A Mitchell Homes project under construction.
Having already dipped its toes into northeastern North Carolina, a local homebuilder is now ready to dig its heels into the Tar Heel State.
Powhatan-based Mitchell Homes is opening a new sales office in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, marking the 25-year-old company’s first expansion beyond Virginia, where it has offices in Fredericksburg and Newport News.
Since the company opened its Newport News office four years ago, it has tested the market across the state line with projects in six counties in northeastern North Carolina that fall within the 100-mile sales radius Mitchell maintains for each office, said company President Scott Sleeme.
Scott Sleeme
“That experiment went really well,” Sleeme said. “We’ve gotten a considerable amount of interest in that northern North Carolina market, so we have decided to open a new design center in Rocky Mount, which we felt was the best strategic location for us.”
Sleeme noted the city is centrally located at the crossroads of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 64, and about 45 minutes equidistant from Raleigh and Greenville – two markets where Mitchell plans to advertise its services.
As a scattered-site builder, Mitchell builds individual homes on land already owned by its customers. Most homes are built on family-owned land, and Sleeme said the company doesn’t buy land or sections in established neighborhoods.
Sleeme said each sales office doubles as a design center, allowing customers to tailor their homes to their preferences. The Newport News office had 10 sales last year in the six North Carolina counties included in its coverage area, he said.
With the addition of Rocky Mount, Sleeme said the company will be able to serve 18 more counties in the state, bringing its total coverage area in North Carolina to 24 counties.
The Rocky Mount office will be housed in a 2,400-square-foot space the company is leasing from Chambliss & Rabil, a commercial real estate and contracting firm. Sleeme said he signed a three-year lease for the space at 825 Country Club Road.
Once open this fall, the office will be staffed with three employees its first year, with salespeople added based on demand. Sleeme said he’s anticipating 24 closings out of that office in its first 12 months, and he’s shooting for about 40 a year thereafter.
Companywide, Mitchell had 110 closings in 2017, and Sleeme said it’s on track to reach 132 by year-end. Homes average about 2,000 square feet and, in price, at about $212,000, which Sleeme said excludes land cost. Most home styles are one-story ranches, though Sleeme noted the company also builds Cape Cods and other two-story styles.
Those numbers bring Mitchell’s annual revenue last year to $23.3 million.
Sleeme, who has led Mitchell as president since 2008, said the company has had steady growth in recent years. His father, Mitchell Sleeme, founded the company in 1993. It opened its Fredericksburg office two years later and expanded to Newport News in 2014. The company employs 34 full-time workers.
Mitchell joins other Richmond-area builders that have broadened their horizons in recent years. Among them, Glen Allen-based Eagle Construction of VA has remained active in Hampton Roads.
Meanwhile, several out-of-town homebuilders have set their sights on Richmond, including Calgary-based Walton Global Investments, which recently purchased land in Powhatan, just east of Mitchell’s headquarters on Holly Hills Road. Delaware-based Schell Brothers recently upped its local real estate holdings, and this year, national builder D.R. Horton entered the market with its purchase of lots in Midlothian’s Collington development.
A Mitchell Homes project under construction.
Having already dipped its toes into northeastern North Carolina, a local homebuilder is now ready to dig its heels into the Tar Heel State.
Powhatan-based Mitchell Homes is opening a new sales office in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, marking the 25-year-old company’s first expansion beyond Virginia, where it has offices in Fredericksburg and Newport News.
Since the company opened its Newport News office four years ago, it has tested the market across the state line with projects in six counties in northeastern North Carolina that fall within the 100-mile sales radius Mitchell maintains for each office, said company President Scott Sleeme.
Scott Sleeme
“That experiment went really well,” Sleeme said. “We’ve gotten a considerable amount of interest in that northern North Carolina market, so we have decided to open a new design center in Rocky Mount, which we felt was the best strategic location for us.”
Sleeme noted the city is centrally located at the crossroads of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 64, and about 45 minutes equidistant from Raleigh and Greenville – two markets where Mitchell plans to advertise its services.
As a scattered-site builder, Mitchell builds individual homes on land already owned by its customers. Most homes are built on family-owned land, and Sleeme said the company doesn’t buy land or sections in established neighborhoods.
Sleeme said each sales office doubles as a design center, allowing customers to tailor their homes to their preferences. The Newport News office had 10 sales last year in the six North Carolina counties included in its coverage area, he said.
With the addition of Rocky Mount, Sleeme said the company will be able to serve 18 more counties in the state, bringing its total coverage area in North Carolina to 24 counties.
The Rocky Mount office will be housed in a 2,400-square-foot space the company is leasing from Chambliss & Rabil, a commercial real estate and contracting firm. Sleeme said he signed a three-year lease for the space at 825 Country Club Road.
Once open this fall, the office will be staffed with three employees its first year, with salespeople added based on demand. Sleeme said he’s anticipating 24 closings out of that office in its first 12 months, and he’s shooting for about 40 a year thereafter.
Companywide, Mitchell had 110 closings in 2017, and Sleeme said it’s on track to reach 132 by year-end. Homes average about 2,000 square feet and, in price, at about $212,000, which Sleeme said excludes land cost. Most home styles are one-story ranches, though Sleeme noted the company also builds Cape Cods and other two-story styles.
Those numbers bring Mitchell’s annual revenue last year to $23.3 million.
Sleeme, who has led Mitchell as president since 2008, said the company has had steady growth in recent years. His father, Mitchell Sleeme, founded the company in 1993. It opened its Fredericksburg office two years later and expanded to Newport News in 2014. The company employs 34 full-time workers.
Mitchell joins other Richmond-area builders that have broadened their horizons in recent years. Among them, Glen Allen-based Eagle Construction of VA has remained active in Hampton Roads.
Meanwhile, several out-of-town homebuilders have set their sights on Richmond, including Calgary-based Walton Global Investments, which recently purchased land in Powhatan, just east of Mitchell’s headquarters on Holly Hills Road. Delaware-based Schell Brothers recently upped its local real estate holdings, and this year, national builder D.R. Horton entered the market with its purchase of lots in Midlothian’s Collington development.