Business Diversity Quarterly Report
Coming to America
Architect and home builder helped change Richmond's style

by Lisa Prezioso Linnell
for Virginia Business
February 2007

Ian and Sandy Asplundh spent months looking for a house in western Henrico County. Their requirements were specific: a house of at least 5,000 square feet with a brick Colonial-style exterior, an open, flowing floor plan and a huge family room. "It was hard to find a place that fit what we were looking for," says Asplundh, a former executive with Philadelphia-based Asplundh Tree Expert Co., a global tree and vegetation management company.

The Asplundhs ultimately decided to build their home, but they became even more frustrated after looking at hundreds of house designs that failed to fit the bill. Finally, their Realtor, Anna Lazarchic, recommended Carlos Sol, a local architect and builder with a reputation for catering to the tastes of affluent Richmond-area homeowners. "The Asplundhs know quality. I thought it was a great match," says Lazarchic.

She was right. Sol got the job to design and build the Asplundhs' Short Pump home. "We just connected with Carlos," says Sandy Asplundh. "He was very artistic."

During the past two decades, Sol has built dozens of homes in upscale neighborhoods around Richmond. Some of them cost more than $1 million. "For many people, this house I design is a dream come true," says Sol. "You become the dream maker."

Sol has seen his own dreams fulfilled. A naturalized American citizen, he left war-torn El Salvador 25 years ago believing that he could make his mark in the American home building industry. Today his Henrico-based company, DelSol Inc., generates revenue of about $6 million a year. In 1998, he was named entrepreneur of the year by Hispanic Business magazine.

Sol's story has been cited by small-business advocates as an example of what talented immigrants can achieve when they have opportunities, "I think it's important for the state of Virginia to have a diversity of ideas," says Michel Zajur, president and CEO of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "We have so many members, like Carlos, in different fields and different industries, and they are becoming leaders in their fields. It's refreshing to see."

Sol earned degrees in engineering and architecture at universities in El Salvador and Guatemala. He arrived in New Orleans in 1981 and worked as a draftsman. When the Crescent City's economy began to fail during an energy bust in the mid-1980s, he started looking for someplace to relocate. He admits that a city such as Miami would have been a natural fit, because of its large Latin-American population. But Sol was challenged by Richmond where he felt his mix of Latin-American and European artistic influences would allow him to stand out.

"What caught my attention was the style [of homes in Richmond], it was Colonial and Georgian. Everybody said 'If you don't build a Colonial, you're not welcome to Richmond,'" he says with a smile. His instincts told him that some homeowners wanted a look that was not traditional. "They wanted a choice and we were a choice for them."

Sol began in Richmond in 1987 as a construction manager. On the side, he began doing his own designs. Eventually Sol established CadPlan Services, the forerunner of DelSol. "We started to change the style here, little by little."

Today he designs more than 90 percent of the homes he builds. His company has five employees, including his wife, Patricia, who also is an architect. (The Sols have two daughters, 12-year-old Victoria, and, Regina, a Virginia Tech student). He relies repeatedly on about 50 subcontractors, some of whom are Hispanic. "First, I need to be sure that they have to be legal," he stresses.

One of Sol's suppliers is Richard Witty, Richmond sales manager for Stock Building Supply, a warehouse distributor that serves the contracting industry. "Carlos is a very bright businessman," says Witty, who has known Sol for more than 10 years. "In this marketplace, coming from El Salvador, he's adapted very well with his background in architecture. He's a one-stop shop."

Sol is now developing a neighborhood. The 36-home Creekmore Park subdivision is under construction in Goochland County. As he inspects one of his transitional style homes there, Sol proudly points to his signature touches, such as the mixed use of tile, stone and brick, flowing floor plans, high ceilings and light-filled rooms.

Sol says he designs and builds each house as if he were going to live in it himself. He jokingly tells customers that the homes he builds are his forever, even after they are sold. "I check up on them. I say 'Are you taking good care of my house?'"

In fact, he has an opportunity to revisit his homes since many of his customers become Sol's friends. "Deep inside, I really feel totally American," he says. "When they say 'Carlos, where are you from?' I say 'Born and raised in Goochland County.'"