SDH Happenings

Meet Amy Hall, Southern Development Homes’ Contract Coordinator. 

Favorite place to eat in Fluvanna?  Papa Jim’s Soft Serve Treats, they have the best ice cream cones and milkshakes and they are open year round.

Favorite thing about Fluvanna?  The Rivanna and the James Rivers. My family enjoys floating  or fishing and my favorite part is seeing some of the historic sites along the river banks.

Best way to spend a weekend?  Spending time on the Chesapeake Bay, especially a weekend salt water fishing or on the beach in Cape Charles.

Favorite event or thing to do around in The Fall?   I am an avid hunter, so Fall means the start of deer season.

Favorite thing about home construction?  I like the selection process, seeing all the styles and finishes come together that makes a home unique.   

Favorite Southern Development Floor Plan?  The Belleview, this is a brand new plan offers main level living, with a spacious rooms.

Tell us something about your background that most people would not know?  Not only was I born & raised in Fluvanna, I am the fifth generation to grow up on our family farm.

What do you like best about working for Southern Development?  My coworkers are my second family.  Everyone is supportive, they are always willing to find a way to help each other and they are some pretty fun people to work with.

Favorite event or thing to do around in Fall? Going to the apple festival at Graves Mountain Lodge and it’s the beginning of the Deer Hunting Season.

Favorite Southern Development Floor Plan? My favorite floor plan is the Hamilton.

Most exotic place you’ve ever traveled? The exotic place I have been is Aruba, but the best trip was a few years ago to the Black Hills of South Dakota with my family.

Tell us something about your background that most people would not know? Somethings that people don’t know about me is that I have my pilots license and that am also the sound engineer for the local party band 180.

Positive customer interaction that stands out to you? The best part of building homes is to see a family when it’s completed and seeing how much they love their new home. The kids checking out their new bedrooms is the best part!

What do you like best about working for Southern Development? The best things about working for Southern Development is the family environment, we all help each out whenever needed and care for the homes like they are our own.

Favorite place to eat in Charlottesville?
Basil from the Corner, they have the best salad!

Best way to spend a weekend?
Strolling through Downtown and the Farmers’ Market with family and friends.

Favorite thing about home construction/Sales?
Watching a community as it comes alive from the original paper plans, it’s a magical process.

Favorite Southern Development Floor Plan?
Sutherland

What do you like best about working for Southern Development?
Working with amazing people in a closely knit community make me feel like I’m working with family and friends, very supportive and comfortable.

Elizabeth Combs, Sales and Marketing Associate

Favorite thing about Charlottesville/Albemarle?

My favorite thing about the Charlottesville area is, there’s always something to do.  Whether it be attending a concert, viewing an art exhibit, hiking, shopping, or even visiting the numerous breweries and wineries nearby.  Being relatively new to Charlottesville, I am excited to see what else the city has to offer that I have yet to discover! 

Favorite event or thing to do in Summer?
I love to spend time outdoors; hiking, camping, or just a picnic in the afternoon.  This is such a beautiful part of the country and I feel fortunate to have the ability to drive a short distance and be surrounded by nature.  It’s good for the soul to be completely disconnected from time to time. 

Favorite thing about home construction/Sales?
My favorite thing about new home construction/sales is the excitement of working with clients to build their next home that fully meets their needs.  Whether they plan to grow their family or relax into retirement, ‘there’s no place like home’ and I love having the opportunity to work with folks to get them the home of their dreams.

Best Trip you’ve ever taken?
I visited Banff, Alberta this winter and it was absolutely breathtaking; one of the most beautiful places I have ever encountered.  The adorable town of Banff is like a picture on a postcard and the Rockies were a sight to behold.  One of the best parts of the trip was traveling to the top of Sulphur Mountain in a gondola…even though it was foggy that day, it felt like we were on top of the world!  Definitely one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken.

Tell us something about your background that most people would not know?
I spent a good portion of my childhood in a ballet studio; some of my fondest memories.  Having my best friend in all of my classes, and being classically trained by the mother of my best friend, ballet was my life.  Once I entered high school, I wanted to experience other things, and went on to participate in various sports and music, but I always wish I had stuck with it and continued to dance.  To this day, I love when I have the opportunity to see a professional company perform.

What do you like best about working for Southern Development?
The best part of working for Southern Development would have to be the people!!  Having only been with the company a short time, I feel very welcomed by all members of the team and look forward to getting to know everyone on a more personal basis.

Dale “Axel” Garrison works for Southern Development Homes as a carpenter and punch-out laborer.

Favorite place to eat in Charlottesville?
TGIF or Flaming Wok

Favorite thing about Charlottesville?
The convenience of a City within a Country Setting

Favorite event or thing to do around in Spring/Summer?
Lots of Outdoor activities, like fairs and festivals

Favorite thing about home construction?
The pride that comes with the completion of a quality product.

Tell us something about your background that most people would not know?
I come from a very large family.  I am Vice President of the Local Chapter of the Aries Eagle Fraternity

Positive customer interaction that stands out to you? 
Seeing the excitement in a customer with their new home, and its like a “pat on the back” as an employee for a job well done.

What do you like best about working for Southern Development?
The family style atmosphere

Or tailor a questions about something that you would like to share – a favorite hobby, local charity that you work with, interesting prior work experience, etc.
I Enjoy Fishing, playing pool and competing tournaments;  also loves being a Part Time farm hand for Rocky Hill Farm.

Favorite place to eat in Charlottesville? The Clifton Inn has the most amazing selections in my mind. I love the setting and the variety of delicious options from which you get to choose!

Favorite thing about Charlottesville/Crozet? Since moving here a couple of years ago, I cannot get enough of Charlottesville’s gorgeous views. My favorite thing to do here is to get outdoors, whether it’s through hiking, playing golf, or going for a run around town.

