MANOR
T H E G U I D E T O C E N T R A L F L O R I D A’ S L U X U R Y B U I L D E R S A N D C O M M U N I T I E S
Rick Watson’s custom homes are known for striking elevations and one-of-a-kind outdoor living areas. Watson’s company remains busy, usually building about five homes per year.
CUSTOM BUILDER PROFILE
Star Performer, Team Player Rick Watson quarterbacks his company to success with custom luxury homes in prestigious locations. By MIKE CANDEL ARIA
R
ick Watson never quite got accident. Born to build? Quite possibly. the chance to play quarterAs a preteen in Tennessee, Watson back in a college football would watch as homes were built neargame. Watson was close — by. Curious, he would walk through the receiving a scholarship offer homes under construction, just to get a in high school to attend Clemson Unibetter look. At 16, he put together a 14versity, only to have the head coach by 42-foot houseboat in his back yard. retire and see Clemson’s commitment After dropping out of UT-Chattanooga to him diminish. in 1978, he worked the graveyard shift Then after winding up at the Univerat a refinery. When he got off work at 7 sity of Tennessee-Chattanooga, wrecked a.m., he would remodel homes. He did knees shattered his dream of playing bethat for four years before finally entering fore he could make it on to the field. the building industry full time. Yet, these days, Watson — who still Watson built homes in Tennessee quarterbacks a top-notch team — is for nine years and moved to Orlando in racking up wins in the uber-competitive 1986. “I started out doing all the work world of custom-home building in Cenmyself,” he says. “I’m one of the few tral Florida. “That’s probably pretty true,” builders who has actually built; I’m not he says of the quarterback analogy. “And just a manager. I’ve dug and poured I’ve always looked at myself as one of footings; laid block; I do carpentry, drythe guys, just one of the team members.” wall and roofing.” Watson is the signal-caller (or founder Rick Watson, founder and president of J. Richard And, in a sense, he’s done it with a Watson Construction Company Inc. and president) of J. Richard Watson smile. Watson is a “people-pleaser.” Construction Company Inc., which since That’s how he’s described by Susan Et1986 has built luxury homes in many of the region’s most exclutinger, owner of Variations Design, who has collaborated with sive neighborhoods, including Golden Oak, Keene’s Pointe, IsleWatson for more than a decade. “He’s very understanding,” she worth, Waterstone and Lake Butler Sound. says. “He’s certainly not all business. And he treats his clients the While a budding career in football was ruined by misfortune, same way. He wants to make them happy.” Watson’s success as a homebuilder has come without a hint of Adds Ettinger: “When you’re building at that level, buyers FA L L 2 0 1 9
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can have anything they want. And they’re used to getting it. They’ve usually built two or three homes. They’ll come up with all kinds of unusual stuff and Rick will produce it. If he can’t, he’ll find someone who can produce it for him.” Watson says he views his business through the eyes of his customers: “My philosophy is the whole company’s philosophy. We look at every situation like we’re the buyer, not the builder. So, if I were building you a house, the first thing I want everybody to do is look at the situation like I’m on your side of the table.” He cites an example of a roof repair that was made to a home in Keene’s Pointe: “We took care of it, and that was 12 years after the home was built. We’ve always done that for everybody. That’s the key. You treat people right; you treat them with respect.” Watson labels his approach the “VIP experience.” And it’s working. Watson has held leadership positions in the prestigious and
highly selective Master Custom Builder Council and is a past MCBC Builder of the Year. As a result, despite decades of uneven economic times, Watson’s company remains busy, usually with as many as five homes underway in various stages of completion. A project typically takes 15 to 20 months, depending upon its size and complexity. Since 2010, Watson has been busiest in the hugely popular (and prestigious) Golden Oak at the Walt Disney World Resort. Watson was among the original builders there. And his work can be found on just about every street in Keene’s Pointe, where he’s built 96 homes. Watson is on job sites daily. And on occasion, he can even be found still swinging a hammer. He might be a beat-up old football player, he jokes, but he still loves to build: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.” ■ FA L L 2 0 1 9
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PHOTO BY CHIBI MOKU
If a buyer wants it, Watson can figure out a way to build it. Take, for example, the slide adjoining the staircase (facing page) and the “steampunk” theater (above), which mimics being aboard a submarine.