Home builder Stone Martin opened a commercial arm and completed its first ground-up job

Stone Martin Builders, an Opelika, Alabama home builder founded in 2006, ranked No. 76 on the 2025 Builder 100 with 806 homes closed and $333 million in revenue in 2024, with most projects in Alabama and Georgia. In 2024, vice president of commercial construction Drew Brown launched Stone Martin Commercial, starting with renovation projects around Opelika, including a new headquarters for the parent company.

In May 2025 the division completed its first ground-up commercial project: the Wyndham Industrial Warehouse, an $1.8 million, 18,000-square-foot building in Opelika with 18-foot ceilings, one dock-high door and four drive-in grade-level doors, built in six months for Atlanta Flooring Design Centers. "This project represents a significant step for Stone Martin Commercial as we expand our capabilities into the commercial sector," Brown said in the release.

The move fits a wider pattern of residential builders seeking other markets: Greystar, the largest US multifamily owner, announced an infrastructure expansion in August 2024. The timing is also telling — the National Association of Home Builders' confidence index sat at 40 in April 2025, as tariff concerns and elevated material costs made single-family pricing difficult.

First ground-up commercial build completed: the $1.8M, 18,000-sq-ft Wyndham warehouse in Opelika, finished in six months.

Single-family revenue rode on a market where builder confidence was in negative territory (index 40) amid tariff and material-cost uncertainty.

Commercial work diversifies revenue without abandoning the core homebuilding business.

Starting with renovations let the new division build capability and references before attempting ground-up construction.

A parent at No. 76 on the Builder 100 with $333M in 2024 revenue could absorb the cost of seeding a division whose early work included the parent's own headquarters.

Diversify in steps: use small renovation work to build capability and references, then take the first ground-up project when the division can stand on its own.

Per the May 2025 report, the division has one completed ground-up project and renovation work behind it; no commercial backlog or revenue figures are given in the source.