tennessee, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, Utah, Wisconsin and Idaho) and six have already started developing their first community.

“2020 presented new challenges in every industry with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we were able to continue to recruit new Franchise Builders for Epcon Franchising’s best growth year in more than a decade,” said Paul Hanson, president of Epcon Franchising. “Our new Franchise Builders come from a variety of construction backgrounds, including commercial, custom home building, real estate development and more, and we are ready to continue to bring more construction professionals and people from other industries on as Franchise Builders next year.”

Epcon added to its franchising support and recruitment team in 2020, positioning the brand for more growth in 2021. A national sales director, business development director, marketing manager and resource and training manager were all added this year.

Epcon hopes to add 22 new builders in 2021. In addition to existing home builders, Epcon will target private equity investors as new Franchise Builders next year.

“2020 was a record year in many ways,” said Rob Krohn, vice president of marketing for Epcon. “With our investments in virtual reality, video tours and more, we were able to help our Franchise Builders seamlessly sell homes even during government shutdowns. These resources will continue to be useful for our existing and new Franchise Builders as we enter next year.”

Epcon has already announced 13 new franchise builders this year. The not-yet-announced new franchise builders are:

• R.E.M. Developments, Granville, Ohio: R.E.M. Developments is owned by Chris McCray and Dennis Grech. McCray has been a real estate investor while Grech has developed residential communities and commercial buildings. They plan to build a 40 to 60-unit community to start.
• Carrell Homes, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Carrell Group is a custom home builder with decades of experience in vertical construction. Carrell Group plans to build everywhere from just over the North Carolina border to Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.
• Center City Homes, San Antonio, Texas: Center City Homes Owner Adam Sanchez also owns Diamante Custom, Emerald Series, JAS Development and Proline Pools. Sanchez has experience in custom building, production building, infill building, multifamily construction and commercial construction. Center City Homes plans to develop Epcon Communities on the west side of San Antonio.
• Choice Builders, Cedar City, Utah: Choice Builders is one of Southern Utah’s preeminent general contractors and custom home builders. Owner Roger Thomas is also a successful commercial developer. He plans to build his first Epcon Community in Cedar City, Utah.
• RJ Lifestyles, Delaware, Ohio: Owners Ankur Gupta and AJ Lall currently build high-end custom homes in and around the Columbus market. They also have experience in buying and selling rental properties and commercial construction.
• Middle Bay Homes Active Adult, Tampa, Florida: Owners Will Daniel and Cory Frier are partners in three businesses: Middle Bay Homes, Kimco Supply and Bay Area Exteriors. Middle Bay Homes does scatter lot building of about 10 custom homes per year. Middle Bay Homes Active Adult plans to build in south Hillsborough County.
• Caprock Development, College Station, Texas: Caprock Development Owner Jesse Durden is an established commercial developer based in College Station. He plans to develop his first Epcon project in Millican Reserve, as well as several projects on the north and northeast side of San Antonio.
• Atkins Development Group, Appleton, Wisconsin: Atkins Development Group is owned by Steve and Sheryl Atkins of Atkins Family Builders. They specialize in family-friendly moderately to premium appointed homes in the Green Bay, Appleton and Northeast Wisconsin areas.
• Gables Management Company, Fairlawn, Ohio: Michael Wojno is the founder of Gables Management, Inc., which develops real estate in senior living, residential and medical mixed use.
• True Homes, Boise, Idaho: True Homes Owner Christopher Shaxted is chief operating officer of Hubble Homes, which built more than 500 homes in the Boise market last year.

SOURCE Epcon