From speculative homes to high-end custom builds, dive into the captivating journey of To Better Days Construction
To Better Days Construction (TBDC) is a leading custom luxury home builder in Miami Beach, serving as the building arm of To Better Days Development, a fully integrated real estate development firm established by a veteran developer. Based in South Florida, the firm made its market debut in 2013 and has since built many stunning luxury waterfront estates on Miami Beach. With a focus on delivering exceptional quality and craftsmanship, TBDC has grown steadily, building a reputation as one of the premier custom home builders in the area. Zachary Carpenter, President at TBDC, shares insights into the company’s journey as well as his own.
“Established by Peter Fine, TBDC is a boutique company specializing in very high-end custom homes. Peter resided in Miami Beach and sought to build large waterfront homes for speculative sale. Consequently, he began working on those projects, but struggled to find a good fit with a local GC, and thus decided to bring the construction in-house, which is where I came in. Before joining TBDC, I worked in architecture for five years after earning a degree in architecture from the University of Miami, and then transitioned to construction where I worked for six years. Following that, I joined the company to create a construction arm for Peter. For my first two-to-three years of working at TBDC, we focused on completing projects that we built for sale. Two of them sold after completion and the other two before construction even began. Once those homes were completed, we decided to take on the custom home building industry for end-users, which ended our speculative projects. Now, we only build custom homes for homeowners,” he opens.
In a highly competitive homebuilding landscape, TBDC has learned to stand out from the crowd. “We aim to be flexible and adapt to the dynamic of each team we work with, unlike many construction companies that can be rigid in the way they operate. For example, if they are used to working with a designer who is hands-on, they may expect the same from the next team, but the reality is that every design team operates differently. We pride ourselves on being adaptable, detail-oriented, and overcommunicating. We also work hard to accommodate and create strong relationships with designers and architects. While homeowners are normally our clients for one project, we may work with design teams multiple times,” Zach informs.
Currently, TBDC is actively building its new offices, where the company is set to move into soon. Zach sheds light on the reasons driving this move. “We are currently building out a new office space between the neighbourhoods of Wynwood and the Design District. As a boutique company with around nine employees, we have always strived to stay mobile and have historically worked in coworking spaces that are near our projects. However, now that we have built a strong reputation and brand, we believe it is time to establish a permanent office that reflects who we are and what we do. We are moving to a brand-new building which will give us the opportunity to create a space that showcases our construction capabilities. By doing so, we hope that more people will recognize our brand and that our new office will be suitable for our needs as we continue to expand,” he enlightens.
Zach is keen to share more details about recent projects TBDC has been working on, starting with a beautiful home in Coconut Grove. “It was Piero Lissoni, a well-known Italian architect, designer and art director for many brands, who designed the house. With an office in Milan and New York, Lissoni has completed numerous high-profile projects including the Ritz Carlton residences on Miami Beach, which encompasses a circa 15,000 square foot home on an 80,000 square foot lot on rare oceanfront land in Miami. While there are plenty of wide bay or intercoastal waterfront homes in Miami, there are not many oceanfront single-family properties. Our project in Coconut Grove, located in the city of Miami, is situated on a unique lot and features a breathtaking design. We have been in construction for about a year and a half, with an estimated completion time of a little over a year left,” he continues.
The high-end homebuilder has also recently completed a 22,000 square foot project on Miami Beach’s intercoastal waterway. “This project was a full gut renovation of a home that was only 11 or 12 years old. Well-known across Miami, this house was originally built for baseball player Alex Rodriguez before he sold it. We did some work in the house for that buyer, who then sold it to our client, a New Yorker in the tech industry. He loved the property and the format of the house but was not particularly fond of the feel. So, we tore out everything in the house and made a number of structural modifications, including moving and altering the stairs, adding new exterior openings, removing the pool and building a new one, and completely transforming the hardscape and the exterior from a very rigid and linear design, reminiscent of Palm Beach, to something that was much more organic and lush, as envisioned by Raymond Jungles Landscape. This transformation truly softened the cold, rectilinear white box that the house originally was. For all intents and purposes, this is a completely new house inside and out,” describes Zach.
Having learned about these amazing projects, it’s clear that TBDC has made an art of creating extremely luxurious homes that deliver the dreams of its clients. By upholding exceptional craftsmanship and design expertise, TBDC looks set build further on its reputation as a premier custom luxury homebuilder in Miami Beach.