Family Builders: The Sweenor story featured in Providence Business News!
by Mary McDonald, December 8, 2017
— When Jeff Sweenor was learning his craft, building custom homes, he turned to the best source available in the late 1980s: “This Old House.” He watched the TV show religiously, he said, observing the techniques of the building team putting houses together.
Thirty years later, the South Kingstown-based Sweenor is no longer building small, simple houses in Rhode Island. His company, Sweenor Builders Inc., is among the most recognized names in luxury, custom home construction. But he’s still a believer in a common principle followed by good craftsmen: done once, done right.
“This Old House,” looking to branch out and feature more building partners on its programming, called him last year. Soon, the program’s contractor, Tom Silva, and production crew were on a Sweenor Builders site, interviewing him. [A clip can be seen here]
The relationship grew into a project-length assignment. This year, Sweenor Builders completed the 2017 Idea House for the show, a career highlight. The house features the latest technology and design ideas. Located in the Snug Harbor village of South Kingstown, the house was listed for sale on completion at $1.2 million.
“We worked with their design team and their vendors, introducing new technology, and all of the newest trends and appliances,” Sweenor said.
The design includes a ground-level master suite and ample decks and views, as well as the unusual, a custom dog shower in the mud room and a nautical-themed bedroom for children with beds placed in cozy nooks.
The technology in the house includes variable-flow refrigeration, Sweenor said. “Every room has its own zone. The temperature of every room will hold, to a degree.”
When he started his company in 1989, Sweenor was in his early 20s, and taking a break from his family’s business, Sweenor’s Chocolates. Over that summer, he built a house for himself.
Since then, the company has grown and changed focus, surviving three economic downturns, including the Great Recession.
In the beginning, when the company was building nearly identical, modest houses, he made as many as 30 homes a year. Now, with an emphasis on custom-designed, vacation houses, he averages about five structures a year.
By the time the Great Recession hit, Sweenor had diversified into a portfolio that included renovated commercial properties. That rental income helped carry the company during the arduous years when Rhode Island home building all but stopped.
Most of the houses are built in Narragansett, South Kingstown and other coastal areas. About half of the sites are created by tearing down older homes.
The company now annually reports more than $10 million in project-based revenue. It employs more than 30 people full time.
As for the direction of the economy, Sweenor is optimistic. “For us, if the stock market is doing well, there are so many people in the stock market that are doing well, that keeps our flow of work. I don’t see any indication it’s going to change anytime soon,” he said.
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Pictured at top: Sweenor Builders owner Jeff Sweenor, right, with his son, Ryan, who is framing this house under construction in Jamestown. Jeff started the company in 1989 after deciding his family’s chocolate business was not his passion. / PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITENEY LUCEY