by Paul C. Clark, Rhino Times 1/7/2010
Staff Writer

Download PDF

January 07, 2010 - Rhino Times Realestate feature
Southern living – the elegant version seen in the magazine of the same name – is easier to attain in the triad, thanks to Southern Evergreen of Greensboro.

The architecture, interior design and real estate firm founded by Tom Garcia in 1999 is the only Southern Living Custom Builder in Greensboro, and one of the few in North Carolina. The exclusive, invitation-only designation by the magazine recognizes custom builders for detailed craftsmanship, excellent customer service, financial stability and the use of quality building materials in homes, also giving them access to the magazine's design archive for high-end homes.

Garcia, known to the public for his "Mr. Fix-it" spots on WFMY-TV, is better known in the industry for Southern Evergreen and its connection to Southern Living, which puts builders through a rigorous qualification process before allowing them to use the magazine's name or build Southern Living Customized Homes. The process includes a site visit by representatives from the magazine's Birmingham headquarters, who interview the builder's clients, suppliers and banks and audit its books.

The magazine's caution stems from its desire to protect its name, which is a force to be reckoned with in North Carolina, one of the top three states providing subscribers to the magazine known for its unique design and decorating style.

"The Southern Living name is a huge brand, particularly in North Carolina," Garcia said. "Southern Living is very protective of that brand, so every company they chose to fly that brand, they have to make sure is not winging it."

Beyond the Southern Living connection, there's a story in Southern Evergreen. It's a story about a company that has put together a team uniquely qualified to design, build and decorate high-end Southern homes, wielding knowledge from diverse fields, including architecture, engineering, interior and exterior design, real estate and historic preservation.

The story starts in 1998, when Garcia, a project engineer for a Fortune 500 company, moved to Greensboro from New Orleans and decided to use his engineering expertise to build his own house. The project required a little learning and a lot of work, but netted Garcia and his wife a lovely custom home.

"At the end of that process, I stood in the front yard and looked at the home," Garcia said. "I said, 'I can do this.'"

Things moved rapidly after that. Garcia in short order got an unlimited North Carolina residential contracting license and a real estate license and began assembling a team that fit his vision for a company that would have unusual design skills for building, renovating and historically preserving custom homes.

The team would have to be small, with each member bringing wide knowledge to each project and being capable of assuming the lead at the stage of the project requiring that knowledge. The team would have to combine the best of architecture, engineering, interior design and construction, with a financial and scientific approach that would let them advise clients not only whether or not a project could be done, but whether or not it was a good idea for the home and the client.

That team now includes principal architect Steve Johnson, who holds a bachelor's degree in architecture and a minor in photography, as well as an associate degree in environmental design. Johnson is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the National Council of Architecture Review Boards and the United States Green Building Council.

"He's absolutely brilliant," Garcia said. "He knows how to use technology to the benefit of the client."

The team includes principal interior designer Nora Miller, who graduated with a bachelor of science degree in housing and interior design. Miller has added to her education with a curriculum in historic preservation technology and is a "certified green professional," a designation of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). She's also a historic preservationist.

"She has a tremendous eye," Garcia said. "She has a fascinating eye for colors and feels. To me, it's beyond my capabilities as an engineer. An interior designer such as Nora doesn't think in a straight line at all – and that's the brilliance of it. She makes the whole project pop and come alive."

Managing broker/Realtor Judy Barber brings not only real-estate knowledge to the team, but an approach that comes from a degree in chemistry – an approach Garcia calls "extremely scientific and methodical."

Garcia said that Barber works to let clients know the financial results of a project, and that Southern Evergreen doesn't just reflexively promise, to do, say, a $30,000 sunroom.

"In our company, the first thing we do is to get Judy run some numbers, so we can let the client know if that $30,000 is a good deal or not," he said. "We always want them to understand the implications of that work they want us to do."

The team also includes director of field operations Dan Turner, who has 30 years of construction experience and is an outstanding carpenter, energy consultant and certified green professional Michiel VanderSommen, who has formal training in nautical mechanical engineering, art and architecture, as well as a mason, a financial analyst and a crack field team.

The net result is that Southern Evergreen has assembled a team loaded with expertise from disparate fields, but that expertise is combined in a firm with a unified design sense and a unique way of working with clients.

"It's just a great family, if you will," Garcia said. "And that camaraderie leads to an outstanding project for the client. We need to know each other's talents and strong points. When we're on that part of the project, that person takes the lead. It makes a difference in the field, and it really shows in the result."

That approach has resulted in some spectacular results for Southern Evergreen and its clients. One of the company's recent projects of note was moving and restoring a turn-of-the-19th-century Queen Anne house at 220 Blandwood Ave. that was scheduled to be demolished to make way for the new Guilford County jail.

With help from the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County, Southern Evergreen moved the irreplaceable piece of Greensboro history to Cedar Street, west of NewBridge Bank Park, restoring the house's Edwardian splendor for soon-to-be-owner Mahlon Honeycutt.

"It's a wonderful part of Greensboro history that has been saved, instead of ending up in a landfill," Garcia said. 

Another recent Southern Evergreen project Garcia is proud of is the complete renovation of the 1917 H.H. Felder House in the Fisher Park Historic District. The project combined a strict attention to period detail with a groundbreaking technological effort to bring the historic house into the 21st century, making it one of the first historic properties in the nation to win the coveted Certified Green award from the NAHB.

"To get it to that standard takes some gray matter, but it can be done," Garcia said. "It's a beautiful home that now performs as well as a newly built home."

A more typical project for Southern Evergreen may be a renovation it recently did of a lakefront '70s ranch house. The Southern Evergreen team worked closely with the owner to create a two-story design that removed the house's roof, replacing it with a gabled traditional roof, energy-efficient windows that captured the light coming off the lake, and custom stonework, including a two-story inside chimney, that transformed the house.

"The clients were exceptional," Garcia said. "We had some wonderful ideas, and they continually said, 'Let's do that.' The end results were phenomenal. There's no way you'd know it was a '70s ranch today."

Whether it's creating a Southern Living Customized Home that embodies the best of Southern luxury, renovating a house with historic value or using the latest technology to make a house an energy and money saver, Southern Evergreen's team brings something individual and unmatched to local home building.