CRx Construction
Enjoy the journey
CRx Construction has become renowned for building beautiful beachside homes. With a preference for Delaware’s southern coastline, the company takes pride in its collaborative approach and attention to detail
CRx Construction (CRx) began homebuilding with the intention of creating memorable luxury homes along Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach. In speaking with the company’s President, Dion Lamb, we learn about the importance of customer collaboration in bringing these projects to life, and how the business has utilized this key factor to complete award-winning projects.
Dion, who previously worked for a larger production builder in the custom home division, quickly took to creating bespoke homes, which led to the development of his own homebuilding business. “There were some things I wanted to do differently, so I took the best aspects from my previous experience and introduced my own adjustments to areas that I felt could be improved.
“When I started the business, I never understood why there had to be an adversarial relationship between builder and client, I wanted our model to be focused on customer advocacy, which led to what has become our collaborative process. At CRx, our primary goal is customer happiness; it is one of our core values, and we want to be a trusted partner for our clients throughout the process of establishing their dream home,” he begins.
Under Dion’s leadership, working closely with the customer has led to admirable innovation in home design. “We really do follow the lead of our clients. Before we begin, our very first step is to discuss what is important to them, and the type of aesthetic they want. We have a detailed list of questions designed to provoke discussion to help us and the client uncover what they really want. Only once that has been finalized, do we bring in our expertise to make the project happen. We are always on the lookout for better ways to operate, which is often achieved by working closely with our clients,” says Dion. He adds that CRx is also the type of business to draw inspiration from the latest trends in design, which means that the team is constantly observing its environment for innovative ideas regarding home construction.
In addition to the value CRx places on its relationships with clients, the company is also strategic about its projects, and ensures that with each contract, the team is engaged and dedicated to constructing the best home possible. “We don’t take on an excessive amount of work at once because we want to make sure we don’t spread our resources too thin. This allows us to invest a high level of focus for our clients,” he says.
Client experience
Our conversation then arrives at the crux of today’s discussion: the company’s projects. Despite the fact that CRx began building custom homes as recently as 2016, it has already been ranked number one on Houzz.com for its work across the Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach region. “Our first award-winning home was an extremely modern house, for which we received the ‘Best Luxury Custom Home Design’ from The Builders & Remodelers Association of Delaware. That project had a lot of ups and downs, the most significant being the fact that the original owner of the house fell sick and sadly passed away.
“When the new owner took over, we tried to deliver the vision we had at the start of the project. It was really special for that one to come together as beautifully as it did. It’s a gorgeous house that is both classic and modern, with large overhangs, tons of glass, and a lovely courtyard and pool area that looks like it has always been part of the surrounding landscape. There, you’ll find a stand-alone screened porch area that looks out to the pool, as well as an outdoor kitchen space and bocce ball court behind it.
“We have some fantastic projects in the works at the moment as well. We have an ocean-front house we are working on in Fenwick Island, and we are doing a large modern house overlooking the water in Lewes, which I am really excited about too. Furthermore, we are also getting ready to do a personal home for the architect, who does a massive amount of our design work, and that is going to be a real show piece,” Dion highlights.
It may come as a surprise that projects of this size and detail are actually brought together by a fairly small team at CRx. However, according to Dion, the closely-knit group is precisely why the company is able to complete its award-winning projects. “We want to support everybody, and subsequently, we have created a flexible workplace where our staff are able to balance their work and personal life comfortably. If they need to be with their family, for example, for whatever reason, we try to make sure those things are taken care of, like a family should.
“We don’t hire anyone who is not onboard with our corporate philosophy, because we want to make sure that everyone here understands why we prioritize the client experience. For us, this work is not just about the end of project, or whether the client likes the look of the house – obviously that is important – but for us, it’s about whether they enjoy the journey, and the team we have appreciates and embraces that.”
Beautiful future projects
This sort of unity and family spirit served the business well during the pandemic when being onsite proved to be difficult, and the team had to depend on each other to work through unexpected disruptions. “We did fantastically to be honest. Fortunately, we were allowed to continue working, but we took the necessary precautions, of course. Our project timelines were extended slightly, but we also noticed that everyone adjusted to the changes pretty quickly. The pandemic also brought in a great deal of projects for us as clients chose to make the most of working from home, which, in our area, was right next to the beach. We saw a heavy influx of business as a result of this. Our team was diligent and dedicated, and I could not be prouder.”
Dion shares that the company has now been primed for forward-thinking when it comes to ordering materials in advance to stay ahead of any possible delays. “We were the same as everyone else in that respect. We were so used to receiving our supplies as and when we needed them, which has made adjusting a bit tricky, but in the grand scheme of our work, I know it will serve us better in the long run,” he shares.
Now, with a few projects in the pipeline, and a hardworking team, 2022 is set to be a promising year for CRx. “We have a very traditional Cape Cod-style, 6000-square-foot house underway right now that is going to be beautiful, and we will also be finishing an ocean-front house in August. Added to that, we have a really unique project with a client who holds two lots connecting between two different streets, with an existing house on one lot. So, we are doing a very large-scale renovation with a big chunk of it consisting of new construction that will tie the lots together. It is a very unique set up utilizing a C-shaped design to highlight a central courtyard and pool that will be visible from most of the home. The clients for this project are amazing. This project has also given us the opportunity to work with Weeth Home on the interior design which we have been looking for the right opportunity to do for a couple of years. We are super excited to see the final product,” Dion says.
Our conversation then draws to a close on the topic of the next five years. Dion hopes that within this time frame, CRx will expand by approximately 25 percent. This growth, however, will not only see an increase in the size of its team, but also in its expertise to remain a leading name in the Rehoboth and Dewey Beach area. “We like the ability to stay focused on specific sets of projects. Having said that, we risk the possibility of remaining stagnant if we don’t push for any sort of growth trajectory, so we will continue to expand in the ways that I think will serve us well, so that we can keep creating these stunning high-end luxury builds for our clients.”
CRx Construction
www.crxconstruction.com
Services: Luxury homebuilder