Ron Nance, Real Estate Visionary

Ron Nance and daughter Whitney of The Oaks Development Company

We are currently revamping the blog and including a new feature that showcases innovators who inspire us with their passion, leadership, and creativity. It seems fitting that a childhood friend, Ron Nance, has the honor of being my inaugural interview.

Ron Nance is possibly the best-known public figure in Lawton, Oklahoma—both as a successful businessman and as an ambassador for a city viewed by the national media as a voice of America’s heartland. His civic accomplishments are long and impressive, an integral part of the city’s infrastructure: homebuilder for the ABC hit television program, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Lawton City Councilman, President of the Lawton Home Builders Association, Oklahoma Bison Association President, Director of the National Bison Association, Lawton Airport Authority Board Member, and member of a BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure initiative) Coordination Committee for a regional growth management plan for Lawton and Fort Sill, an adjoining, major military installation.

 As President and CEO of Ron Nance Enterprises, an umbrella corporation for his business interests—including his new real estate developments, collectively known as The Oaks—he also owns and operates Comanche Buffalo, one of the largest, all-natural producers of buffalo meat in North America. Comanche Buffalo supplies natural food stores, national supermarket chains, and Fearing’s at the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. Owner-chef Dean Fearing, a winner of the James Beard Foundation Restaurant Award for “Best Chef in the Southwest,” calls the buffalo tenderloin from Comanche Buffalo “…the best product I’ve ever dealt with…That buffalo is fork-tender.”

Few people realize that Ron and I are inextricably linked through time and memory. 

Then known as Ronald Nance, he and I went through all of Woodrow Wilson Elementary School together starting in the mid-1960’s. Fred Thomason was the principal back then, a severely thin man with dark-rimmed glasses who strictly admonished students not to drag their feet while walking in a line down the hallway. The typical student didn’t have parents who were businesspeople, professionals, or entrepreneurs. We were from hardworking folk; many parents were affiliated with the military. Most of us had comfortable childhoods with two-parent, single-income families, siblings, a neighborhood support system, and teachers who were invested in our personal and educational development. I remember Ron as a quiet, laconic type who didn’t call attention to himself. We sat next to each other in the fifth grade, which is documented in the official classroom photograph of the time. Mrs. Mabel Otipoby was our teacher, the only Native American instructor either of us would ever have.

When, decades later, I returned to the place where I grew up, Ron and I were once again neighbors, only this time we both lived on one of the most prestigious streets in Lawton, our homes directly across from each other. Ron and his wife Susan, bearing a gift, attended our housewarming party, and I also came to know their adult children, Whitney Nance Perry, and Brennan Nance.

Occasionally, Ron and I would chat and marvel at how fate had strangely brought us together again. We realized how privileged we both are to have lived our dreams out loud and were now looking forward to what we would leave as a legacy. For me, my life involved global travel, affiliation with interesting and exciting people, institutions, and projects, and the fulfillment of my destiny as a communicator—both writer and artist. For him, it was more fundamental than that. So when Ron, Whitney, and I meet for what was to become a 3-hour visit, the first question I ask him is this:

“When did you know you were destined for something more than what life dealt you?”

Ron settles down in his deep leather chair to ponder a question that was completely unexpected. And when he speaks, his answer is very sure and clear. He recalls a time in the second or third grade when all the students in class were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. For as long as he had a developed sense of consciousness, he always knew he wanted to become a millionaire. So that’s what he said. His classmates laughed. For the young boy, wealth represented money, status, and security. For the mature husband and father before me, becoming a multi-millionaire had come to symbolize something more elusive: a measurement of just how far he had come in his life. Wealth was a vehicle for achieving potential and manifesting results.

A self-made man, Ron’s journey took a detour before he had a life-changing epiphany. He had attended Southwest Oklahoma State University on a football scholarship, but one day he realized that he really wanted to be his own boss, a businessperson. So he returned to Lawton and enrolled at Cameron University. While still a student, he began selling real estate to support himself. He also had a business hauling hay. Soon, his industriousness paid off, and Ron became a first-time homeowner at the age of 19, before he had even graduated from college. This personal milestone, for him, ranks high among his lifetime achievements.

