Meet the BuildFBG Team

Jim Frankel serves as the Founder and Chairman of Frankel Building Group (FBG), the most award-winning custom luxury home builders in Houston. As a native Houstonian, Jim has spent the last 30 years helping clients throughout the city with lot acquisition, unique design and project development, as well as innovating solutions for flood-prone areas and challenging homesites. Jim was one of the first Graduate Master Builders in the United States, built the first custom home in Cinco Ranch, and became the exclusive estate builder in the Cinco Communities.

Under his leadership, a culture of personal growth, character development, and “doing the right thing” have allowed FBG – an independent, family-owned company – to grow into a dynamic, forward-thinking, national leader in custom homebuilding. Along with his sons Kevin and Scott, Jim led FBG to become the first to adopt the USGBC’s LEED for Homes program, building every custom home to its standards, through sustainable, environmentally conscious, energy efficient, water efficient and other innovative building techniques.

Among his many accolades, Jim has been the Greater Houston Builders Association Custom Builder of the Year, an award based not only on the custom home builder’s reputation with the buyers of his products, but also his reputation within the home building industry.

As an active leader in the community, Jim is an Honored Life Director and Past President of the Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA) and has served on the Executive Committee as well as the Board of Directors of that Association. He was a founding member of the Custom Builder’s Council, is a Life Director of the Texas Association of Builders, Vice President of Region III, of Texas, and a member of the Executive Committee, and a delegate to the National Association of Home Builders.

He served as a member of the Development Council of Texas Children’s Hospital, where he was its first Chairman, and is now a Lifetime Ambassador for The Hospital. He served on the Board of Directors of the Houston Ear Research Foundation, as a board member of the Kinkaid Alumni Association, and is a past Chairman of The Parents Council of Tulane University.  Most recently Jim, along with one of his lifelong friends, is leading the effort to establish the Center for Excellence in Immunology at Methodist Hospital, Houston.

A graduate of The Kinkaid School and The University of Texas at Austin, Jim has been married for 44 years to his wife, Carol. Jim and Carol are extremely close to their four children – Kevin, Scott, and twin daughters Leslie and Lisa – all of whom live close by. They are fortunate to spend lots of time with their eight, soon-to-be nine grandchildren.

Kevin’s positive attitude and infectious drive inspire a fresh outlook on Houston custom home building and company growth. Kevin’s keen eye for new projects, smart investments and economic trends continue to position Frankel Building Group ahead of the curve.

As Co-President, Principal at Frankel Building Group, Kevin heads up acquisitions, sales and financial modeling for the company.

A licensed broker, Kevin is a longtime Board Member of the Greater Houston Builder’s Association (GHBA), where he has served as President (2015) and as Chairman of the Custom Builder’s Council (2010). Through the organization, Kevin is actively involved in HomeAid Houston, a non-profit that builds new lives for homeless families, children and veterans through housing and community outreach. In 2013, Kevin was recognized as one of Professional Builder magazine’s “40 Under 40,” a listing that selects the top under-40 professionals in the residential construction industry. He has also been recognized as recipient of the Texas Association of Builders 2015 Excellence under 45 Award, and as the Greater Houston Builders Association Green Advocate of the Year in 2012.

In 2001 Kevin graduated from Washington University in St. Louis to attend the University of Houston where he received his MBA. In 2006, after working in commercial real estate for three years, Kevin joined Frankel Building Group. He loves working daily with his father and brother and spending time with his wife and three children.

Kevin is a Region D finalist for the 2016 National Association of Home Builders Young Professional award! It is truly an honor to be acknowledged for the first time in the history of the association, as one of NAHB’s top young leaders in the home building industry.

Scott began his career at Newmark Homes as a Construction Superintendent building starter homes, predominantly in the Pearland area.  He then went on to work as a Construction Manager for a new building company called Lindenwood Homes, which was later acquired by John Lang Homes. Scott joined Frankel Building Group in a full-time capacity in 2006.

Scott is a Graduate Master Builder and a Master Certified Green Professional.  He was the first Master Certified Green Professional in Texas and the second in the country.  Under Scott’s leadership, Frankel Building Group has committed to building every new home to the USGBC LEED for Homes Certified Standards.

Scott’s was recognized as a “Green Hero” by the USGBC’s Texas Gulf Coast Chapter and the Houston Business Journal in 2011. In 2015, he was named the “Green Advocate of the Year” by the Greater Houston Builder’s Association.  The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) honored Scott as the 2016 “Best in Green (BIG) Young Professional of the Year.” He has served on the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Building and Sustainability Subcommittee and will represent that committee as an advisor to the NAHB’s Education Committee on green building subject matter.

In 2012, Scott became part of the “40 under 40” class of both Houston Business Journal and Professional Remodeler.  Scott was then named the 2016 Professional Builder Magazine’s “40 Under 40.”  He has served as keynote and panelist for groups such as the Professional Builder Magazine’s “40 Under 40” Executive Summit and was a presenter at the Thought Leader Session for young professionals at the International Builder Show.

Frankel Building Group  was named “Outstanding Single-Family Builder” in 2015 by the United States Green Building Council and is a six-time LEED Power Builder. Frankel Building Group is a four-time Houston’s Best Grand Award Winner, a Texas Star Award Grand Award Winner, and a 2020 Best in American Living Award Winner.

