HOMES ON THE RANCH

For Kelly Copeland and Andrew S. Arena Inc., building homes at Canyon Ranch opened up a whole new world. The exclusivity and beauty of the area draws residents from far and wide.  Many international clients have built homes in Canyon Ranch, and their demanding and creative “world-class” architects would specify new and unusual materials.  As a result, Kelly significantly expanded his repertoire of custom-built home types and features to meet the needs of these sophisticated clients. In the early days of building homes in Canyon Ranch, Kelly and his uncle worked on what he calls an “inner circle” of 35 custom-built homes.  These expensive homes created a demand for superior building products and the use of materials not ordinarily used — let alone available — in Tucson.  The first time they were asked to use fossil stone, they had never seen it before. Kelly likes to say that they were the first builder in Tucson who used Pella brand windows and installed granite for countertops, because that’s what their clients wanted.  Ironically, both these products are now considered somewhat “standard” in custom-built homes.  This work with his uncle provided Kelly an important foundation in custom home building.  Even during the roller-coaster economy of the late 1980s, when interest rates for home mortgages climbed to 14, 15, 16 percent or higher, Kelly and his uncle were able to weather the storm due to the economies of scale they had already established.  During that period, many of their clients were professionals — doctors, lawyers or corporate executives from nearby IBM and Hughes/Raytheon facilities.  Their niche among these professionals allowed them to financially “ride the burst of the bubble.”