Ron credits his persistence and desire to learn from experienced mentors for what then became his career trajectory. By the age of 24, he had made the transition into commercial real estate sales where his youthful vigor and enthusiasm made him the go-to person for national chains that were trying to make inroads into the city. Elderly people who distrusted corporations owned much of the commercial land. But Ron was a local boy who was also well known and well liked. In the 1980’s, he had obtained the prestigious CCIM certification in commercial real estate and was given the chance to learn from astute investors and premier businesspeople.

McDonald’s sought him out when the company wanted to lease a prime location at the corner of 11th Street and Lee Boulevard for one of their franchise restaurants. After six months of negotiations, the multinational corporation had a 20-30 year lease, and the elderly lady who owned the land had made a deal that benefited not only her, but also left a sizable financial bonanza as a legacy to her heirs. Ron recalls how he took the time to educate his client. He honestly believed that the transaction would be in her best interest, and he was passionate that she see things his way. “I’ve never been able to sell something I didn’t believe in,” he confides. “I try to help people understand what is at stake.”

He prospered in his chosen industry, but Ron’s juggernaut was about to go supernova in the 1990’s with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) and the savings and loan crises. The federal government was the largest owner of foreclosed properties he was trying to sell. People with money had no appetite for buying real estate, he found, and buyers who wanted properties had gone broke. So he decided to buy the properties his commercial clients were passing on. During this time of rapid acquisition, Ron aggressively purchased real estate at a cost of 25 cents on the dollar. His real estate portfolio included a commercial office building, retail space, and warehouses. As a long-term investor, he knew he could find tenants for his vacant properties, and he astutely recognized that property values would increase over time. When the real estate market eventually rebounded, his investments appreciated in value. Ron could now step away from the day-to-day commercial sales operations and focus on real estate development and investments.

Once again, he started modestly and worked his way up. As a small-scale homebuilder, he was developing 20 lots every few years. Because of the unpredictability of this venture, he had begun to investigate ways to control the construction process from start to finish. This meant developing raw land and producing a finished product. His first subdivision was Brentwood, named in honor of a family friend’s scenic and gracious hometown in Tennessee. The project was a success, and Ron’s reputation for stellar value and customer service grew.

In 2007, when the producers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to Lawton, they were looking for an established builder who had the connections in the trade and with community resources to complete a turnkey project in just four days. The project would be a first for the show: construct an aesthetically pleasing home for the Westbrook family that would incorporate accessibility standards from the American Disability Act.

Gene Westbrook is a war hero who was paralyzed in the Iraq War. His then nine-year-old son James became paralyzed in an auto accident. In designing a house that would accommodate the special needs of Gene and James Westbrook, Ron had become profoundly affected by how trapped the family felt inside their home. He recalls that the living room was so small it could hardly contain two wheelchairs at the same time, and he wanted to give the family a beautiful and open space to live in.

His can-do attitude put to the test, Ron was excited by the challenge and at the same time a bit daunted by the seemingly impossible task he faced. As so often in the past, he relied on his sense of pragmatism and organization. One of the first calls he made was to the brotherhood of former Extreme Makeover homebuilders for their guidance and expertise. On February 17, 2007, an outpouring of men, women, and teenagers from Lawton, the Fort Sill military base, and the surrounding communities worked around the clock on everything from construction, to landscaping, to clean up. To add to the festive community atmosphere, a food tent was set up and a chiropractor was available on the premises. In the end, it would take all 45 of his direct employees, 200 tradesmen, and about 2,000 volunteers to build a 4,000 sq. ft. new construction home in 106 hours.

The producers of Extreme Makeover called the Westbrook home one of the best houses and best builds ever featured on the show. During the initial broadcast and re-runs, about 1 billion people viewed this popular episode in 78 different countries.

Lawton is a multiculturally diverse city of 100,000 with a sizable population that has lived and worked all over the globe. The impact of military base closings has brought an influx of new residents into Lawton-Fort Sill, more than 30,000 when the initiative is fully implemented. To accommodate this economic growth and resulting demand for new housing, the Oaks Development Company distinguishes itself by seizing on the concept of well-planned communities in the mid-range and luxury categories with shared outdoor amenities and a cohesive sense of community.

“Why the oak?” I ask him, already knowing the answer. The oak is a sturdy hardwood indigenous to this part of the country. Here, the oak tree symbolizes strength and longevity…an emblem worthy of the man himself.

