Building a Stronger Future
Sarasota's John Wiseman takes the helm of the Florida Home Builders Association.
Sarasota's John Wiseman lives and breathes construction. Even while on vacation, he can't stay away from the thrill of a job site.
"Thirteen years ago, my wife, Tamela, and I were visiting Washington, D.C., when they brought the restored Statue of Freedom back to the Capitol building dome," Wiseman recalls. "There was a huge crowd watching as they carried her by helicopter over the Potomac River and lowered her onto the dome, where construction workers were waiting with their tools. When they set the statue down and the helicopter flew off, everyone started applauding. I turned to my wife and said, 'Someday I want to get that kind of response from a project I work on.'"
Last October, Wiseman achieved one of his personal goals when he was installed as president of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA), a Tallahassee-based trade association with more than 21,000 corporate members involved in Florida's homebuilding industry.
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Wiseman is also president of CORE Construction of Florida, where he spearheads residential housing construction in Orlando, Naples and Sarasota. Recently, he and his family relocated from Naples to Sarasota, where CORE has several local projects, including Shining Light Bible Church on Fruitville Road, Sandhill Oaks Apartments in North Port and Taylor Woodrow's Artisan Lakes sales center at I-75 and Moccasin Wallow Road.
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"I've always loved Sarasota and I'm glad to be a part of this community," Wiseman says. "We do a lot of work along the I-4 corridor. Now that I'm centrally located, I can get home to my family at night."
The area has undergone some major changes since Wiseman used to visit his grandfather in the Sarasota-Manatee area years ago. "What they've done in downtown Sarasota is wonderful," he says. "Some people complain about the density, but it's that density that gives you what you need to support the local merchants. When you control density too much, you risk squashing them."
According to Mike Rahn, second vice president of the FHBA and area production manager at CNL Bank in Sarasota, the local homebuilding community will benefit from having three of the FHBA's nine senior officers in town.
?
"It brings a lot of credibility to our local market by having three of us here in Sarasota: John, me, and Ted Brase, the newly appointed associate vice president," Rahn says.
He also sees other positives to having Wiseman as FHBA president. "John has great insight and leadership skills," he says. "This industry is the largest employer in the state, so we need a president who can build relationships with the House and Senate up there in Tallahassee, and build coalitions to start solving the insurance crisis-the biggest crisis we have in the state of Florida. John brings a lot to the table with his knowledge of how we do business," Rahn explains.
Wiseman agrees that skyrocketing insurance costs are his No. 1 priority. "Before the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, insurance wasn't a big deal," he says. "Now it's our nuclear issue-the one most likely to explode. If people can't insure, they are not going to get a loan, and if they can't get a loan, they are not going to build."
According to the FHBA's Legislative Guide, one way Florida's homebuilding industry can help reduce homeowners' insurance premiums is to ensure that contractors comply with Florida's Building Code-one of the nation's strongest-by requiring code compliance training. The guide also maintains that a building rating system would help homeowners understand how to make their homes safer and reduce insurance premiums through "hurricane hardening" retrofits.
?
"I'm proud of what this association did to pass the new building codes in Florida," Wiseman says. "Building hardening has really paid off. I've had the opportunity to speak with Gov. Crist about how well buildings have performed under the new codes, and about my belief that homeowners should benefit from having newer homes built under those codes."
Whit Ward, president and CEO of Bonded Builders Warranty Group in Port Charlotte, has known Wiseman for almost 15 years. In addition to insurance, he identifies the other challenges ahead in Wiseman's one-year tenure as FHBA president. "One is guiding Florida homebuilders through the downturn in the housing industry by providing infrastructure and education assistance," Ward says. "Another is trying to create affordable and workforce housing. John has a good grasp on all those issues, with the hands-on experience and knowledge that leave no doubt he's the right man at the right time."
Wiseman is philosophical about the softening real estate market. "Anybody coming to the area will have to look at the cost of new construction versus existing homes and weigh the options," he says. "I don't see it as being significant, and there's no doubt this is a great time to be purchasing housing."
Wiseman also takes seriously the core mission of the FHBA: to provide Floridians with safe and affordable housing. He cites the importance of making housing available for a community's "critical service providers"-firefighters, police officers, nurses and teachers. "We've done all different types of housing," he says, "and there's nothing like the excitement on moving day. Getting a single mom and her kids into an apartment, a place of their own, is what it's all about."
?
It's clear that Wiseman takes personally his involvement in building homes that will withstand Florida's potentially punishing hurricane seasons. Like many local businesses, CORE Construction employees pitched in after Hurricane Charley by bringing gasoline, batteries, generators and water to residents of apartment complexes the company had built. At one building, residents were without power but grateful that their homes had withstood the winds better than the apartments across the street, which had their roofs blown off.
?
A few weeks after the storm, Wiseman and other CORE executives attended a homeowner's association meeting at the intact apartment building. "When we were introduced," he recalls, "everyone in the room stood up and applauded. Our building was still standing. I went home and told my wife, 'I got my moment.'"
