Custom home builder announces N. Idaho expansion, projects 

A new custom builder is already making himself, and his team, at home in northern Idaho.

James David Custom Homes (JDCH) has announced its expansion into the Coeur d’Alene market, with an office space leased and four projects already underway. James Lepak, president of JDCH, said ever since he visited the Coeur d’Alene area about four years ago, he fell in love with it, including nearby cities like Black Rock, Hayden and Priest Lake.

The current projection is JDCH will complete over 65 new home builds in the area over the next five years. Based on specs and land limitations, specialty home builds in rural areas will take anywhere from one to three years to complete, but Idaho is worth the wait, the announcement stated, adding the U.S. Census Bureau announced that nearly 80,000 people moved to Idaho last year, and this number is expected to increase.

“I just really liked the locations, the lot of land to develop and the type of clientele that were over there was more geared toward what I was looking to do, to build more custom homes versus track homes,” Lepak told the Idaho Business Review.

With the expansion into Idaho, while much of the administrative and initial planning work is done remotely, Lepak expects to hire between two to eight additional people. JDCH has completed over 750 homes in southern California since opening in 1990, and Lepak has over 30 years’ experience in various aspects of the construction and design fields.

He also looks forward to partnering with local architects, designers and other supporting industries, however, the materials supply chain continues to pose an inconvenience. Custom home prices are ranging $500-$800 per square foot.

“It all depends on the clients,” Lepak said. “(The) size of the house, level of quality that they want to do, because right now, the cost in Idaho is almost comparable to Orange County, the reason being (labor availability).”

When asked what he was particularly excited to bring to the table in the Idaho area, Lepak feels the company’s use of a construction management app makes them shine.

“A lot of my clientele live abroad, as in China, Florida, New York, Italy,” Lepak said. “It’s a porthole for documents, for all your material finishes — plumbing appliances, wood flooring. So all your selections are on there; there’s a schedule. It’s a one-stop shop. This is instantly where you can see what’s happening”

Many employees can work remotely, and project updates are made daily.

“I’ve talked to a bunch of other contractors, and subcontractors, and they don’t use any type of application like that for management software. Then I would say probably just a different design and overall look of what I would like to bring to north Idaho.”

Lepak describes JDCH’s style to be contemporary, modern, yet in line with a Northwest feel.