Quiet Clout

Charlie and Judy Robertson planned to build three custom homes a year when they started Robertson Homes in St. Cloud five years ago. Then the Osceola County housing market began its unprecedented boom.

"It just sort of took off," says Charlie Robertson, 59, who in November was installed as the 2005-2006 president of the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando. "We started last year with 29 projects on the table. By mid-year, we were up to about 50."

To help keep up with demand, the couple's four sons joined the business, making it truly a family affair.

Despite the frenetic pace, the quality of Charlie's and Judy's work is still winning honors. For example, a Robertson home won first place in its category during the HBA's 2004 Parade of Homes.

And the company has been selected to build the 2008 New American Home for the National Association of Home Builders. The high-profile project will be seen by more than 10,000 industry pros attending the International Builders Show in Orlando.

But it was Robertson's wife Judy, 50, whose sweat equity started the family's homebuilding tradition more than a decade before it evolved into a full-blown business.

The Robertsons, who recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, met when both were working temporary holiday jobs at a department store in Melbourne. They married shortly thereafter, and settled down in the Brevard County city where they had both lived since childhood.

Six years later, the couple bought six acres in St. Cloud with the intention of building on it. "It was just something that Charlie wanted to do, to build our own home," Judy says.

But by then Charlie was working as an executive with Martin Marietta, and couldn't devote unlimited hours to such a major undertaking. So Judy, who was pregnant through a large part of the process, took the lead role.

She hired a handful of subcontractors, but the couple did most of the work themselves on their home, which was a sizeable 4,000 square feet.

"We did the framing, the insulation, the drywall-you name it," Judy says. "And part of the time I was standing there driving nails with my stomach sticking out. But I learned by doing."

And she did it well: 26 years later, the Robertsons still live in the home Judy shepherded from design to completion.

After moving in, Charlie and Judy helped other family members through the process of building their own homes. Then, in 1986, Charlie got his contractor's license-but it was Judy who used it. "Judy was one of few women contractors in those days," says Charlie.

Judy would take on one or two projects at a time, visiting construction sites during the day and consulting with Charlie in the evenings and on weekends. The couple's boys pitched in during school holidays.

"Picking up trash and laying sod," recalls eldest son Steven, who's now vice president of Robertson Homes. "It was fun. We used to build little clubhouses out of sod crates."

The couple soon became proficient in every phase of homebuilding. "The majority of the homes we designed ourselves," Charlie says. "We never paid to advertise, ever. It was all word of mouth."

By 1994, however, Judy was ready for a new challenge. She ran for a seat on the Osceola County School Board and won, going on to serve for eight years. She and Charlie are proud of the top-rated elementary schools built during her tenure.

Charlie's situation was changing as well. He had been vice president of DBA Systems, a Melbourne-based military contractor, when the company was sold in 1998. After staying on another year to help with the transition, he retired and the couple enjoyed several years of leisure time.

But that easygoing lifestyle didn't last long. In 2000, Charlie and Judy formally acknowledged their longstanding passion for homebuilding by starting Robertson Homes.

As custom builders, the Robertsons build no two homes exactly alike. But the company's models share a common feeling of classic elegance, with broad porches, large windows, sweeping staircases, gleaming hardwood floors and carefully hand-crafted details.

Its homes are also highly energy efficient. One won an Aurora Award in 2003 for "Best Solar Energy Home in the Southeast United States." And all are independently certified by the Orlando Utilities Commission to earn a coveted Energy Star designation.

That emphasis on environmental awareness is one reason why Robertson Homes was selected as one of four custom builders in Harmony, an innovative master-planned community in St. Cloud.

Billing itself as a "conservation community," Harmony is devoted to environmentally friendly development down to the last detail. No homes will be built on the shores of the property's two 500-acre lakes, for example. And the community is "dark-sky compliant," with streetlights specially designed to minimize light pollution.

"They're only going to develop 3,000 acres," Charlie says, noting that even when Harmony's signature Johnny Miller golf course was built, only three trees were removed.

Harmony is a proposed site for the 2008 New American Home, but at press time a final decision regarding the home's location had not been made.

Judy supervises the company's work in Harmony and runs its design center, which helps free Charlie to devote time to association work and political action.

And over the years, the Robertsons' children have joined the business one-by-one. "We never anticipated that the four boys would come work for us, and we love it," Charlie says.

Steven, 28, who started in 2002, handles the company's residential projects outside Harmony. Clint, 26, puts together estimates and contracts. Chris, 25, is in charge of operations at Magnolia Square, a shopping complex on U.S. 192 in St. Cloud built by Robertson Homes' commercial division.

Scott, 22, joined the team in 2005 after graduating from college. He's working with Steven and Judy to learn the business, and may one day take on Judy's responsibilities. In fact, Charlie says he hopes the brothers will eventually take over completely.

But neither Charlie nor Judy shows any signs of slowing down. Charlie, for example, continues to work on deals with residential clients and expand the company's commercial building operations. "I think it's good to diversify," he says.

Recently, the commercial division completed construction on Magnolia Square as well as on the Gaslight Lounge in Kissimmee. Plans for another commercial project are well under way.

The Robertsons are also very active in the community.

Recently, Charlie and Judy were part of an effort spearheaded by area builders to reduce Osceola County's school impact fees. Impact fees are levied by local governments on new homes to help offset the cost of building growth-related infrastructure.

However, builders have increasingly protested the ballooning size of such fees. In 2004, for example, the Osceola County School Board raised the levy for a single-family home from $2,828 to $9,708. Because builders typically pass the cost of impact fees along to buyers, excessive increases make providing affordable housing more difficult.

While the Robertsons weren't opposed to school impact fees, they believed Osceola's proposal was excessive and failed to give buyers proper credit for future property taxes.

"We felt there was double taxation," Charlie says.

So the HBA, joined by Robertson Homes, Wetherington Builders and ARNCO Homes, filed suit against the county and ultimately won a reduction of $1,815. Because the higher fee already paid by buyers had been held in escrow pending the outcome of the litigation, many recent Osceola homebuyers will get unanticipated refunds from their builders.

"We were doing it for everybody," Charlie says. "It was the right thing to do."

According to Beth McGee, executive director of the HBA, joining as a plaintiff in the lawsuit demonstrated Robertson's commitment to the industry and his concern for buyers.

"That action told me a lot about Charlie," says McGee. "He felt so strongly that he was willing to put his name on the lawsuit. We had builders who agreed with our stance, but wouldn't put their names on the line."

The continuing battle over impact fees throughout Central Florida will undoubtedly consume much of Robertson's time as HBA president. But he also plans to broaden member involvement in the HBA's array of activities through such innovative measures as inviting members to attend association board meetings as guests.

Longtime industry watchers are intrigued by the idea of the dignified, soft-spoken Robertson following last year's HBA president, Bill Silliman. The charismatic Silliman, whose effectiveness stemmed from his passionate views and his willingness to go toe-to-toe with elected officials, was a different sort of leader than Robertson, a politically savvy consensus builder, is likely to be.

But, as his involvement in the Osceola County lawsuit demonstrates, Robertson's thoughtful demeanor shouldn't be interpreted as a lack of resolve.

"Charlie is willing to do whatever it takes," says Judy of her husband. "He's great at working with people. And he's always looking for ways to bring people together, and to approach issues in a way that everybody gets at least some of what they need. It's kind of overused, but Charlie likes to create win-win situations whenever possible."

The rest of the Robertson clan would agree. While laughing, they insist that they never get into family fights, despite the pressure of being in business together.

Smiling broadly, Robertson reveals the secret of his management style: "We get along as long as they do what I say."