Empire Communities, the Canada-based home builder with operations in Texas, said Tuesday it has acquired Texas builder Centerra Homes, expanding its U.S. presence to include Austin and San Antonio.
Initially founded by Tom Grant and Gene Rowehl in Austin, Centerra Homes currently builds in 11 Austin-area communities and 3 San Antonio communities. Offering a wide range of products and pricing, homes from Centerra start in the low $200,000s and range to more than $1 million. Plans are to transition all 14 communities to the Empire brand later this year.
“This acquisition aligns with our strategic and aggressive growth plan for the Texas market,” said James Miller, regional president of Empire’s Texas Homebuilding Division. “Centerra Homes shares similar corporate values and vision and has a strong team and management group that have earned them solid respect in the Texas home building market.”
Empire plans to retain Centerra’s existing management structure and 30-plus employees. Tom Grant and Gene Rowehl will continue to oversee the Austin and San Antonio markets.
“We are excited to be a part of the Empire family. This is an excellent family-run company that will carry on the reputation Centerra has built through the years of not only building homes, but relationships with our customers,” Grant said. “We have been working closely with the Texas and Toronto teams to ensure a smooth transition and have no doubt that our legacy of building high quality, energy-efficient homes will live on through Empire.”
Canadian-based Empire Communities launched its U.S. Homebuilding Division in 2016 in Houston. Empire recently announced its sixth Houston-area community and will start construction soon in two Austin-area developments, Santa Rita Ranch in Liberty Hill and Lakeside in Georgetown. The builder’s pricing ranges from the low $200,000s to $600,000 with sizes up to 4,800 square feet.
Empire Communities has built more than 12,000 new homes and condominiums over the past 25 years in the Greater Toronto Area and Houston markets.
Centerra Homes was represented by Hazeloop-Walsh and Associates during this transaction.
