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Titan Takes over Bower & Bailey Developments

Rick Cronin wasn't looking to take on additional projects. But when the banker finances your developments calls looking for a favor, you're inclined to say yes.

Cronin said the chairman and president of Truman Bank asked him to take over the developments of Bower & Bailey when that St. Louis County home builder closed its doors a few weeks ago. "When the chairman asks you to do something, I'm happy to do it for him," said Cronin, the president of St. Peters-based Titan Homes Inc.

"I felt the frustration of these buyers" who had contracts with Bower & Bailey, Cronin said. He decided that if he could help out those buyers, as well as Truman Bank, "it's a win for everybody."

"When a customer of ours walks off the job, abandoning everybody—the workers, the subcontractors, the city, the future residents—my job is to get a replacement in fast," said Richard Miller, president of Truman Bank. He said he hand-picked Titan because of its expertise, values, knowledge, integrity and dependability.

Miller said he has had a very good business relationship with Titan for about the past nine years. "That's why, when the chips were down, I called Titan," he said. "In good times you can call anybody."

The bank president said he "had a feeling" Bower & Bailey wes in financial difficulty because it was slow in paying subcontractors. We're not sure of all the problems, but they must have been substantial and serious enough for them to just walk off" the job, he said. Miller said the bank had never experienced a comparable situation.

Titan will complete work on about 20 homes financed by Truman Bank, Cronin said. The homes are located in four different subdivisions: Talbridge in St.; Charles; Saratoga Estates in Lake Saint Louis; and Windcrest in Arnold.

These are all pre-sold homes, so Titan doesn't have to worry about selling homes in a down market. Instead, it is a matter of delivering products that meet the expectations of Bower & Bailey customers.

"It's a lot of work on Titan's behalf, but its a tough situation and we're happy to do it," Cronin said. Most of the houses under contract are ranch homes between 1,600 and 1,700 square feet and two-stories ranging between 2,200 and 3,00 square feet. The houses generally range in price between $270,000 and $400,000, he said.

Cronin expects to complete construction of the homes in about six months. Some houses are close to being completed, while others haven't even been started. "I want to get this thing over and I'm sure the people want to get in their homes," he said.

Cronin said he was a little concerned about the welcome he would receive from Bower & Bailey customers. However, every single person I have talked to so far had been happy that we're coming in," he said.

Asked if this was a very profitable enterprise for Titan, Cronin said: "Not at all." Then why do it? "It's an opportunity to help Truman Bank, which is a good business partner of our," he said. Also, it is possible some of these buyers may buy a Titan home at some point in the future, he added.

Miller confirmed that Titan was tackling this project "almost at cost." He also said the bank is getting "thank-you call every day."

John Lardner was a Bower & Bailey customer when the company went out of business. His 1½-story house in the Talbridge subdivision in St. Charles was only three quarters built when he and his wife, Lori, discovered they no longer had a builder.

Lardner said he wasn't leery of Titan taking over the project. "We were familiar with them. We had looked over their homes and subdivisions, so we had no problems with them taking over," he said.

The home buyer said Bower & Bailey never gave him any explanation as to why the company could not finish building his house. "I'd love to know what really happened there, but I don't suppose anybody will really ever know," he said.

Lardner still isn't sure when his house will be complete. Mostly interior work remains, such as the installation of flooring and cabinets. "I would say that we're probably at least a month away," he said.

Attempts to reach Bower & Bailey officials for comment were unsuccessful.

St. Charles Magazine Story

When it comes to providing new homes in the St. Charles area, Titan Homes gives you a wide choice of locations, each a dynamic locale in this fastest growing Metro St. Louis region. One of the newest Titan communities is Charlestowne on Boschertown Road off Mueller Road where Titan offers single-family homes from the $270s and attached villas from the $230s.

Looking for more villas? You'll find extraordinary values at Madison Park in Cottleville on St. Peters Cottleville Road where Titan's unique flex plans are offered starting in the low $200s and featuring attractive streetscapes and rear entry garages, You will find these spacious cottage-style villas also offered at Laurel Springs in St. Peters on Belleau Creek Rd.

Looking for fashionable and affordable single family homes? In addition to the homes at Charlestowne, you'll discover popular plans at Titan's Manors at Orchard Glen off Mexico Road on First Executive Avenue starting from the $260s. More to see at Peine Lake Estates off Hwy. 40-61 north of I-70 on Peine Road priced from the $220s to $300s.

