With all the horror stories about general contractors — they’re late and over budget, they’re off to another job while you’re reading them the 101 items on the punch list — it’s a delight to spend time with one that defies all stereotypes.

By Peter Jovanovich

With all the horror stories about general contractors — they’re late and over budget, they’re off to another job while you’re reading them the 101 items on the punch list — it’s a delight to spend time with one that defies all stereotypes.

 

Jeff Grasso is a third-generation builder. His grandfather Pat started his own business, P. Grasso and Sons, in the 1940s. When Pat retired, Jeff’s father Anthony took over and merged it with his own business, Anthony P. Grasso Building Contractors. Ten years ago, Jeff created Grasso Development Corp. He continues to work with his dad, and his son, Jeffrey Jr., a high school senior, is learning the business. We’ll bet the ranch house that Grasso will be a fourth-generation business before too long.

 

Grasso Development builds three or for houses a year in the Rye area – some on spec, some custom-built for owners, and several rebuilt. During the boom and the bust, Jeff maintained a steady, loyal clientele.

 

His homes are not the “cookie-cutter” variety. “I first try to imagine what would be best for the site —the right size of house, the right place on the lot — so that the owner gets to enjoy both what’s inside and outside,” says Grasso.

 

At the house we visited that Grasso is rebuilding on Green Avenue, that is certainly the case. It has all the right stuff: a beautiful kitchen and family room, spacious bedrooms upstairs, and practical touches through and through.

 

A gracious patio space in the back is perfect for entertaining or just enjoying some of the great weather we have been having recently.

 

“Think of your patio as another room,” says Grasso. “It should be laid out with the proper proportions — not jammed up next to the house — with just as much attention to the stonework outside as you give to the millwork in side.”

 

Speaking of millwork, Grasso spent a great deal of time showing us the unusual touches he’s adding to the entry way and the library study. “Quality lasts,” he points out. “It creates a sense of place, of warmth, that makes homes special.”

 

According to Grasso, that’s particularly important with the living rooms, which in many newly constructed homes seem to be on the endangered species list.

“People still want a formal space in the front of the house, even though most of their time will be spent in the family room. I try to make sure the design and millwork enable that the space room have flexible can work as a living room, study, or library.”

 

Is every Grasso home a teardown? “To the contrary,” Grasso asserts. “Every home is unique. When there are features of the old house worth saving, we work hard to come up with a design the merges old and new.

 

“That’s why I spend so much time at every home we are building: I want to make sure the house, its features, and its site on the lot, make for a perfect result.”