Keystone Blog
Keystone Custom Homes is excited to announce a new strategic partnership with Southern Development Homes, the trusted name behind more than 1,500 homes across Charlottesville and Central Virginia over the past 25+ years. Since its founding in 1999, Southern Development Homes has delivered more than 1,500 homes across Charlottesville and Central Virginia, earning its reputation as Charlottesville's Community Builder through thoughtful design, sustainability, and a deep commitment to giving back.
The partnership marks Keystone's expansion into Virginia, connecting its communities in the Northeast with its growing presence across the Carolinas, and it's a big step forward for homeowners in the region who are looking to build with even more choice, support, and confidence.
Southern Development Homes has spent more than two decades building thoughtfully designed homes rooted in craftsmanship, community, and care, earning its reputation as Charlottesville's Community Builder. Keystone Custom Homes, founded in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1992, now builds more than 500 homes a year as a top-100 U.S. builder, with recent expansion into the Carolinas. Bringing these two builders together means homeowners in Charlottesville and Central Virginia will soon have access to:
"We're focused on profit for purpose. That's what makes this combination different," Jeff Rutt, Founder and CEO of Keystone Custom Homes.
Southern Development Homes will retain its local leadership, expertise, and personal relationships, now backed by Keystone's resources and infrastructure.
Beyond expanding into new markets, this partnership is built on a shared mission that the two founders discovered together years before any deal was on the table. Rutt and Southern Development Homes Founder and President Frank Ballif first connected through Homes for HOPE, a nonprofit builder initiative supporting HOPE International, and grew close over shared trips seeing microfinance change lives firsthand.
Keystone Custom Homes is over 90% charity-owned, a structure Jeff Rutt put in place through the National Christian Foundation, directing profits to organizations like HOPE International that help families worldwide access education, savings, and microfinance opportunities. Southern Development Homes shares that same profit-for-purpose philosophy, giving back to the Charlottesville community it has served since 1999.
"This partnership only strengthens that mission," said Frank Ballif, Founder and President of Southern Development Homes, in the company's official announcement. A portion of the combined profits earned in Virginia will stay local, continuing to support the causes both companies have long championed.
Together, both companies are working toward something bigger than growth: building homes that create hope, opportunity, and a brighter future for families in Charlottesville and around the world.
If you're currently building with Southern Development Homes or considering it, your project continues moving forward with the same team, with no disruption to construction schedules, service, or quality. You'll gain access to more floorplans, design options, and streamlined tools over time. The values that brought you to Southern Development Homes, craftsmanship, care, and community, remain at the center of every home built
More details on the transition timeline, new offerings, and what to expect will be shared in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for updates.
Explore our first Keystone Custom Homes community in Virginia, coming to Lake Anna here!
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