Great single-family and villa designs, excellent amenities, convenient St. Charles area locations…for St. Charles living at its best you can count on Titan as so many happy families already have. Complete details on all Titan communities are available on the Titan website at www.titanhomesinc.com.

Market Ready Homes at Titan's Charlestowne

New Charlestowne, on Boschertown Road at Fox Hill Road, is shaping up to be THE place to live in St. Charles. Here, Titan Homes is building both single-family homes and villas. The 121-acre tract north of Route 370 is a master-planned community offering a wide range of housing types by six different builders, including Titan Homes, in separate villages off the beautifully landscaped center parkway. The plan calls for canals and other water features, a lakeside pavilion, lots of greenspace including pocket parks with flower beds, and a playground, all contributing to Charlestowne's beautiful, new town look.

Titan's single-family display homes are completed and can be seen daily. Because of all the positive pre-opening response to Titan's new plans at Charlestowne, Titan is building a number of market ready homes available for quick move-in, all before the grand opening scheduled for this fall.

"We have a lovely market ready home available now," advised Tammie Wiegand, sales representative for Titan Homes. "The Blossom, one of Titan's new plans for 2006, is an elegant story-and-half." The spacious 4-bedroom, 2.5 bath home on Homesite 25C has been built with a number of special options of this plan including a luxury bath and a unique second floor sitting area with spindled railing that offers a dramatic view of the two-story foyer, below. Among other special features are the 11' tray ceiling in the dining room, 9' ceilings throughout, window wall in the great room, an angled island framed by handsome columns (below the special sitting room above on the second floor), graceful "switch-back" staircase off the foyer and a main floor master bedroom with coffered ceiling and lavish master bath. The Blossom is priced at $337,315.

"This exceptional home is ready for fast move-in," Venghaus said, "ideal for someone moving into the area from out of town or a family who'd rather move in sooner than later. With all of its built-in options, it should satisfy nearly everyone's desires."

Titan also is building villas at Charlestowne priced from the $220s to the $300s, and the villa displays are open and ready for visitors. "In fact, "Venghaus said, "we have market ready villas available, too.

To reach Charlestowne, take I-270 to 370, south, to New Town Exit, right on New Town, right on Mueller, to left on Boschertown Rd. Or from I-70 take 370 north to New Town, right on Mueller, left on Boschertown. Call Tammie Wiegand at 636-916-4163 for details.

Market Ready Villa Available Now at Titan's Charlestowne

The newest new town in St. Charles is Charlestowne on Boschertown Road at Fox Hill Road where Titan Homes is building both single-family homes and villas. The master-planned community is preparing for a grand opening in early Fall, but Titan has new villas available now.

"Charlestowne will be THE place to live in St. Charles," said Tammie Wiegand, sales representative for Titan Homes. "Our new community is big, beautiful and thoroughly cutting edge, a true new town in St. Charles." A wide range of housing types is being offered by six different builders, including Titan Homes, in separate villages off the beautifully landscaped center parkway. The site plan includes canals and other water features, a lakeside pavilion, lots of green space including pocket parks with flower beds, and a playground.

Titan's display homes, both villas and single-family homes, are completed and can be seen daily. In fact, the pre-opening popularity of Titan's new plans at Charlestowne has prompted the builder to build a number of market ready villas and homes available for quick move-in, all before the grand opening.

"We have a lovely market ready villa available now," advised Venghaus. "Our Bradford villa on Homesite #5A is representative of our beautiful line of villas, each with handsome stone trims, front porches and rear garages that are literally out of site, giving our villa neighborhood a clean, welcoming streetscape," Venghaus said. "It's so unlike most villa communities where the garages just clutter up the scene." Titan's villas at Charlestowne range in price from the $220s to the $300s.

The Bradford does have a beautiful, welcoming look with large front porch, and lots of stone on the handsome front exterior design. Inside, you can step through an arched entry from the foyer into the family room where the center of interest is the see-thru gas fireplace, marble on the living room side and with a stone front in the adjoining hearth room. A soaring vaulted ceiling rises above. Pass through to the hearth room opening to the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen has upgraded maple cabinets, "Cambria" quartz counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Featured here is an angled island counter opening to the hearthroom. The master bedroom suite in the two-bedroom, 2-bath villa has a luxury master bath option with both a shower and a corner tub, and a walk in closet. The price is $281,649.

