When researching custom home builders in Prior Lake and the South Metro Minneapolis area, you'll encounter companies with varying levels of experience. But what does decades of experience actually mean for your custom home project? More importantly, how does working with a three-generation, family-owned builder like Moderno translate into tangible benefits for your family?
After completing over 800 custom builds and developing 35+ residential communities across Scott County over three generations, we've learned that experience isn't just about the number of homes built—it's about the wisdom, relationships, and problem-solving capabilities that develop over decades of dedicated work in a specific community.
Our family's journey in custom home construction began over 50 years ago in the South Metro. Third-generation owner Jake Tupy has taken a 30-year tried and true building process and modernized it while maintaining the family values that have always been at the core of our business. This isn't just a marketing story—it's a lived reality that impacts every aspect of how we serve our clients.
When you've built hundreds of custom homes on acreage and navigated countless lakefront property challenges, you develop what we call "productive paranoia" about potential problems. Our team has encountered virtually every obstacle that can arise during custom home construction in Minnesota—from unexpected soil conditions to complex permitting situations to weather-related delays.
This experience means we can anticipate issues before they become problems. For example, when developing Scenic Bay Estates, our knowledge of Prior Lake's soil conditions and water table variations allowed us to properly prepare each homesite, preventing foundation issues that plague less experienced developers. Similarly, our work in Harvest Bluffs and Cardinal Pass benefited from decades of understanding how to maximize the natural topography for both walkout basement opportunities and optimal home positioning.
Being born and raised in the South Metro isn't just a biographical detail—it's a competitive advantage for our clients. Our multi-generational presence means we have established relationships with local building officials, permitting authorities, and inspection departments across Prior Lake, Lakeville, Credit River, and surrounding communities.
These relationships translate into smoother permitting processes for your project. When questions arise about code interpretations or when you need timely inspections, our established rapport ensures your project doesn't experience unnecessary delays. As one of Scott County's largest acreage developers, we've worked through complex zoning and permitting scenarios that smaller or newer builders simply haven't encountered.
Beyond official relationships, three generations in the business means we've cultivated partnerships with the area's finest craftsmen and subcontractors. Our project management approach involves competitive bidding, but we know which electricians consistently deliver quality work, which excavators understand local soil conditions best, and which finishing carpenters take pride in their craftsmanship. This network of trusted professionals isn't something you can build overnight—it's the result of decades of collaborative work and mutual respect.
If you're pursuing the dream of building on acreage, generational experience becomes particularly valuable. We've transformed hundreds of raw land parcels into stunning homesites, and this experience informs every aspect of your project:
Our developments like Holman Addition showcase how this experience translates into thoughtfully designed communities where each homesite maximizes privacy, views, and natural features.
Building on Prior Lake or other South Metro lakefront properties requires specialized knowledge that only comes from extensive experience. Over three generations, we've learned:
Whether you're building in one of our communities or on your own land, our generational experience impacts every phase of your custom home building process:
Design Phase: We've seen what works and what doesn't in Minnesota living. Our team can guide you away from design trends that don't age well or floor plans that create functional problems. We understand how Minnesota families actually live—from mudrooms that handle winter gear to kitchen layouts that accommodate holiday gatherings to outdoor spaces designed for our brief but beautiful summers.
Material Selection: Three generations of building in Minnesota's challenging climate means we know which materials hold up and which don't. We can guide you toward siding, roofing, windows, and other components that will maintain their beauty and performance for decades, not just years.
Budget Management: Our transparent construction management model is informed by decades of understanding true construction costs. We can provide accurate budgeting from the start, helping you make informed decisions about where to invest and where to save without compromising quality.
Being a family business isn't just about who owns the company—it's about how we approach our work and our relationships with clients. When your family's name and reputation span three generations in a community, accountability takes on a different meaning.
Corporate builders focused on quarterly results might make decisions that prioritize immediate profits over long-term client satisfaction. As a family-owned business planning to serve the South Metro for generations to come, we approach every project with a long-term perspective.
This means we're willing to invest time in proper planning, even when it delays the start of construction. It means we address potential issues proactively rather than hoping they won't arise. It means we stand behind our work not just because it's good business, but because our family's reputation—built over 50+ years—depends on every home we build.
When you build with Moderno, you're not working with a national chain or a company that might leave the market if conditions change. We're not just building in your neighborhood—we're building for our neighbors, because this is our neighborhood too. Many of our team members live in the communities where we build, and our children attend local schools alongside your children.
This creates what we call "shared stakes"—we're invested in the long-term health and reputation of the communities where we work because we're part of those communities. When we develop neighborhoods like Scenic Bay Estates or build homes in established Prior Lake and Lakeville areas, we're shaping the community where our own families live.