Collectively known as The Oaks, Ron is enthusiastic about his company’s current residential development projects: Oak Pointe, with 900 available home sites, and Oak Ridge, starting at the intersection of 67th Street and Lee Boulevard—a square mile tract of land with space for up to 600 luxury homes. The Oaks is just minutes away from shopping centers, schools, hospitals, and clinics.

Oak Pointe features residences that are, historically for Oklahoma, at the $350,000 median price point. If you want to buy a home at Oak Pointe, Ron says, “We will make it as simple as we can.” Homes are available for either immediate occupancy or will be finished in six months from financing to building. The first step is to look at vacant new construction homes so the customer can get a realistic sense of what the family wants. An existing design plan can be amended several times or a custom home can be designed. A horticulturalist, designers, and the director of construction are available for weekly updates as new owners watch their houses being built. The final meeting is also a homeowner’s orientation with a walk-through before the closing and transfer take place. Warranty calls are made the first year of occupation to guarantee the owner’s satisfaction.

He is proud of the fact that The Oaks has always met a specified move-in date and that happy customers have resulted in a high rate of referrals. His goal has always been to give his buyers pride of ownership and a comfortable place to call home. Says Ron, “Our objective is to delight the customer.”

Across the street from Oak Pointe, the Oak Ridge development is where he plans to build a 12,000 sq. ft. estate alongside a 22-acre, man-made lake that will become his home in retirement. Whitney and her new husband have selected a lot right next door so that three generations of Nances—parents, children, and grandchildren—can all live adjacent to each other.

“I can see what it’s all going to look like when it’s completed,” he tells me with a gleam in his eye. “In fifty years there will be a canopy of overhanging oak trees lining the streets.”

Oak Ridge, with its stunning view of the Wichita Mountains to the north, is the embodiment of Ron Nance’s boyhood dreams. Designed to be a model village or enclave, all the homes here will be architecturally unified with a residential theme, an enduring, Old World European style—French Country, Tuscan Villa, or Mediterranean Estate. Artistic souls among us appreciate his vision of a classic, stately, and timeless residential community with state-of-the-art amenities—a task never before achieved in Lawton given the patchwork of housing styles to be found in any given neighborhood. Ron Nance Enterprises has evolved to virtually dominate the luxury market in the increasingly prosperous Texoma region with a level of architectural sophistication and construction expertise that had been missing until now.

Dream homes will be priced in the $450,000-$800,000 range for lots starting at ½ acre, or two lots to the acre. Estates sited along the lake are expected to sell for $1-$5 million, with lot sizes ranging up to six acres. Lakefront homes will be set on a hill overlooking the water and at lake level. These would be individually gated homes set back from the street—heirloom quality estates on beautifully manicured lots that can be handed down through generations. The city cooperated by passing legislation to allow estate-type compounds to be built in the subdivision. The rollout has begun, to be spaced out over a 10-15 year timeframe.

In Lawton’s future, Ron envisions a residential space that visually appeals to the senses and is harmonious, quiet, and safe. A place with a strong sense of community where residents can raise their families or retire comfortably, just like the neighborhoods where we both grew up. But his innovative leadership goes further: he wants his development to meet the life cycle needs of all age groups, from childhood to old age. In so doing, he is giving Lawton’s underserved demographics the kind of high-quality, one-of-a-kind residential stock and thoughtful, intuitive details they desire. For the area’s affluent immigrant community, with multi-generational families all living or visiting under the same roof, the zoning regulations will allow the construction of gated compounds that are common in their home countries. For the well off, retired empty nesters, Ron’s mantra is: “Downsizing doesn’t mean downgrading.”

In a nod to the lessons gleaned from the Extreme Makeover experience, every house in Oak Ridge will feature minimally accessible features to accommodate the needs of residents who are elderly or disabled. He rightly points out that the workplace is handicap accessible, but homes are not. Showers will have no rims to impede wheelchairs and walkers. A front step at the entrance will be eliminated, and each hallway and door will be at least three feet wide.

