BusinessReport.com

Not long ago, Realtor Scott Gaspard represented the buyer of a home that was under construction when the project ran into snag. The area around the site was rezoned, and the surrounding flood elevation level was changed. As a result, the buyer was forced to purchase flood insurance, which increased the cost of the home by several thousand dollars.

Gaspard’s colleague and competitor, Carlos Alvarez, was the builder and the seller. Alvarez and the buyer had agreed on a price, and though it technically wasn’t his problem, he didn’t want to see the buyer take a hit. So Alvarez offered to pick up some of the closing costs.

“Some builders would have bickered over every dollar,” Gaspard says. “But not Carlos. He was willing to work things out because he genuinely wanted to help my client. It’s an example of the kind of guy he is.”

A person could argue that a couple of thousand dollars in closing costs is no skin off the nose of a successful developer/builder/Realtor like Carlos Alvarez. He can afford to be generous. But those who know Alvarez and the members of his close-knit family with whom he runs his business will tell you his success—his real estate business is among the top 1% of RE/MAX brokerages in the state, and his construction company is among the largest in Baton Rouge [ranking No. 4 among licensed homebuilders in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2008 with 45 permits totaling almost $3.6 million]—has come precisely because he’s more concerned with doing what’s right than with making a quick buck.

It also helps that he has hit upon a winning business model that gives him control over every aspect of his residential real estate projects—from the land acquisition and development phase to the construction and, finally, to the sales.

“When you control the whole chain, you don’t have to make as much on each piece,” says developer Ed Kramer, who has worked with Alvarez in the past. “When you’re the developer and the builder, you can almost develop for free and then make your money on the back end.”

For his part, Alvarez sees somewhat differently the advantage that comes from controlling the whole chain. He says he takes a holistic perspective when developing a subdivision or mixed-use development, which in the long run makes for a better project and a more attractive product.

“It helps because I can look at the whole cycle,” he says. “I’m concerned about the location, about how it’s engineered, about the level of amenities on each house. We’re very involved in every aspect of the project.”

Alvarez uses the term “we” when he refers to his company because it is a family business, and the Alvarez family is a fiercely loyal bunch. Patriarch Jairo Alvarez, who emigrated with his young family from Colombia in 1984, started the construction arm of the company in 1991 and still retains the title of president. Carlos Alvarez is the vice president of the construction company and runs the real estate brokerage, RE/MAX Total. Brother Sebastien Alvarez serves as landscape architect on the various projects. Daughter Ana Marcelo does the books, and Carlos’ wife, Rich Alvarez, is a Realtor.

“From the inception of a project, Carlos and his family team are involved in every step, and every detail is touched by someone in the family such that responsibility is always a known factor,” says Kenny Hooks, a longtime family friend and attorney. “Because of this, problems that arise are handled rapidly, thus keeping happy clients and strengthening referrals and return business.”

The family has learned to work together, out of necessity perhaps as much as the bonds of kinship. The Alvarez children knew virtually no English when they came here as teenagers. Jairo Alvarez brought the family to the U.S., where he had lived as a young man and worked his way through college, because he wanted to pursue the American dream. They settled in Baton Rouge because Jairo’s sister lived here.

The hot, humid climate of southeast Louisiana and the presence of close family made the transition easier, but it was still a challenge for young Carlos, his brother and two sisters. He recalls bringing 3-by-5 cue cards with him to school to help him learn English. He also learned something about public education in the South: His first school was Woodlawn High, which was in the throes of turmoil over forced busing.

“It was a very rough experience,” Alvarez says. “Police officers were running up and down the halls, which was a complete shock to me having come from a regimented, Catholic boys’ school in South America.”

But Alvarez chalks up those experiences as character-builders that made him who he is today. He eventually transferred to Tara High School and then went on to LSU, where he earned a business degree. After graduation, he began working toward his MBA, but he decided instead to go into business with his father.

UNDER DEVELOPMENT: The 83 homes in Phase One of the Jamestown at Old Perkins mixed-use development, on Perkins Road at Pecue Lane, are more than 75% sold, and Phase Two already is in the works.

In the early years, the company did only residential construction. Eventually, the size of their projects grew and they gradually expanded into the development side. In the late 1990s, Alvarez decided to become a licensed broker and opened his own RE/MAX franchise, which lists the properties in the family’s various developments—Forest Creek, on Tiger Bend Road across from the former site of Woodlawn High School; Magnolia Pointe, off Staring Lane; South Hampton on Stumberg Lane; and, most recently, Jamestown at Old Perkins.

It’s Jamestown more than the others that has impressed industry observers. The mixed-use development has been one of the hottest residential areas this year, which is all the more noteworthy because most other new developments in the market have been moving sluggishly at best. The 83 homes in Phase One are more than 75% sold, and Phase Two already is in the works.

Behind Jamestown’s success are a couple of factors. For one thing, homes are very affordable. They average from 2,000 to 2,600 square feet and list between $250,000 and $340,000.

“I think the price point has a lot to do with it,” says architect Norman Chenevert, who has worked with the family for years. “Jamestown is not on the high end, and it’s not on the low end. It’s in the middle, and they have a lot of product ready to turn over and with interest rates people are jumping on it.”

The development isn’t just affordable; it’s also nice. The quality of the construction is good, and homes can be upgraded with more amenities to suit the buyer. The neighborhood also boasts features lacking in many other subdivisions of comparable price—lakes, walking trails, pools and a fitness center. Its location—on Perkins Road at Pecue Lane—is another plus.

“He always seems to select locations to develop that are prime in today’s market—areas that are attractive to buyers,” Realtor Linda Fredericks says.

But it is the way Alvarez and his family do business as much as the projects themselves that earns him raves among his peers. Developing Jamestown, for instance, involved countless hours of community meetings to deal with land-use and rezoning issues. Hooks represented the family in many of those deals and was impressed by the way Alvarez consistently put the long-term good of the community ahead of his company’s ability to turn a quick profit.

“Instead of acting like other developers, Alvarez insisted on meeting with all interested neighbors in order to accept input into the final design,” Hooks says. “Countless time was spent with the neighbors, houses were increased in size, lot sizes were increased, money was committed to be spent on fencing and green space and buffer zones. Profits were lost, but in the end all involved agreed the project was a better project.”

Alvarez also has a reputation for having a good relationship with subcontractors, which helps when bidding on projects.

“They have a good network of subs that respect them and want to continue working with,” Chenevert says. “They always kind of have the cream of the crop.”

All that has translated into a spate of successful projects. Colleagues describe the family as hard-working, driven and genuinely friendly.

“They’re all great to work with,” Gaspard says.

For his part, Alvarez considers himself fortunate to be where he is and to share his work with his family. He enjoys all aspects of the projects on which he works and says he likes to create things of value that are appreciated by others.

“When you’re building a community, you really have to stand behind your product and your service,” he says. “Because in the end, everyone needs to be satisfied.”