One of the most frustrating aspects of building a custom home is encountering unexpected costs and delays. While no builder can eliminate all surprises—construction involves working with natural materials, unpredictable weather, and complex systems—experience dramatically reduces their frequency and severity.
Our decades of experience mean we know what to look for during initial site evaluation, how to anticipate code requirements, and which design decisions might create challenges down the line. This "productive paranoia" allows us to surface potential issues during planning rather than discovering them mid-construction when they're more costly to address.
Despite the best planning, issues do arise during construction. What separates experienced builders from novices is how quickly and effectively they solve problems. Our team has encountered thousands of construction challenges over three generations, and we've developed systematic approaches to troubleshooting and resolution.
When an unexpected condition is discovered during excavation or when a material shipment is delayed, our experience allows us to quickly develop solutions that keep your project on track without compromising quality. We maintain relationships with multiple suppliers and subcontractors, giving us flexibility to adapt when circumstances change.
A significant portion of custom home construction quality depends on subcontractor performance. Our construction management approach involves competitive bidding to ensure appropriate pricing, but our generational relationships give us access to the best craftsmen in the South Metro.
These established relationships mean better scheduling coordination, higher quality workmanship, and faster problem resolution. When issues arise, we have the relationship capital to get them addressed immediately rather than waiting in queue behind other projects.
While we honor three generations of building expertise, we're not stuck in the past. Third-generation owner Jake Tupy has modernized our processes while maintaining the family values and quality standards that define our legacy.
Our experience has taught us that the traditional general contractor model often creates conflicts of interest between builder profit and client value. That's why we've adopted a transparent construction management model where we work on a management fee basis rather than marking up subcontractor costs.
This approach, refined over years of client feedback and industry observation, typically saves our clients 10-15% compared to traditional general contractor pricing while ensuring our interests remain aligned with yours throughout the project.
We've embraced modern project management tools, communication platforms, and scheduling systems that keep you informed throughout your build. Daily updates, photo documentation, and transparent budget tracking ensure you always know exactly where your project stands.
But technology enhances rather than replaces personal relationships. You'll work directly with Jake, Ashlee, and Alex—not a rotating cast of project managers. This combination of modern systems and personal attention represents the evolution of our family's three-generation commitment to client service.
The true measure of our three-generation expertise isn't what we say about ourselves—it's the outcomes our clients experience. With over 800 custom homes completed and a 4.9 overall rating from client reviews, our track record speaks to the value of working with an experienced, family-owned builder.
Client testimonials consistently highlight several themes:
When selecting a custom home builder, you're not just choosing someone to construct a house—you're selecting a partner who will guide one of the largest financial and emotional investments of your life. While many factors matter, two stand out as particularly important: technical expertise and aligned values.
Building a custom home involves coordinating hundreds of decisions, dozens of subcontractors, and complex regulatory requirements. Experience provides the institutional knowledge to navigate this complexity efficiently. Our 800+ builds aren't just a number—they represent 800+ opportunities to learn, refine our processes, and develop the expertise that prevents the mistakes that plague less experienced builders.
But expertise without integrity can actually work against you if your builder's incentives don't align with your goals. This is why our transparent project management model matters so much—it ensures our financial success comes from your satisfaction, not from marking up costs or cutting corners.
Our family values, maintained across three generations, mean we approach your project the way we'd want someone to approach ours if we were the client. We're not just building your house—we're helping create the setting for your family's memories and milestones.
Our tagline "Here yesterday, here today, here to stay" isn't just marketing language—it's a promise backed by three generations of commitment to the South Metro. When you choose Moderno, you're partnering with a builder who has deep roots in your community and plans to be here for generations to come.
This means:
Whether you're considering building on one of our available lots in Cardinal Pass, Scenic Bay Estates, Harvest Bluffs, or Holman Addition, or you have your own property in Prior Lake, Lakeville, or surrounding South Metro communities, we'd welcome the opportunity to show you how three generations of experience translates into a better custom home building experience.
Our comprehensive approach covers everything from navigating complex permitting requirements to selecting quality materials for Minnesota's climate to coordinating the construction timeline efficiently. Every aspect of our service reflects the wisdom accumulated over 50+ years of dedicated work in custom home construction.
But don't just take our word for it—our 800+ completed homes and 4.9 client rating speak to the outcomes we consistently deliver. We invite you to explore our recent projects, read testimonials from clients we've served, and learn more about our transparent construction management approach.
When you're ready to discuss your custom home dreams with a team that brings three generations of expertise, local knowledge, and family values to your project, we'd be honored to serve as your guide from where you are to where you want to be.
Contact Moderno Homes today at 952-234-8879 or schedule a consultation to discover how our three-generation legacy of excellence can benefit your custom home project.