Most exotic place you’ve ever traveled / Best Trip you’ve ever taken? The most exotic place I’ve been is definitely to China where I designed model homes and experienced a completely different culture. I wouldn’t necessarily say that was the best trip though because I was too busy working! My favorite trip was to Yellowstone. It felt like I was on Mars there! If you haven’t been, you must add it to your top 5, because it truly is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to go back someday and see how much the surroundings have changed!

Tell us something about your background that most people would not know? I grew up swimming roughly 6 hours a day, very competitively, for almost 10 years before deciding there was more to this world that I wanted to experience. I still enjoy the pool, but more for just relaxing in now!

Do you have a favorite local charity? I joined the Junior League of Charlottesville last year and have been loving the organization! I’ve met some amazing women within the league, as well as getting to know our local community much better through fundraising efforts. The most rewarding experience within the league has been getting to volunteer with Greenbrier Elementary School where we read to kids in the mornings – it’s a delight being around children eager to learn!

Meet Angi Myers, Accounting Clerk, who has been Southern Development for nine years.

Favorite place to eat in Charlottesville?
I really don’t have one favorite place. I have several, anything with sushi and a really great salad. So I guess you could say anywhere.

Best way to spend a weekend? I love spending the weekend with my husband.

Favorite thing about home construction?
My favorite thing about home construction is just watching a house from the ground up. You never know what it entails until you watch it from the start

Most exotic place you’ve ever traveled / Best Trip you’ve ever taken?
The best trip I have ever taken was the Bahama cruise I went on for my twentieth wedding anniversary. Most fun I ever had.

What do you like best about working for Southern Development?
The best part about working at Southern Development is the people.  They are so much fun to be around.

Lois Haverstrom is General Counsel to Southern Development and has been with the company for over 9 years.

Favorite part of living in Charlottesville?
My husband and I have lived all over the Country, so we have measuring sticks from other places (NY, NJ, PA, TX, MO). We have been here for about 16 years and this an awesome place to raise a family. There is so much to do and it is so peaceful at the same time. Not too big, not too small. The best part of Charlottesville is the people. Charlottesville became “home” because of the people and relationships that we have here.  We are fortunate to have lots of family living in the area. We are blessed to have all four grandparents here to share in our lives. Then there are Aunts, Uncles, and a ton of cousins who all call the C-ville area home. We have made so many dear friends. The type of friends that I know we can really count on as we all do our best to raise our kids.  Then there are the people I have the privilege to work with every day.  A great group who I genuinely enjoy. Everyone works hard, cares honestly and knows when to laugh heartily. For me, C-ville is home because of the people.

What do you enjoy doing in your time off?
We love sports, camping, bike riding, and skiing. Loft Mountain Campground is our weekend getaway on the Skyline Drive. We have two active boys and it seems like their sports take over most of our time off, but that’s good because our friends are doing the same thing and we frequently get to hang out at the fields with the people we enjoy. With winter approaching we are all getting ready to head back to Wintergreen. The Wintergreen Adaptive Sports program made it possible for the four of us to get back on the slopes together!  Days like that are the best on so many levels.

Favorite place to eat out?
This is tough. Pre-kids, I would have picked Palladio at the Barboursville Vineyard for a very special night out. With two boys (ages 14 and 10) our eating-out habits have changed a little bit. My kids are pretty adventuresome eaters, but finding a place where everyone likes something can be a challenge. They love Bonefish Grill for a special night out. My 10 year old loves mussels and the 14 year old will eat pretty much anything that comes out of the sea. Pizza at Fabio’s off High Street is our go-to place (best NY Style Pizza). The boys are into volume eating these days so we are loving the dine-around coupons.

Outside of a mortgage loan, the highest cost of homeownership is energy.

Through smart design choices we ensure our homes live up to the durability and reliability standards upon which we have built our business, while simultaneously optimizing energy efficiency and providing a healthier environment.

The result is an enduring home with green benefits both you and our community will benefit from for generations to come.

How do we measure how we are doing? Each Southern Development Homes house receives its own HERS rating (it’s like a home’s MPG for energy usage).

Here’s where the exciting news comes in. Southern Development Homes is pleased to announce our lowest HERS score to date…a “46” for one of our recent sales in Old Trail Village! This means that the house is deemed 54% more efficient by a third-party inspector than a standard house of the same dimensions.

What are some of the factors that contribute to such a strong HERS performance?

• Extremely tight construction and thermal barrier
• Highly efficient gas furnace heat-pump in zone 2 with the addition a media filter
• Highly efficient heat-pump water heater by GeoSpring
• Energy Star rated appliances
• 90% CFL bulbs in lieu of incandescent bulbs in lighting fixtures

Looking for an energy efficient new home? Contact our team today!

Kevin Yeaton is the Purchasing Manager for Southern Development Homes and has been with the team for eight years.

Why do I love Charlottesville?  I think a good indication of how much I like Charlottesville is the fact that prior to moving here I lived in 12 other cities in 10 different states.  I’ve lived in Charlottesville area for the last 25 years.  Having lived in areas from Florida to Upstate New York, I have a real appreciation for the moderate climate this area has to offer.  We enjoy 4 distinct seasons, each with their own character, and most years each season last long enough to enjoy the unique activities the seasons have to offer.

Favorite Floor plan?  The Savannah.  I like the efficiency of the design, also the open and airiness  of the plan.

How you do enjoy your days off?  I enjoy getting involved with projects, my current project is a wood and fabric, open-cockpit airplane that I’m building in my basement.  It’s a challenging project that will keep me occupied for years to come.

Favorite Restaurant:  Bang.  Eclectic, fun place with lots of gluten-free items to choose from.