Drew described some of the advantages Port City Homes offers, “We have a library of plans that homeowners can choose from and customize to their liking, or we can design something brand new. We have the experience to build all types of homes whether it’s a beach-front home, a custom home in one of the plantation neighborhoods, or more of a starter-type home. We can span all price points and styles.” When it comes to actual construction, Drew said, “With the bones of the house don’t cut corners – we try to go above and beyond.” He added, “We treat each customer – whether it’s a million dollar house or a 250,000 – house fairly and take that extra step during construction to ensure they have a well-built home and that they’re satisfied in the end.”
Besides building for clients who have their own lot, Port City Homes is active in three South Strand communities. Their newest development is Caroline Court in Murrells Inlet, close to the Waccamaw River and Intracoastal Waterway. The starting price in this 20-home pocket community is 300k. There are 16 remaining lots in the Collins Creek Landing subdivision in Murrells Inlet for homes starting in the 500s on one-third acre lots. In Garden City, Port City Homes has select lots available in the Reflection Pointe community to build homes from the mid to upper 300s.
Regardless of the community or price point, Drew draws his satisfaction from, “Seeing something happen every day. Every day is something different; a new challenge. I enjoy working with our customers and trade partners. There are always new ideas – always growing and changing.”
From the conversations Building Industry Synergy had with four Port City Homes homeowners, it is evident that they enjoyed working with Drew and his team.
Renee DuFrenne’s relationship with Bruce and Drew predates the founding of Port City Homes. She was in the mortgage division for a national builder for 20 years, which overlapped Bruce’s time with that builder. Renee said, “When my late husband and I built our first spec home in Pawleys, we reached out to Bruce, who was still in the Myrtle Beach market, and that’s how we met Drew. Port City Homes also built a second inventory home for the couple. During the second build her husband became very sick. Renee remembers, “They were amazing to work with,” during that difficult time. Renee has since remarried, and she and her husband Dave Desmarais had Port City Homes construct their Intracoastal Waterway home in Socastee. “I will tell you first and foremost they back up their work 100-percent. They did what they said they were going to do, came in on budget, and were very professional; the quality of their work was very impressive.” Dave was impressed with Drew’s integrity and honesty. Having built homes before, Renee knew that there can be issues. There were challenges with the site that they chose for their raised home, “but the bottom line is the way that Drew worked with us through those challenges – it was all professional.” Renee added, “Cliff oversaw the house and he was amazing – he was so accommodating.”
Woody and Nancy McKay are in the process of building near a marina in Garden City. They owned a home in Collins Creek Landing, which is how they came to know Port City Homes. Woody said, “We’re pretty much building the same five bedroom house we had at Collins Creek Landing. We loved the layout and asked Drew if he could do it on 15’ pilings.” While still living at Collins Creek Landing Woody and Nancy watched 8 or 10 houses being built by Port City Homes and were impressed with their process. Woody said, “It was one crew after another. There was never any downtime. I thought, ‘that’s the kind of guy I want to build my house.’” The couple expect to move into their new home in late March 2021. Woody said, “We’re just crazy about Drew and his family. The only thing that I have problems with is he pulls for Clemson when they’re playing South Carolina!”
Kathy and Tom Flanders had their dream delayed, but it was worth the end result. Kathy explained, “We had a lot and wanted to build in Highwood [at Prince Creek] and Drew was our first choice. A realtor steered us in a different direction, so we used a different builder and weren’t real happy with the results.” Fast-forward from 2015, Kathy said, “We contacted Drew again and said we had bought another lot in Highwood and wanted him to build on it.” The Flanders recently moved into their European-style dream house, which is going to be a cover feature in Designer Dream Homes. During the planning and building Kathy said, “We were the king and queen of the change orders.” They made several modifications to the floor plan, making spatial adjustments, closing in the patio for a Carolina room, and adding two bedrooms and a bath to the second floor. Kathy and Tom were no strangers to building, so she could unequivocally say, “It has been the best building experience ever. We have had fun with this; I’ve aggravated poor Cliffy sometimes, but we had a great time. We love everything about Drew and we liked working with Gail [office manager].We recommend them all the time.”
It’s been almost three years since Blair and Gayle MacLachlan moved into their North Litchfield home. After working with an area realtor to find an existing home on the South Strand, Blair said, “We finally got to the point of saying the house we want is not on the market, so it’s better and cheaper to actually build it.” The realtor identified a few builders and the MacLachlans met them all. Blair said, “Drew took us to a couple of homes that he built and it was hands down, no question, that this is the guy we wanted to build our house.” Gayle was the one with the design vision and she worked closely with Cliff. Blair said, “Cliff was amazing – he oversaw all of the work and all of the subcontractors coming in. That man is meticulous – unbelievable.” Gayle added, “They were all really super nice people. I still talk to Gail – they’re all very nice and easy to work with.” During the build Blair said, “We had complete trust in their workmanship. What they said they were going to do they did, and it worked out beautifully. We’re from Connecticut, we’re not actually use to people doing what they say they’re going to do, and at a level of quality – I can’t tell you. Everything looks as good as the day we moved in.”
Because of the team’s attention to detail there were no surprises. Blair said, “Drew was really good at itemizing what the expenses were going to be and what he budgeted for, so we had real detail. Gail was in charge of all of the change orders, checking that every change order was absolutely correct and setting up all the appointments.” The couple was impressed at how clean the house was when it was finished, and how quickly Drew responded to a couple minor issues. Blair summed up, “These guys stand by their work. We were 900 miles away and they built my wife her perfect house; it was a really enjoyable experience.”
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