Wathen Castanos  www.wathen-castanos.com  view photos

Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes is a builder and developer that prides itself on building beautifully designed, green homes while setting the standard and continuing to raise the bar for the rest of the nation's builders. For this reason, the company has been selected to receive Green Home Builder's Pubby Award for the 2011 Builder and Developer of the Year.

As a third generation, high-performance builder, the company underwent a few name changes over a few decades before it was officially called, Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes. Originally established in 1983 as Heritage, Inc., the company was taken over by three partners: Kevin Castanos, Richard Wathen and Robert Mazmanian, in 1986.

However, it wasn't until 1994 that the Wathen- Castanos name was adopted, and, according to Mike Nimon, president of Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes, the newest modification to the Wathen Castanos name that includes the term 'Hybrid Homes,' was adopted later to underline the importance of green homes as a core strategy. "Hybrid for us was branding a highperformance home system that all of our homes meet at all price levels. It includes buildingscience technologies, thermal performance and reduction in energy-use for each home with HERS ratings in the 48 to 52 level without solar," explained Nimon. "Our focus was to add value in our homes by reduction of energy costs to the buyer. Hybrid for us incorporates Low E windows, high-performance HVAC, Energy Star products, tankless water heaters, radiant barrier roofing, fluorescent lighting, green material sourcing and low-VOC products."

Typical Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes range in square footage, from 1,100 to 2,348 and are priced between $128,000 to $$289,000. The average annual household income is approximately $55,000, and according to customer demographics statistics, 62 percent are first-time buyers and 67 percent are under the age of 45 years old. Aimed specifically at target markets that include: first-time buyers, move-ups and empty-nesters, community sizes range from 36 to 200 units, resulting in over building 4,000 homes in the communities they serve. All homes have high performance technology that surpasses the requirements fot Title 24, Energy Star and Build It Green California Programs. "In 2008/2009, we launched a new marketing campaign which promotes our hybrid-home technology. Our levels of marketing eco-friendly, highperformance homes have caused all of the key competitors to raise the bar in energy features," said the company's president.

Building single family, detached homes priced from $128,000 to $289,000, Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes is making its presence known throughout the Central Valley of California with communities in towns that include: Fresno, Clovis, Dinuba, Hanford, Soledad, Paso Robles and Central Coast metropolitan markets.

While the company has found its niche in the Central Valley of California, some may find this location to be a curious choice for building, as the area currently stands at an approximate 18 percent unemployment rate and is experiencing foreclosures and price devaluations of up to 60 percent. Regardless, the company has been profitable in 2011 and is expected to end the year with 181 closings approximating over $31 million in revenue, no easy feat for any builder in this downturned economy. "We have been focused on niche products to meet today's values in areas with job formations. The majority of our product has been to first-time buyers/families and those moving from rentals to an affordable, new home solution as we compete with resale's," explained the company's president.

"Our age-restricted market product focuses on AAA locations and convenience for a highly sought after location for infill." While Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes was one of the few builders in the industry to see such a positive outcome this year, the company's success was not without its challenges. "Our direct costs have a lot of pressure to increase in a time where the market is not allowing increases to consumers," explained Nimon. As a result, the company focused on new architectural product offerings with a highly controlled value engineering process. Nimon added, "High customer perceived value and to value added design and specifications was critical in the review. A focused, all-hands-on-deck team approach of marketing, sales, purchasing, construction, trades and manufacturers to achieve a very specific performance objective of product, to meet market pricing."

All Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes are certified by Build It Green to ensure the company sticks to the highest quality of green standards with every home, while evolving with the ever-changing vigor of green building. And while the hybrid program, comes standard in every house, the option to upgrade to a higher performance home with HVAC units and solar options to get to Net-Zero electrical operation costs are available to consumers. "We have focused on a build-science approach from energyreduction savings to consumers through thermal-efficiency, low-energy use products and sustainable products sourcing. We recycle 70 percent of construction waste and focus on green initiatives that are third-party confirmed with Build It Green and our HERS raters," expressed Nimon. " It is a confirmation and certification to hold us accountable to our key initiative to be green and to differentiate us from any 'Green Washing' applications in the market. These certifications and third-party reviews keep us sharp on reviewing products and processes for continuous improvement."

While Wathen Castanos Hybrid Homes have been successful in 2011, the company is already making plans to succeed and grow even more in 2012. The company of 36 led by president, Mike Nimon, is planning to grow from four projects to seven in 2012. "We currently have four communities with Ivy Gate, Del Sol, Forkner Crest and Aniston Place, and will be opening new projects in the second quarter of 2012 in Paso Robles and Hanford, which are all under our Hybrid label and we are projecting 230 closings for 2012," explained Nimon. "Our commitment to good process quality and high customer satisfaction are key to our success and this focus is critical to maintain during growth. Our resolve is to solidify more effort and energy in our first 12 months of homeownership that is customer service driven." The company also plans to make these new homes more efficient than ever before. According to Nimon, the next generation of hybrid homes, the company's "Advanced Performance Home," is currently being built to builder's challenge and 30 percent above California Title 24 criteria.

Having builders that feel passionate about green building is what the industry needs to propel the green movement forward and inspire those builders that have yet to convert to start building more efficient and ecoconscious homes. With their commitment to not only just being a green builder, but to have desire to improve their homes year after and maintain customer satisfaction while doing so, it comes as no surprise that this builder and developer was on top of Peninsula Publishing's list for green builders of 2011.

"Our entire team is honored as "Builder and Developer of the Year," stated Nimon. He added, "We take our building practices very seriously, and feel this recognition is not only a reward for our team of employees and trade partners for seeking out the most efficient products and procedures, but it serves as a benchmark for us and other companies to achieve higher building standards."

Dani Smith is an editor of Green Home Builder. She may be contacted at dsmith@penpubinc.com