As we celebrate 22 years of building custom homes in Panama City, I thought it would be a good time to share how this journey began. Like many origin stories, ours started with a mix of aspiration, timing, and a little bit of luck.

Back in the early 2000s, my wife Jessica and I were living in Tampa. I was working on getting my contractor’s license, and my father and I were planning to start a homebuilding company in Panama City. During that time, Jessica and I visited the Parade of Homes, a popular event in the area. We walked through several model homes, and I remember telling her, “This is the type of home I’d love to build someday.” I figured it would take about ten years to reach that level of quality and design.

A week later, we had dinner with one of Jessica’s relatives, Barry Alpert. During the conversation, Barry asked if I knew who Arthur Rutenberg was. I had just toured several of his homes at the Parade, so of course, I did. Barry offered to introduce me, thinking it might help as we prepared to launch our company.

The following week, I was sitting in Art’s office. On the wall was a large map of Florida with pins marking different locations. I noticed there were no pins in the Panama City area. When I asked about it, Art explained that the pins represented franchise locations, and there just happened to be an open opportunity in Panama City.

That conversation was the beginning of what is now AR Homes® Panama City (BCB Construction, LLC). My father flew to Tampa to meet with Art, and together we began the process of starting our own franchise. That was in 2003.

The journey since then hasn’t always been smooth. Like most builders, we faced challenges—especially during the Great Recession—but we pushed through and came out stronger. Now, 22 years later, I’m proud of what we’ve built, both in terms of homes and in the community around us.

We’re incredibly grateful to have been part of so many families’ stories here in Panama City. Thank you for being part of ours.