Years ago, by the mid-70s, I had become a General Contractor, licensed to do work up to $1,000,000. That was a lot of money in those days, and I never reached that limit.
The photo to the right is my first “custom house for a client.” Until then, I built homes near the University of Arkansas and sold them. It was a good time in business until the interest rates hit 18%, and Arkansas had a 10% usery law, which meant that banks in Arkansas could not make loans.
But during this short time, I built a number of homes, including many contemporary homes which were purchased by parents for the enjoyment of young students attending the university. It was a good time!
Gary Makes a Big Move - Los Angeles, California
In the mid-80s, I made a move, taking a job as a roofing sales person in LA’s finest residential neighborhoods. During that year of selling, I realized there was an absence of experienced General Contractors, so once again, I started Whillock Construction.
At first, Whillock Construction began restoring a number of Los Angeles homes to their original glory as shown in the photo to the left. This work provided the opportunity to build a team of loyal sub-contractors, including a few who joined the company full-time.
Settling Into the Area - West Los Angeles
The coast of West Los Angeles quickly became the area to be with the climate controlled by the ocean breeze and an abundance of Post WWII homes which needed both renovation and additions to keep up with the improving area. We turned our focus to this area and became a design-build firm which included restorations, total rebuilds – which often doubled or tripled the size of the home – and, occasionally, a complete rebuild which started from scratch.
By the third year, we had developed a reputation of doing large-scale remodel projects, with multiple projects every month and more than 30 total projects annually. We began to expand south along the coast into Redondo Beach, Torrance (see house featured before), and Rancho Palos Verdes.
West LA - Country Living - Mandiville Canyon
Design-build was the key to helping home owners get what they wanted at the most affordable price.
Now, with a design-drafting team and two full-time project managers, we were in full-swing. Helping homeowners achieve what they wanted was our passion.
This photo shows a memorable project, due to the long-term results it gave the owners. Mr. R. was in the cosmetic industry and had a dream of getting to New York which was, at the time, the capital of the cosmetic industry. Nearly three years after completing this project, Mr. R. called to thank us for the suggestion to do more than he originally invisioned. By doing so, it was a home that would sell quickly at a much higher price than those competing in the area.
This is a key focus point when making major renovations and additions to homes: create value with every detail.
Below: Lowered Garage and Added Space Between
For this project, the original idea was to simply add space above the garage which had a covered “outdoor” walkway between the garage and the house. To access the garage, the driveway was so steep that once you turned up the driveway, you could not see where you were going. Dropping the garage lower, closer to street level, did multiple things. First, it made the garage easier to use, and second, the second-story room addition no longer towered above the main house. It now gently stair-stepped and allowed for space to build out between the existing kitchen, the garage, and additional space which could function as spare bedrooms or an in-home office.
Our First Design-Build "Complete Makeover" in Westchester, near Loyola Marymount University
The footprint, or foundation, of this house stayed nearly the same as the original. At the time, there were multiple tax-related reasons to do a remodel instead of starting from scratch, so this was a common practice. The house was custom-designed for Mr. and Mrs. F. who had a special request. The curved stairway in the entry led to a second-story walkway which overlooked the room behind, and, beyond that, the swimming pool. The room featured a massive skylight over the ridge and indoor palm trees – an area made for the vibrant Macaw birds they had acquired through the years.
This project was a lot of fun to design and build, and it accomplished a tropical feeling from the moment you walked in, making it a world separate from the rest.
Homeowner Makes Dramatic Statement in Mar Vista, LA
Before
After
More Info coming soon.
After Nearly a Decade, The Final Project Built in Los Angeles - Ca Del Sole - Ristorante Italiano
As reported by the Los Angeles Times:
Maison Gerard, 4100 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood, is now Ca’ del Sole, an Italian restaurant from the Locanda Veneta/Ca’Brea folks.
The concept meeting with Antonio Tommasi, Master Chef and inspired restaurant owner, took place at his Los Angeles restaurant location. Like most artists, he paid little attention to curious onlookers as we had our table cleared, and he began to show me his vision of a remodel directly on the table’s white tablecloth. We looked at photos he had recently taken in Italy and chose a number of things to reproduce and incorporate into the remodel, including an outdoor patio of more than 3,500 square feet.
This is an interesting area of LA that sits near the edge of Toluca Lake and around the corner from the Texico Tower (shown in the photo below), a 36-story tower overlooking Universal Studios. It has become a major attraction for so many tourist and people in LA, and now, nearly 30 years later, serves as both a wedding venue and restaurant for upscale dining.
The photos above – the patio dining area and the Texico Tower – hold a special memory of Gary Whillock’s, as this was the last project in LA before moving to Austin, Texas. Gary’s wife, Donna, was their ticket to Los Angeles, working on the 32nd floor of the Texico Tower for Showtime and The Movie Channel before retiring from her career. It was their starting and finishing location for this decade of their lives in LA before moving and raising their kids in Austin, Texas.
Austin Texas
Now After Serving Austin & Central Texas for 25 Years,
Gary is Once Again Doing Restorations, Remodels and Additions,
Along With Exteriors
