Homebuilder says aloha to Richmond

The owners of a high-end custom homebuilder are parting ways, but the business will continue on.

Louis LaFratta, one of the founding members of Franko LaFratta Construction Inc, is moving with his family to Hawaii.

“My wife and I are going to pursue some other opportunities,” LaFratta said.

They are not sure whether it will be in homebuilding, renovations or another field altogether, he said.

LaFratta said he would continue to work until the middle of summer. He and Mark Franko started the company in 1990, in the midst of a recession. LaFratta said that over the years they had experienced lots of fluctuations in the market and that the most recent housing downturn was just another one.

“It’s just business as usual, really,” LaFratta said.

Because most of the firm’s client base is of a higher income level, Franko said, many of them weren’t severely affected by the recession and took advantage of the down market to complete projects.

“You will not be able to buy a project at the kind of prices you can now, because you are buying at the bottom of the market. You see people acting on that,” Franko said. That has helped keep activity flat, while many others have taken hits or gone out of business. Also inquiries are increasing, Franko said.

As for life after LaFratta, Franko said the name of the firm wouldn’t be changing.

“Changing stationery and buying logos is not something we want to spend the money on,” Franko said.

He also doesn’t have any plans to bring in another partner.

“We’ve worked over the years to put in some nice systems and processes here, and some of our good folks are taking on more responsibility,” Franko said.

“That is really the direction we are taking.”

The company, which has offices on Hamilton Street in Richmond, has three divisions and a staff of about 30 people.