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Dive Brief:
- An Alabama home builder has completed work on its first ground-up commercial project as it expands into the nonresidential sector.
- Stone Martin Commercial, a division of Opelika, Alabama-based Stone Martin Builders, finished construction on the Wyndham Industrial Warehouse, according to a May 14 release shared with Construction Dive.
- The $1.8 million, 18,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in Opelika includes 18-foot ceilings, one dock-high door/loading zone and four drive-in grade-level doors. Drew Brown, vice president of commercial construction at Stone Martin Commercial, launched the company in 2024 with renovation projects in the Opelika region that included a new headquarters for its parent company.
Dive Insight:
The warehouse for Atlanta Flooring Design Centers took six months to complete, per the release.
“This project represents a significant step for Stone Martin Commercial as we expand our capabilities into the commercial sector,” Brown said in the release.
Established in 2006, Stone Martin Builders ranked No. 76 on the 2025 Builder 100 list of the largest home builders in the country, with 806 homes closed and $333 million in revenue in 2024. The majority of its current projects are in Alabama and Georgia.
But Stone Martin Builders isn’t the only residential firm that has sought to expand into larger markets. In August 2024, Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar, the No. 1 multifamily owner, developer and manager in the country, announced its intent to expand into infrastructure development.
Growing economic uncertainty stemming from tariff concerns and elevated building material costs have kept home builder sentiment in negative territory this spring, per the National Association of Home Builders. An April report indicated builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes reached an index of 40, a slight increase from the month before. A value over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than as poor.
“Policy uncertainty is having a negative impact on home builders, making it difficult for them to accurately price homes and make critical business decisions,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz in the release.