Published by The Builders Daily on Friday, February 7th, 2025.

Empire Communities, one of North America’s largest privately held homebuilders, has acquired Charlotte-based SouthCraft Builders, further extending its reach in the Southeast U.S. housing market.

This acquisition continues a pattern of regional consolidation. Well-capitalized private homebuilders — particularly international firms — are absorbing local operators to strengthen their market position, secure land pipelines, and scale more efficiently in an environment where land, capital, and homebuyer affordability are non-negotiable challenges.

Vaughan, ON – February 6th, 2025 – Empire Communities, one of North America’s largest privately-held homebuilders, has acquired Charlotte-based SouthCraft Home Builders (“SouthCraft”), expanding its presence in the region and strengthening its ability to serve a broader range of homebuyers. SouthCraft will continue to focus on value-driven homebuyers while maintaining its current operations and leadership team.

Willowdale Asset Management Launches as Premier Owner and Manager of Leading Real Estate Businesses

Vaughan, Ontario, Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Willowdale Asset Management, formerly the corporate division of Empire Communities, today announces its official launch as a diversified real estate asset manager, overseeing seven distinct businesses across the industry. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Willowdale’s legacy dates to its founding in 1993, growing from a single-project homebuilding company into a dynamic, vertically integrated real estate asset manager with nearly $5 billion in assets under management across North America.

For Immediate Release:

VAUGHAN, ON (OCTOBER 24, 2024) — Empire Communities and ERTH360 are proud to announce that they have been recognized with the prestigious Energy & Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) Excellence in Healthier Homes Award. This award, presented at the EEBA High Performance Home Summit in Salt Lake City, UT highlights the companies’ collaborative efforts to advance healthier living environments through innovative homebuilding solutions.

For Immediate Release:

Vaughan, Ontario, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Empire Communities Corp. (“Empire Communities” or “Empire”) announced today that it has closed its offering, on a private placement basis, of CAD$225 million aggregate principal amount of 7.625% senior unsecured notes due November 1, 2029 (the “Notes”). The Notes were issued at par and have been guaranteed by certain of Empire’s subsidiaries. Interest on the Notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, commencing on May 1, 2025.

For Immediate Release:

VAUGHAN, ON (SEPTEMBER 30, 2024) – Empire Communities, one of North America’s largest privately held homebuilders, continues its U.S. expansion with the announcement of a strategic partnership with Colorado Springs-based builder Covington Homes. The partnership further diversifies and expands Empire’s presence in the U.S. to 8 markets, including Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Charlotte, Greenville, and now Colorado Springs.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Vaughan, Ontario, August 12^th, 2024] – Empire Communities, an award-winning residential homebuilder in Canada and the United States is proud to announce that its standard home model featuring ERTH360 Air enhancements has achieved the rigorous clean airflow requirements of ASHRAE Standard 241 — the new high bar for infection resiliency. This first-of-its-kind achievement is a testament to Empire’s commitment to providing homes with the highest standards of indoor health and sustainability. ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, is a landmark standard published in July 2023 and applies to all building types, commercial and residential.

The clean air performance of Empire’s standard home with ERTH360 Air was evaluated and verified to meet the standard’s targets using a new test method that ASHRAE Standard 241 introduced to the industry, known as ‘air tracing’. Poppy, a venture-backed company based in San Francisco, has pioneered air tracing as a rapid, low-cost commissioning / retro-commissioning technology and service for any building. The Poppy Certify program has been used in over 1,000 locations globally, promoting gold-standard health measures while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Empire’s attainment of Poppy Certify status underscores the company’s commitment to creating a healthier and safer environment for its homeowners.

“In our 31st year of homebuilding, Empire continues its dedication to ensuring the safety and comfort of our homeowners while constructing more sustainable homes. Achieving Poppy Certify status is part of a broader initiative to introduce ERTH360 Air in select Empire communities,” states Dan Guizzetti, Co-CEO of Empire Communities. Andrew Guizzetti, Co-CEO adds, “This underscores our commitment to enhancing homebuyers’ health and well-being by providing clean and healthy indoor air, while minimizing environmental impact through balanced energy use.”

Empire Communities joins an elite group of sustainable, healthy buildings across various sectors that have been assessed using air tracing and have achieved Poppy Certify status. This breakthrough in single-family homes demonstrates that accessible HVAC upgrades combined with comprehensive testing enable a home with central air conditioning to meet the most stringent requirements of ASHRAE Standard 241. The Empire Communities standard home featuring ERTH360 Air improvements used a bypass HEPA filtration unit, alongside MERV 13 filters, and a 175 CFM energy recovery ventilator (ERV) to enhance indoor air quality and sustainability.

For the homeowner, ASHRAE Standard 241 offers numerous benefits by promoting healthier environments for occupants. These benefits include:

1. Clean air necessary to substantially reduce the risk of disease transmission.
2. Reduced occupant exposure to various pathogens, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19, as well as influenza viruses and other disease-causing agents that inflict significant personal and economic damage each year.
3. A separate area where a household member known to be infected can isolate with the clean air equivalent to a patient room in a healthcare facility.

“Poppy congratulates Empire Communities on achieving this landmark for single-family homeowners and builders. Poppy Certify is awarded to buildings that satisfy performance requirements linked to ASHRAE building standards for the control of infectious aerosols,” says Elizabeth Caley, Co-CEO of Poppy.

The ERTH360 Air package was developed by ERTH360 to demonstrate that strategic improvements to standard homes can significantly enhance indoor air quality. ERTH360 also designed a Discovery Home at Empire’s Avalon community in Caledonia, Ontario featuring more substantial indoor environment improvements, including clean air, filtered water, and circadian lighting. This model also successfully passed the ASHRAE Standard 241 test, showcasing its effectiveness in improving indoor environmental quality.

