French Brothers on track for Casa for a Cause

Construction on the 2023 Casa for a Cause house, 7322 Bedford Ave. in the Metro Arcadia Phase 1 area of Metro Verde near Red Hawk Golf Course, is about a month from completion, but builders French Brothers are already looking to break the record for Casa for a Cause donations to local nonprofits.

French Brothers, a New Mexico builder that opened in Las Cruces in 2015 and currently has about 80 homes under construction on the East Mesa, had watched other Cause for a Cause builders since the project began in 2014, and decided this year was the opportune time to take the lead on a Casa for a Cause house, said French Brothers Director of Sales and Marketing Jason Kipker.

“We want to be good stewards to the communities we’re part of,” Kipker said. “What better way to be able to do what we do and give back to the community?”

Kipker said he expects the sale of the house – the price tag is $413,015, and it’s still on the market – to bring in $130,000-$140,000 “that will be available to give back to nonprofits and charities in Las Cruces.”

That would break the record of Casa for a Cause donations by $5,000-$15,000, he said. And, it would push the total donated from the sale of six Casa for a Cause houses to more than $500,000 since the project – originally called Anniversary House – began nearly a decade ago.

Following French Brothers’ Caballo floor plan, the 2,039 square-foot home has four bedrooms, two baths and a two-car garage. It also has an incredible view of the Organ Mountains.

Kipker said 60-75 subcontractors and vendors have joined French Brothers in this year’s Casa for Cause, contributing labor, materials at cost or “some sort of donation,” he said.

“I haven’t had a single vendor that’s said no to us,” he said.

In fact, three different vendors offered to donate a hot-water heater for the house. French Brothers accepted one of the donations and asked the other two vendors to “pay it forward” and make their donations to future Casa for a Cause projects, Kipker said.

Ground was broken on the 2023 Casa for a Cause house June 21.

The history

Casa for a Cause began In 2014 to commemorate Las Cruces Home Builders Association’s (LCHBA) 55th anniversary. The Hakes Brothers led the project that first year.

Once the house was sold, $64,000 in profit was divided among local nonprofits. Veloz Homes’ Anniversary House gave back $82,000 in 2015. In 2017, the Anniversary House built by Arista Development gave back $74,000; Desert View Homes raised a record $125,000 in 2019; and in 2022, JMS Construction raised $63,000. In total, members of the LCHBA have donated $408,000 to nonprofits to date through Casa for a Cause, and started an LCHBA Aggie Builder Endowed Scholarship at NMSU.

Visit frenchbrothers.com/new-home-markets/las-cruces/ and lchba.com/4th-annual-anniversary-house.