We’re putting our Architecture Practice to work.
Architects love designing. Seeing their imagined project upon completion is exciting. But there’s that in-between part that some feel they might be missing out on.
So…Tracy A. Stone Architect has decided to jump in…and develop our own project. We are about to join our favorite readers, clients and colleagues and experience the joys, agonies and anxieties of creating and building a project from the ground up.
We recently acquired our first vacant lot and have a single-family home up our figurative sleeve. While we understand we are no experts at development, we decided to take this opportunity to let you join us for the ride as we navigate from the world of architecture into the world of development. Our desire is to put our love for architecture into practice and do it with three goals in mind: streamline the process to supply high-quality design to the local housing market; respond to the housing needs of the neighborhood, and learn the development process, step by step.
Please follow our journey as we navigate the design/construction process in which we act as client, architect and developer for a new spec home in Los Angeles. As many of you already have experience in this process, we welcome any advice, suggestions, or comments as we embark on this exciting new journey.
Meet Our Development Team
Tracy Stone
It’s no surprise that Tracy is the primary driver in this new adventure. What most people don’t know is that Tracy already has experience in developing land. In the early 1990s, in Santa Maria, California, Tracy, her brother, and other family members, acted as owner/builder and constructed some of the first projects Tracy worked on: a series of homes and a ground-up commercial office building. For our new project, Tracy brings the architecture business knowledge, design aesthetic, and development experience to our team.
Catalina Sis
Catalina is our business operations manager at TAS, so it’s no accident that she’s the co-captain of the team. By day, Catalina is a mastermind at crunching numbers, keeping the I’s dotted and t’s crossed, and managing the HR component at TAS. Outside the office, she’s a licensed broker and plans to represent our team for future land acquisitions. Catalina’s interest in real estate started when she was in her early twenties and wanted to help family with housing options. Fast forward to today and she’s worked her way up as the owner/developer of a couple neighboring properties in East LA.
MacKenzie Leifeste
As the rookie on the team, MacKenzie is acting as the back-seat driver of this operation: getting our dream projects from A to final occupancy without losing any wheels. She loves the technical side of projects and brings the practicality and code knowledge to massage our goals and designs into something that can be built. MacKenzie is always on the hunt for development prospects but her radar often picks up on the red flags that would limit the architectural or construction opportunities.
Follow our journey!
Stay tuned to hear about the crazy, exciting and educational adventure of our first development. Be prepared for a few bumps, wrong turns, and dead ends. And while we fully anticipate it taking us a little longer to find our way, we can’t wait to share our final product with you!
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Thanks for including me in this adventure. I don’t want to miss a single episode.