How Todd Glowka Builder delivers homes with a unique hill country aesthetic

Todd Glowka Builder is an award-winning luxury custom home builder specializing in estate lots, private ranches, golf course communities, and exclusive subdivisions across northern San Antonio, Boerne, and the surrounding Texas Hill Country. Whether clients have already designed their new home or are searching for a lot, Todd Glowka Builder’s personal approach guides clients through the entire homebuilding process, from structural and architectural decisions to interior design selections.   

Committed to providing exceptional value and attention-to-detail for every project, Todd Glowka Builder limits the number of homes it works on to ensure project managers can dedicate sufficient time to each client and home. It’s no surprise that the company has gained a strong reputation for both the experience it offers and the quality of its homes, with most of its clients coming from repeat work or through recommendations.  

Close relationships 

President, Todd Glowka, joins us to elaborate on the company’s evolution and its approach to homebuilding. “Established in 2000, I’m proud that Todd Glowka Builder is now in its 25th year,” Todd opens. “We build primarily in the Texas Hill Country area, which, although I might be biased, is the best and prettiest part of the state with rolling hills and gorgeous scenery. This market tends to attract high-end, luxury homeowners, and the region is home to some very famous individuals from singers to professional athletes.   

“We offer a multitude of services, but they usually all begin with assisting a client through lot selection. Based on the chosen architectural style, we liaise with design firms and engineers throughout to ensure the lot is suitable for any specific requirements or plans. We’re involved in the design process as early as possible to help keep the project on track in terms of both timing and budget. Once the exterior selections have been made, we produce very detailed documents to outline specifications and materials. We then create a presentation package for the customers that combines their selections and provides budget information.   

“Although the business has grown, I’ve purposely kept it at a small and manageable size,” he shares. “We typically complete around six-to-eight homes per year, and we have four full-time project managers, who are responsible for two or three homes at any one time. Our project managers are extremely talented, and I want to maximize their potential by them spending most of their time engaging with customers, contractors, or vendors on job sites rather than driving around between sites.”  

Reputation for quality 

Todd has been involved in homebuilding from an early age, but his career has taken a few turns along the way. “My father was involved in the construction industry, as he sold lumber to homebuilders, so I spent a lot of time with him during my childhood, from riding in his truck to visiting job sites,” Todd reflects. “I knew that I loved being outside, but when I got out of college, I took a different route and pursued a corporate job with one of the biggest railroad companies in the world. Although I was still working outside, I wanted more freedom to choose my workload and work directly with people.   

“That’s when I decided to establish my own homebuilding business, and I’ve never looked back. I’m constantly on the go: visiting job sites, walking jobs, conducting quality or safety checks, and meeting with clients, subcontractors, and project managers. It’s certainly rare to find me indoors at my desk, especially when we’ve got several large homes over 25,000 square feet under construction.”  

As the business is preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary, we ask Todd for his reflections on the company’s success to date. “Our reputation for quality is what keeps us popular and relevant, as most of our work comes from word of mouth,” he shares. “We view each home as our own; if it’s not good enough for us then it’s not good enough for the client. We’ve also built longer-term relationships with trusted clients, which have led to us building multiple homes for the same people. In fact, we’re currently building our fourth home for one family!”  

Exemplary projects 

Turning to projects, Todd is keen to share a couple of recent projects in collaboration with Oscar Flores Design Studio – Spyglass Modern and Clubs Village Modern. “One of these projects was for a couple who were living in Africa while we designed and built their home,” he explains. “They wanted transitional architecture that combines modern elements like exposed steel and a standing seam metal roof with traditional Texas Hill Country features like locally quarried stone. We worked closely with the client throughout to assist with selections and ensure the schedule remained on track. The result was incredible both inside and out, and we’re excited that this home has been nominated for several awards.  

“On the other hand, the other project was built for clients who wanted to relocate from California to Texas. California has a lot of modern homes, and the clients wanted a similar style, which pushed the boundaries of our capabilities given there are design guidelines in Texas. We worked closely with Oscar Flores Design Studio to create a perfect blend of modern and transitional styles, which resulted in an industrial-style Hill Country home.  

“In terms of style more generally, I’d say transitional is the most popular option, with around 70 percent of our projects falling into this category. Clients are moving away from rustic, ranch-type styles and opting for more modern finishes that create a clean and simplistic aesthetic.  

“We’re about to start working on a 30,000-square-foot home, which I think could be my favorite project yet,” Todd adds. “It’s a lodge on a ranch with a completely different style to any home we’ve previously worked on. We’re using 150-year-old reclaimed materials on the exterior to give it a Hill Country look, but the interior will be modern with clean lines and finishes.”  

Above and beyond 

As our conversation closes, Todd turns to the future of Todd Glowka Builder. “We’re constantly exploring new products and technologies to stay ahead of industry changes, and we strive to go above and beyond installation guidelines and codes. As a certified green builder, we use healthy materials like eco-friendly paints and American-made drywall, and we conduct extensive research into the products we use in our homes.   

“Although we’ve earned a reputation for building extremely large homes of 25,000-to-30,000 square feet, I’d like to see us work on some smaller homes with much higher-end, intricate finishes like extravagant cabinetry, flooring, or lighting,” Todd concludes. “We’re also continually looking to improve the energy efficiency of our homes to stay ahead of energy codes and environmental standards.” 
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