By Jeff McKinney
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Williamsburg Homes, Greater Cincinnati's 10th-largest home builder, will exit the area within 12 months or so after 21 years of business here, its parent company said Thursday.

The Chicago-based owner of Williamsburg Properties, doing business as Williamsburg Homes, has decided to phase out its Cincinnati unit to focus on faster-growing markets such as Tampa, Fla., and Dallas.

"The Cincinnati market has been profitable for us since 1998, but less profitable than some of our other divisions," said Kevin Davis, chief financial officer at Ryan Building Group, a privately held firm that operates Williamsburg Homes. In other areas, the company operates as William Ryan Homes.

He said intense and aggressive competition from larger Tristate builders such as the Drees Co., Henry Fischer Builder and Ryan Homes also played a part in reducing Williamsburg Homes' margins. That prompted the parent to look to more sunny climes for growth instead of continuing in Cincinnati.

Davis said Williamsburg Homes will continue to operate an office here to:

• Finish work by October on about 50 homes it's building. It also has about eight model homes that have been built but not sold. Williamsburg Homes builds homes priced at $220,000 to $400,000 in Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties.

• Honor written contracts with Williamsburg Homes' homeowners, making sure that outstanding warranties are serviced and covered.

Davis said Williamsburg Homes was not forced to shut down its Cincinnati operations. He said it was strictly a business decision and that the company is in no financial trouble. He said the company is profitable but not as profitable as it would like to be.

Davis said the company still has about 14 employees here and that about eight jobs - mostly sales positions - have been eliminated as it gears down its operation.

He also said the Cincinnati unit has been slowing in production and revenue growth for the past three years. The company expects to build about 100 homes this year and bring in $26 million in revenue. In 2002, it built 165 homes with revenue of $45 million, down from 250 homes with revenue of $56 million in 2000.

"The Cincinnati market has been softer for us than other markets like Dallas and Chicago,'' he said. "The outlook for growth was not what we'd like to see."

Williamsburg Homes was acquired by the Ryan Building Group in 1996, Davis said. That company mainly operates in Chicago, Dallas, Milwaukee and Tampa.

Elda Marshall, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati, said Thursday that her office has received calls from consumers in recent weeks wondering about Williamsburg Homes.

"We told them that we heard they were going to close the Cincinnati operation, but finish homes they have under construction," she said.

E-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com.