"The client is king," says builder Bastiaan Smallegange, who constructs spectacular custom residences for South Florida’s most wealthy and discriminating home buyers.
Quality is paramount for the Dutch-born builder, who says he represents at least the third generation of his family to be involved in construction. An engineer by profession, Smallegange brings an unrelenting quest for design and construction elegance to all his custom projects.
Smallegange founded his residential building company, Turtle Beach Construction, in 1984 after retiring at a young age to Florida to have his own "dream home" built. "I was unhappy with the quality and the way the project was going and ended up taking it over myself," he says. "Before the home was completed, I received an offer from another buyer that I couldn’t refuse. So I sold it. Building homes really began as a hobby for me."
Since then, Turtle Beach Construction has had seven to 12 projects under construction every year, with prices ranging from $2.5 million to $6.5 million. The company has won numerous industry honors, including Gold Prism, Silver Prism and Aurora awards.
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