Titan also has market ready single-family homes available for quick move-in ranging in price from the $270s to the $400s.

To reach Charlestowne, take I-270 to 370, south, to New Town Exit, right on New Town, right on Mueller, to left on Boschertown Rd. Or from I-70 take 370 north to New Town, right on Mueller, left on Boschertown. Call Tammie Wiegand at 636-916-4163 for details.

Titan Homes, Inc. to Step In and Complete a Portion of Homes Under Contract With Bower & Bailey

After hearing news of local homebuilder Bower & Bailey ceasing operation and leaving homebuyers with questions about the completion of their homes, Titan Homes, Inc., decided to step in and lend a hand. The homebuilding company, located in St. Peters, Mo., made an agreement with Truman Bank on the completion of 11 homes financed by the bank. Truman Bank, headquartered in Clayton, is only one of many financiers of the Bower and Bailey homes being built throughout the region.

This week, the buyers of those 11 homes received calls from Titan Homes giving them the good news that a plan has been put in place to help bring them one step closer to their move-in date.

According to Rick Cronin, President of Titan Homes, Inc., "We understand how difficult this situation must be for the homebuyers and wanted to assist Truman Bank in finding a solution. We have spoken to each of the homebuyers and plan to get started back on the jobsite in the next week or two. We believe this is a positive solution not only for the homebuyers but also for the subcontractors that have been called off the job site and for the communities that have been feeling the strain that the situation has caused."

The 11 homes are located in four different subdivisions throughout the St. Louis region - Tall Bridge in St. Charles, Leighton Hollow in O'Fallon, Wind Crest in Arnold and Saratoga Estates in Lake St. Louis.

Bank Steps in After House Builder Collapses

In mid-March, Gary and Salina Dutridge found out that the builder of their dream house in St. Charles had gone out of business.

"It was devastating. We had this sinking feeling of 'Now what?'" said Gary Dutridge, who had hoped to move into the house by summer. "Salina had spent three solid months deciding exactly what she wanted in the house. She was crushed."

Their anxiety didn't last long. About two weeks ago, Truman Bank called with a proposition: Get your down payment back or have another builder finish the house.

Truman made the same call to 14 other buyers in the Talbridge subdivision who were left stranded when Clayton-based builder Bower & Bailey shut down in the middle of building their houses.

In previous housing downturns, local banks and builders often worked together to help homeowners left in the lurch, local house building experts say.

But Bower & Bailey was the first major builder to go out of business in the current downturn, so it was unclear how the bank would react.

Clayton-based Truman, which financed Bower & Bailey's construction of the houses, didn't hesitate. It quickly found another builder — St. Peters-based Titan Homes — to finish the houses.

Dutridge initially was suspicious.

"I didn't know why Truman would care, or who Titan was," Dutridge said.

After meeting with a project manager and superintendent for Titan Homes, he was satisfied.

"They had all our plans and went through all the details with us," Dutridge said. "They also promised to build our home exactly as we had wanted it."

It was a relief, Dutridge said. Truman Bank didn't "have to finish our home," he said. "They could've just said, 'Sorry about that,' and walked away."

But to Richard Miller, chairman of Truman Bank, that wasn't an option.

"We can't have 10 to 15 owners who cannot move in because their house is not done when we have a sign there saying we financed the houses," Miller said. "Our reputation is built on service, consistency and dependability."

The bank wanted to maintain its reputation, he said. But it came at a high price.

Each house had been sold for $10,000 to $15,000 below the construction cost. The bank has agreed to pay for the difference.

While it's not losing money, Titan Homes isn't making any money, either, said Rick Cronin, president of the company. He said he's building the houses at cost because of a long-standing relationship with the bank and the opportunity to earn some goodwill.

"I know building a home is a big deal, and I know what the homeowners are going through is stressful," Cronin said. "If we can come in and help them get into their house, there's a personal satisfaction in it.".

The Dutridges are grateful. They recently moved from Fort Wayne, Ind., with their three children and are renting a two-bedroom apartment near the subdivision.

When work stopped, only the hole for the foundation had been dug. Titan crews have restarted construction on the houses, and the Dutridges expect to move into their house in September.

"Salina and the kids had been hoping to invite family and friends to visit this summer," Dutridge said. "That will have to wait" until next year.

But the family will at least have its dream house, he said.