July 19, 2004 Release: Immediate For: Stonefield Development Contact: Scott Curry or Scott Moore BP1PR (619) 523-0455 BUILDER ROLLS OUT BLUEPRINT FOR AFTERMATH OF NATURAL DISASTER Stonefield Development Rebuilding At Scripps Ranch Seen As National Model Natural disasters serve up many similarities, not the least of which is that homes are destroyed and rebuilt. That's the scenario at Scripps Ranch following the devastating firestorms of October, 2003. But there's a big difference between the current rebuilding efforts and those of previous natural disasters - one leading regional high-end custom home builder, Stonefield Development, put together a plan considered the national prototype in natural disaster areas. The rebuilding plan was so attractive to fire survivors who lost their homes that 81 of them in the Whispering Ridge neighborhood of Scripps Ranch signed up with Stonefield, and construction is underway. Industry experts maintain rebuilding of that many homes in one neighborhood following a natural disaster is the largest ever undertaken by one builder in the U.S. In previous natural disasters, such as the Oakland-Berkeley Hills fire of October, 1991, and Hurricane Andrew in Florida in August, 1992, homeowners made individual deals with contractors. Now, Stonefield's model is setting a new blueprint nationally for rebuilding homes following natural disasters such as fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, or earthquakes, building industry experts say. Stonefield executives, including founder and owner Robert C. Pack, only recently learned of the revolutionary dimension of their model while attending the recent Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco. There, they talked with many other builders about the Scripps Ranch effort, concluding there never before in history has there been a similar program to rebuild an entire neighborhood following a natural disaster. "Our Scripps Ranch program is destined to be a textbook case for the nation's building industry. We're proud to share this model with other builders," Pack says. The Stonefield prototype is unique in many ways. For example, it reigns in construction costs. In the aftermath of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills fire, thousands of upscale homes needed to be replaced, and there weren't enough contractors to handle the volume. Construction prices skyrocketed. A similar situation took place in South Florida following Hurricane Andrew, which left tens of thousands of homes obliterated. Construction costs also shot through the (missing) roofs, according to news accounts. Stonefield's prototype completely changes the construction cost dynamic - which was a major concern to Scripps Ranch homeowners. Now, thanks to Stonefield's program, construction costs are fairly fixed at a reasonable rate. Custom developers quoted costs as from approximately $150 to $200 a square foot, whereas Stonefield as a merchant builder offered pricing between $93 to $98 per square feet, including front yard landscaping, fire sprinklers, overhead copper plumbing, a 2-10 home warranty plan, and more. In addition, Stonefield is promising to build one-of-a-kind homes and that no two homes on any street will look the same. To achieve this, Stonefield commissioned four separate architectural firms to design seven different floorplans, each with four architectural elevations - traditional, French, English, and Italian. "We believe it creates value when no two homes on any street look the same. Homeowners appear to agree," says Pack. "This program was created specifically for Scripps Ranch rebuilding, and now we're finding that it may serve as a foundation for future disasters of this nature," Pack adds. Stonefield's model solves still another problem that arose following Hurricane Andrew - contractor scams. A headline in the Naples (FL) Daily News read: "Beware of scams when rebuilding after hurricanes." The article points out example after example "of people who were scammed out of their money after Andrew," such as "the contractor who took (the woman's) insurance money and ran." Since Pack started the firm in 1986, Stonefield has earned a reputation for the highest standards of quality craftsmanship and providing customers with great satisfaction and maintaining loyal long-term relations with subcontractors. Stonefield builds custom and one-of-a-kind homes throughout Southern California in the $800,000 to $6 million price range. Currently, its San Diego division has four developments in San Diego County - three in Rancho Santa Fe and one in Olivenhain. For more information, call Stonefield Development at (858) 759-6115 or visit www.stonefielddevelopment.com. BACK