He takes special delight in choosing the names of the streets. He finds that each street has its own personality and practically names itself. On Oakmont Boulevard, Ron and Whitney take me on a tour of their 2009 Dream House. The Cypress Villa, a 4,000 sq. ft. home evocative of the history and charm of Tuscany in Italy, is the first property to be constructed on the raw land. It was Whitney’s perceptive idea that her parents swap the Dream House for their home in Wyatt Acres.

I tell Ron how baronial their new abode looks from the outside. Indoors, the artistic flourishes and luxurious materials—inlaid hardwood and travertine floors, granite countertops, and ceramic tiles—used throughout the residence impress me. The environment brings me back in time to an antiquarian world of elegance and refinement. It is the unexpected details like the intricate, cast stone ceiling and stone crafted fireplace…the graceful dome ceiling in the first floor master suite…that delight me. In the great room, spacious glass doors open to an outdoor living space with a fireplace, seating area, and outdoor kitchen. 

State-of-the-art modern conveniences include radiant floor heating, a jacuzzi and waterfall shower, and tankless water heaters. Abundant built-in storage space throughout the house enhances the visual flow. On the second floor, a spacious and comfortable home theatre is worthy of being called a man cave. A warm and inviting gourmet kitchen with maple cabinetry, 6-burner stove, and a farmhouse sink is perfect for entertaining guests. By the garage, there is a laundry room, and a mudroom with personal lockers made of wood where occupants could leave keys or recharge cell phones.

By now, I have the sense that I am looking deep inside the mind of a highly creative individual who is tweaking my artistic surroundings in a way that both inspires me and optimizes my productivity each work day. To connect the customization concept even further, Ron Nance Enterprises has its own drafting department, which is digitized and computerized, as well as its own trim carpenters. The craftsmen who work on their projects are the best to be found in the region.

It is perhaps symbolic that the grand opening of the first completed home in Oak Ridge was also a fundraiser for a local children’s charity. More than $6,000 was raised for Food 4 Kids, which provided a total of 24,000 meals.

“I’m very fortunate and blessed to have a father who is a leader and who I can learn from.” As a child, Whitney enjoyed seeing what her father did for a living and the joy he brought to customers buying new homes. Initially, she had studied interior design, thinking she might follow the same career path that took her college friends to urban centers. But Lawton is growing exponentially as a result of the base realignments in Asia and Europe, with military families being reassigned to Fort Sill. In addition, Oklahoma’s fiscal conservatism protected its economy from the real estate collapse that has hurt much of the nation. Consumers purchased real estate as residences, not for rampant speculation. Agriculture, oil and natural gas production, and the defense industries have contributed to the stability of the state’s economy. Money magazine named Lawton one of the top 100 cities in the country to live in.

In the final analysis, for Ron as well as for myself, Lawton was our family’s base. Whitney also recognized there was no need to move anywhere else when you could always travel around the world for study or vacation. At the University of Oklahoma, she switched her major to marketing, and then spent a summer in Spain studying international business and European architecture. She sees the opportunity to work with her father as a way of carrying on the family business that he started decades ago.

As the Vice President of Marketing for the Oaks Development Company, Whitney has been involved with every aspect of the business, from construction to sales. She brings her own uniquely modern perspective to the table. Internet and multimedia savvy, she manages the company website and advertising, and she demonstrates the renowned Nance style of personalized customer service and outstanding value in all her dealings. Whitney’s imprint is also on Oak Ridge. She is the company executive who came up with the look and feel of the harmonious architectural styles that will be built on the development map.

“She’s my succession plan,” Ron quips. He has trained his successor well. Brother Brennan is a photographer and artist, but Whitney has been groomed since childhood to be an executive. Her parents’ appreciation for living well with art and beauty in one’s surroundings is also in her genes. It is an ethos they are happy to share with their customers and the larger community. As with everything he has earned in life, Ron Nance has planned for the best, perceptively recognized and doggedly pursued opportunity when it emerged, and built his legacy to last.

View the Facebook photo albums for Ron Nance: Real Estate Visionary and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and click on the be a fan icon.Ron Nance, President/CEO
(580) 678-5222 (cell)
Whitney Nance Perry, Vice President of Marketing
(580) 917-2706 (cell)
Ron Nance Enterprises
1 SW 11th St. Ste. 210
Lawton, OK 73501
(580) 248-4411 (office)
http://www.theoaksdevelopmentco.com/
http://www.comanchebuffalo.com/