"Thirteen years ago, my wife, Tamela, and I were visiting Washington, D.C., when they brought the restored Statue of Freedom back to the Capitol building dome," Wiseman recalls. "There was a huge crowd watching as they carried her by helicopter over the Potomac River and lowered her onto the dome, where construction workers were waiting with their tools. When they set the statue down and the helicopter flew off, everyone started applauding. I turned to my wife and said, 'Someday I want to get that kind of response from a project I work on.'"
Last October, Wiseman achieved one of his personal goals when he was installed as president of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA), a Tallahassee-based trade association with more than 21,000 corporate members involved in Florida's homebuilding industry.
?
Wiseman is also president of CORE Construction of Florida, where he spearheads residential housing construction in Orlando, Naples and Sarasota. Recently, he and his family relocated from Naples to Sarasota, where CORE has several local projects, including Shining Light Bible Church on Fruitville Road, Sandhill Oaks Apartments in North Port and Taylor Woodrow's Artisan Lakes sales center at I-75 and Moccasin Wallow Road.
?
"I've always loved Sarasota and I'm glad to be a part of this community," Wiseman says. "We do a lot of work along the I-4 corridor. Now that I'm centrally located, I can get home to my family at night."
The area has undergone some major changes since Wiseman used to visit his grandfather in the Sarasota-Manatee area years ago. "What they've done in downtown Sarasota is wonderful," he says. "Some people complain about the density, but it's that density that gives you what you need to support the local merchants. When you control density too much, you risk squashing them."
According to Mike Rahn, second vice president of the FHBA and area production manager at CNL Bank in Sarasota, the local homebuilding community will benefit from having three of the FHBA's nine senior officers in town.
?
"It brings a lot of credibility to our local market by having three of us here in Sarasota: John, me, and Ted Brase, the newly appointed associate vice president," Rahn says.
He also sees other positives to having Wiseman as FHBA president. "John has great insight and leadership skills," he says. "This industry is the largest employer in the state, so we need a president who can build relationships with the House and Senate up there in Tallahassee, and build coalitions to start solving the insurance crisis-the biggest crisis we have in the state of Florida. John brings a lot to the table with his knowledge of how we do business," Rahn explains.
Wiseman agrees that skyrocketing insurance costs are his No. 1 priority. "Before the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, insurance wasn't a big deal," he says. "Now it's our nuclear issue-the one most likely to explode. If people can't insure, they are not going to get a loan, and if they can't get a loan, they are not going to build."
According to the FHBA's Legislative Guide, one way Florida's homebuilding industry can help reduce homeowners' insurance premiums is to ensure that contractors comply with Florida's Building Code-one of the nation's strongest-by requiring code compliance training. The guide also maintains that a building rating system would help homeowners understand how to make their homes safer and reduce insurance premiums through "hurricane hardening" retrofits.
?
"I'm proud of what this association did to pass the new building codes in Florida," Wiseman says. "Building hardening has really paid off. I've had the opportunity to speak with Gov. Crist about how well buildings have performed under the new codes, and about my belief that homeowners should benefit from having newer homes built under those codes."
Whit Ward, president and CEO of Bonded Builders Warranty Group in Port Charlotte, has known Wiseman for almost 15 years. In addition to insurance, he identifies the other challenges ahead in Wiseman's one-year tenure as FHBA president. "One is guiding Florida homebuilders through the downturn in the housing industry by providing infrastructure and education assistance," Ward says. "Another is trying to create affordable and workforce housing. John has a good grasp on all those issues, with the hands-on experience and knowledge that leave no doubt he's the right man at the right time."
Wiseman is philosophical about the softening real estate market. "Anybody coming to the area will have to look at the cost of new construction versus existing homes and weigh the options," he says. "I don't see it as being significant, and there's no doubt this is a great time to be purchasing housing."
Wiseman also takes seriously the core mission of the FHBA: to provide Floridians with safe and affordable housing. He cites the importance of making housing available for a community's "critical service providers"-firefighters, police officers, nurses and teachers. "We've done all different types of housing," he says, "and there's nothing like the excitement on moving day. Getting a single mom and her kids into an apartment, a place of their own, is what it's all about."
?
It's clear that Wiseman takes personally his involvement in building homes that will withstand Florida's potentially punishing hurricane seasons. Like many local businesses, CORE Construction employees pitched in after Hurricane Charley by bringing gasoline, batteries, generators and water to residents of apartment complexes the company had built. At one building, residents were without power but grateful that their homes had withstood the winds better than the apartments across the street, which had their roofs blown off.
?
A few weeks after the storm, Wiseman and other CORE executives attended a homeowner's association meeting at the intact apartment building. "When we were introduced," he recalls, "everyone in the room stood up and applauded. Our building was still standing. I went home and told my wife, 'I got my moment.'"