CAROLINE HOYT,
MCSTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS

Caroline Hoyt, co-founder and chief designer of McStain Neighborhoods, is a groundbreaker, both literally and figuratively. When she was in college, she was the only woman in classrooms of up to 60 men. “There were several ‘old guard’ professors who thought a woman shouldn’t be taking a man’s job away from some deserving young fellow with a wife and children to support,” exclaims Hoyt.

After graduating, Hoyt had several mentors, even though she considered herself for a long time an anomaly in a man’s field. “Talent and hard work quickly convinced the men around me that I could get things done and done well,” she says, adding that she felt more suspicion from women than men. “I was a ‘traitor to my sex’ because I didn’t choose a traditional role – but, of course, that all changed years ago.” Now, Hoyt feels there is a pretty level playing field for women in the industry.

With her husband, Tom, Hoyt is also a groundbreaker, having built an environmentally aware business decades before the “green” movement was under way. That early emphasis on environmentalism has been one of the most rewarding aspects of Hoyt’s career. “Having grown up 50 years ago in a family of ardent ‘conservationists,’ it was obvious to me from the beginning that home and neighborhood design had a huge impact upon the environment,” she says.

Since 1966, McStain has been a developer and homebuilder recognized both regionally and nationally for its environmentally responsible homebuilding practices and master-planned community design. Those sustainable building practices include not only the elements in the homes themselves but also locations that include transit connections, village centers and commercial components within the communities whenever possible.

In her role as founder and chief designer, Hoyt conceptualizes communities and home designs, working with architects and planners to develop those concepts into plans they can build and sell.

“I’m always looking for ways to build better, smarter and more efficiently,” she says. “I am most concerned with creating homes that are beautiful, livable and efficient and fit the climate and the context in which they are built.

“McStain targets home buyers who care about the environment and understand that an upfront investment in features such as energy efficiency and sustainability translates into back-end savings. We also target the home buyer who appreciates fine craftsmanship and a convenient location for their home.”

In designing homes, Hoyt puts a high priority on the concerns of women, since she finds that women are more often involved in the home-buying decision than men. “Of course, my own personal point of view corresponds heavily in that direction,” says Hoyt, who recognizes that some locations and designs have particular appeal to women. For instance, McStain recently opened the Casitas at Stapleton, which she feels are ideal for single women and maybe a child. The smaller, linked villas share a maintenance-free courtyard for socializing but have the primary living areas on the second floor, giving a sense of security.

Having been in the homebuilding business for more than 40 years, Hoyt says, “It has been fun working and succeeding in a male-dominated industry.” She adds, “I’ve found the men with whom I interact to be very supportive and congenial.”

She also has enjoyed building the business side-by-side with her husband of 45 years, with whom she has raised two children. “Tom has been my partner, my friend and my greatest joy,” she says. “Our shared work is the central part of our shared life. We have a number of common interests, including our children, travel, hiking and books, but our sustaining interest has been for designing and ‘building a better world.’ That goal keeps us engaged, intrigued and on the same track. We have different skills, so fortunately, we don't butt heads too often.”

DEBRA TONEY,
DEBRA TONEY
RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Like Hoyt, Debra Toney has taken on a role unexpected for a woman. She is the ambitious founder and sole owner of four diversified businesses: Debra Toney Residential Design and Development; Toney Rental, which acquires and manages rental properties; Debra Toney Architecture and Interiors, an award-winning residential architecture and interior design entity; and Toney + Stur Kitchen & Bath Studios, a brand-new company that designs and locally manufactures European-style cabinetry.

Toney is involved in each of her companies at every level, from setting the direction of design for every project to setting and implementing policies and procedures for her employees. Despite her depth of involvement in the building and design industry, she still sometimes feels like the odd woman out. “I belong to a national builders club and am one of two women on our roster!” she exclaims. However, she feels her family status as the first female to be born in three generations has given her the ability not only to relate to men easily but also to understand their needs.

“Fortunately, I have the type of personality that allows men to see me as one of their kind, but they are always skeptical. I know how to relate to the boys on a level that does not intimidate them. I can stand on my own just fine, although socially I’m pretty malleable,” Toney says, citing feeling equal comfort sitting next to President Ford for breakfast and on a pile of 2-by-4s with a trade partner. “But sometimes they just need to forget I’m a woman and get on the same page,” she adds.

Toney’s target market for home development and building is the homeowner who understands the value of good design and is open-minded about things that can reduce the impact on the environment. “Even though this is ‘new thinking,’ we believe that anyone about to consider a new build should explore this as an option for themselves, or at least understand that this new home could very well be outdated in the near future as the government increases its level of involvement in issues relating to the environment and begins to mandate changes to our building industry. This is as important to the resale value of the home as the kitchen design,” she says.