About Empire Communities

Empire Communities is a vertically-integrated homebuilder involved in all sectors of the new home-building industry, including both low-rise and high-rise built forms. Celebrating over 30 years of building inspiring new places to live, Empire has an established tradition of creating prestigious award-winning new homes, communities and amenities, and has earned a reputation for outstanding attention to detail and customer service. Since its inception in 1993, Empire has built and sold over 35,000 new homes and condos. Today, Empire is one of North America’s largest privately held integrated residential homebuilders, with current communities in Toronto, Southwestern Ontario, Texas, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.

For more information, please visit Empire Communities | Building New Homes and Communities in North America.

About ERTH360

Empire acquired ERTH360 in 2022 and has established it as a separate business unit focused on designing healthier indoor living environments that improve occupant health and well-being while using more sustainable building materials.

For more information, please visit ERTH360.

About Poppy:

Poppy is the market leader in advanced air technologies for healthy, sustainable buildings. Poppy revolutionizes how buildings measure equivalent clean airflow, manage rising energy costs and secure health in buildings with their patented air tracing technology. Poppy serves locations in 25 cities, across Canada, US, Europe and the Middle East, helping building operators to reduce costs, decarbonize, and protect occupant health. Poppy was founded in 2019 and is based in San Francisco and Toronto.

For more information visit Poppy.com.

We’re planting the seeds for a bouquet of new homes in Flora, a new residential community coming to Hutto by our sister company, Empire Continental.

Flora will be 835 acres of exceptional living, with a location at the crossroads of county roads 394 and 133 just three miles from the heart of northeast Hutto. Austin and popular employment centers — including the new Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant — are a short drive away.

But you won’t have to leave the community looking for entertainment — you’ll find plenty right there.

With so much to offer in Flora, it’s fitting that we’re introducing two new series of floor plans to the Austin area. Our first, will be homes designed for 40-foot lots and priced from the low $300,000s. These homes will range from 1,527 to 2,649 square feet, offering three to four bedrooms and two to three bathrooms.

Larger floor plans for 50-foot homesites will range from 1,911 to 3,249 square feet an offering three to four bedrooms and two to 3.5 bathrooms.

Construction on two model homes will start soon in Empire Flora and expected to open in December.

Stay tuned for the announcement of pricing and the start of sales — we can’t wait to share these beautiful homes with you!

With the weather warming up, we’re excited to share the many new developments at Empire Avalon. In Phase 6, approximately 60% of homes are currently under construction. Lots 1-4 on Whithorn Crescent, as well as lots 21-31 and 58-76 on Hawick Crescent have had their foundations backfilled and awaiting framing. Electrical and mechanical rough ins for lots 15-20 on Whithorn Crescent and lots 106, 107, and 109-113 on Ellis Avenue are being installed, with cladding underway as well. 

Currently, excavation is set to begin on Lots 32-57 and 77-87 of Hawick Crescent, and framing has begun on lot 88 of Hawick Crescent and lots 103-105 of Ellis Avenue. Lots 90-101 and 108 on Ellis Avenue and Owl Lane have been insulated and drywalled, with finishings and cladding underway. Lots 114-119 and 121-123 on Whithorn Crescent and lot 136 on Carrie Crescent are in the process of receiving mechanical rough ins. Lot 124 on Whithorn Crescent has been insulated and drywalled with finishings underway, and lots 125-127 have their mechanical rough ins complete and are awaiting stairs. Lots 128-133, 135 and 136-143 on Carrie Crescent are in the finishing stage with cladding underway. Lots 144-159 on Rebecca Way and Carrie Crescent are in the framing stage. 

In Phase 3B, approximately 15% of homes are under construction. Excavation has begun on lots 120-130 on Santos Drive, with lots 92-97 and 98-108 in the foundation stage. Construction is nearing completion in Phase 5, with 100% of homes under construction, and 90% of homes set to be closed by the end of May. 

Lots 90-113 on Malcolm Crescent, 120-131 on Whithorn Crescent, 41-53 on Lillian Way and 71-83 on Lise Lane are currently receiving exterior brick and siding. Lots 41-53 on Lillian Way and 71-83 on Lise Lane have their interior finishes complete, while lots 90-113 on Malcolm Crescent and 120-131 on Whithorn Crescent are still progressing with their interior finishes. We’re happy to share that lots 1-7 on Oaktree Drive, 8-24 on Richard William Drive, 25-26, 54-57, 84-89, 114-119 and 132-157 on Rainbow Drive, 27-40 on Lillian Way, and 58-70 on Lise Lane are completed and closed.Grading curbs and sidewalks, as well as sodding is set to begin in the spring for this phase. 

To be the first to learn about the next release of homes as they become available, join our wait list, or explore our other housing opportunities in Southern Ontario.

In light of the COVID-19 situation, Empire is taking extra precautions for the health and safety of our team members, homeowners, customers and vendor/trade partners. Our construction sites remain open and we are doing our part to maintain physical distancing through modified scheduling and staffing. We are diligently monitoring the situation and will provide further updates as they become available and as they pertain to your closing date. We thank you and wish you and your loved ones health and safety. 

We are pleased to announce that Empire Maven is now in its final stages of completion, and homeowners have begun to move into their newly completed luxury suites. Our team has completed all major construction and is in the process of finishing our last remaining units. The main lobby and second-floor amenities are complete, with the remaining amenities scheduled to be finalized in the coming weeks. In addition, we have received approval from the city and are now registered, with final closings to follow. We are also excited to announce that our newly designed model suite, The Orchard, is now open for tours. Our second model suite will be ready before the end of the year.

Stay tuned for new community updates coming soon, and explore our move-in-ready suites available this fall. Our sales representatives would be happy to assist you.