Within the home, Toney says that master spa-type retreats are still in demand because, as she says, “Mom needs a personal refuge.” She says that kitchens that allow for entertaining are popular, so she makes an effort to create open space for traffic flow. “We know that’s where everyone congregates, so let’s make it work to accommodate the inevitable,” she says. She also brings the dining area closer to the kitchen and family living areas to make things feel less formal. “I want to make sure it doesn’t feel like the kind of space that requires a certain dress code,” she explains. “People should feel comfortable using this space regularly, not just on those three or four days a year.”

Toney believes that with changes in the mortgage industry, there will be a trend toward staying in homes longer, looking at home purchases more as a housing-needs solution and less as a two-to-five-year investment opportunity. She also foresees more changes in the actual construction of homes to include more environmental considerations.

In her rare times of leisure, Toney enjoys spending time with her three grown children, with whom she cooks and occasionally breaks out in song. She truly enjoys her own home, its gardens and koi pond (“my friends call me ‘The Fish Whisperer’”). She also notes that she is “terrifically available to the right man, with bonus points if he has an incredible wit.”

PAIGE MCCALISTER
LENTZ, MONARCH
DESIGN BUILD

Paige Lentz is the president of Monarch Design Build, a six-year-old company that designs and builds high-end custom homes. The company is committed to using materials and craftsmanship that are true to a home’s architectural intent, while incorporating the latest technologies and sustainability.

Lentz has also started and developed two other companies, one of which is an environmental remediation and demolition company that focuses on commercial and government work. In each of her companies, Lentz oversees all operations, including strategic planning, budgeting, business development, project management and marketing.

When building a home, Lentz’s primary consideration is to determine the nuances of her clients’ lives and how they will live in each space. Like Hoyt and Toney, she is careful to consider the architectural style of the neighborhood. “We build a product that works for the area and positively impacts the Denver landscape,” she says. Like the other women, Lentz also considers her company’s carbon footprint to deliver a home that produces fewer waste products.

Although Lentz builds for a wide range of clients, from single people to families to empty nesters, she finds that she designs with women in mind. “I know all of the things that women manage in a household on a daily basis, and that carries into my design work,” she says. “I look for ways to make everyday household activities more efficient. You’ll see it in my consideration of storage space – layouts that work for moms and kids, nooks and crannies for children to store toys and/or arts and crafts, flexible laundry spaces, pet stations, etc. I think through how each person will live in the home and design accordingly.”

Overall, in today’s market, Lentz says homeowners want features such as open kitchen and family areas, media rooms and homes designed with longterm planning in mind, including main floor masters. She has also noticed a small movement toward homes that are well designed and not oversized.

All this may be related to a trend called “cocooning,” which Lentz defines as people seeing their home as a refuge where they can retreat. “The trend was identified and coined in the 1990s and had started to decline slightly before 9/11, but accelerated sharply afterward and remains a significant driving force in home design,” she says. “Since people are staying in their homes, they want all the comforts and luxuries that they may experience elsewhere. I think that concept will remain intact and won’t change significantly in the near future.”

As an entrepreneur in the building industry, Lentz has not found it difficult to work and succeed in a male-dominated industry. “But I am also a very determined individual and one who embraces challenges,” she says. “It’s not that hard for people to understand a woman in the business as long as she is a designer or works for a supplier, but it seems that people have a hard time wrapping their minds around a woman as the construction business owner, someone who can help you select your tile and discuss your foundation.”

Lentz finds that disconnect manifests itself in small ways. For example, “I have found that people tend to diminish the scope of work that I perform, explaining Monarch as a ‘fix and flip’ firm, or they make incorrect assumptions about my role,” she explains.

Lentz is married, with four-legged children: “two yellow labs, a schipperke mix and a fabulous cat.” Her hobbies and passions include being in the outdoors for cycling and hiking, reading and studying (“I love to take classes”). She describes herself as a huge college football fan and an “avid (one could say fanatical) Texas Longhorn fan.” She also makes time for numerous philanthropic activities, including helping to build accessible housing for families affected by long-term disabilities. She says, “I hope I can continue to positively impact the Denver community both professionally and personally.”

All three of these women are inspirational in so many ways. They have pursued their professional interests when they haven’t had the support they should. In doing so, they have looked at the big picture of how people want to live within their homes. They’ve considered how those homes exist within the neighborhood and the city in which they are built. And they’ve considered, in the really big picture, how those people and their homes impact the planet. These women have done all of this starting with a fundamental goal in mind – creating “home