Scott, a third-generation home builder, attended The Kinkaid School and went on to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with a minor in Business from the University of Texas at Austin.

Scott is married to Dara Frankel and has three wonderful sons named Will, Hunter, and Cooper.

Rodney is an in-house Houston custom home designer at Frankel Building Group. A native Houstonian who began working for design firms while still in high school, Rodney’s expertise lies in translating the client’s vision into something tangible.

Unique to Frankel Building Group, Rodney is on staff and meets with clients from the start. He listens as they talk about their lifestyle and how they need the house to function and turns their thoughts into an architectural form, sketching beautiful renderings of their dream home.

Rodney graduated from the High School for Performing Arts before attending the University Of Houston School Of Architecture. After two years he purchased a design firm, put school on hold and gave his full attention to running the firm. Rodney holds professional licenses AIBD, TIBD, CPIBD and is a member of AIA.

Here at Frankel Building Group, the best custom home builder in Houston, Texas, Brian is proud to be the Vice President of Operations responsible for many aspects of our client’s new home and overall experience.

Brian will work with you from the design phase and see you through to construction.  He assists in the initial selections and helps explain the process in its entirety. He is available throughout the entire project to ensure that things remain seamless for the clients and guides them through any challenges that building a custom home may present. Brian is also very involved in the selection of our vendors and trade partnerships in which reputation, price, availability and most importantly, quality performance play a key role. We believe we produce a great home because we surround ourselves with great people. In addition, we believe a great home begins with jobsite order and cleanliness, which is also key in maintaining quality workmanship and a sense of respect for the job site and home itself.

Brian began his career in homebuilding following graduation from Texas A&M University in 1997. He worked in the industry 8 years before joining Frankel Building Group where he has managed numerous home construction and renovation projects in the Houston area.  He is proud to have been awarded the 2012 Project Manager of the Year by the Texas Association of Builders. Brian is also the proud father of 2 wonderful kids he shares with his wife of over 20 years.

Here at Frankel Building Group, we feel that the design of your new home begins with a dream. In his role as a Senior Architectural Designer, Thomas works with you throughout the design process to define a vision and graphically communicate your new home for you to experience on the screen.

Thomas graduated from the University Of Houston College Of Architecture in 2011, receiving a bachelor’s of Architecture degree. While in school, he focused his studies on sustainable community based design and participated in commercial and residential design initiatives in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Thomas possesses an extensive knowledge in AutoCAD, Revit Architecture, Google SketchUp, and Adobe Creative Suite.

Client Testimonial

“We have to agree with you, the front looks really good (and thanks to Wes for cleaning the outside and keeping the progress moving forward)! We’ve met many people over the past several months passing through the development, and they also like the house, especially the inside flow. Thanks to Thomas & Rodney for taking our conceptual design ideas, not saying “it won’t work,” and doing their magic to incorporate into the finished product we see today…very impressed with the FBG team!”

Born and raised in Mumbai, India, Himanshu completed  a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Mumbai in 2008. He is also currently a Licensed Architect in India. While working on his undergraduate degree, HImanshu was always keen on learning various architectural rendering, presentation and modeling software like AutoCAD, Rhino. 3ds MAX. Revit Architecture was not known in India until the end of 2008. He worked for a year in India and in 2009 came to the U.S to pursue a Master’s Degree. Himanshu’s area of focus and thesis was specific to developing a maintenance system for Home Owners by using BIM (Building Information Modeling). In the process, he mastered his skills in Revit, Navisworks and C#.

Himanshu graduated from Texas A&M University in December 2012 with a Master of Science in Architecture. He was awarded IFMA (International Facility Management Association) and TAHFM (Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management) Scholarships in 2010, and 2011 respectively.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Houston. Her Single-family Residential Master’s studio project won Second Place and was recently selected for publication. Jennifer has experience working in several avenues of the profession, including Interior architecture and High-rise Multi-family Residential projects. Her love of detail and experience in high-end residential design led her to Frankel Building Group. After spending a few years in Chicago, she has returned to her hometown in Houston. Jennifer is currently working towards getting her licensure in Architecture. 

Frankel Building Group continuously seeks ways on how to improve the client’s understanding of what their house will be like. As Senior Architectural Designer, Alex works with you through the design process to help interpret technical drawings and envision the possibilities of your new house through lifelike computer renderings and walkthroughs.

Alex received a Bachelor of Architecture from Texas Tech University. After two years of commercial design experience in Charlotte, North Carolina, he returned to Texas and obtained a Master of Architecture from the University of Houston.

Alex loves traveling, golfing and spending time with his family.

With over 15 years of experience in the commercial architecture world, Katy is focused on putting her large-scale project management skills to use in the fast-paced, detail-oriented residential side of architecture. As an Architectural Designer, Katy works with our clients throughout the design process and specializes in producing comprehensive and thorough construction documents, to make each home an easy build. Katy received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental design from the University of Houston in 2008. She is also a LEED Accredited Professional specializing in Building Design + Construction. Katy possesses extensive knowledge in AutoCAD, Revit Architecture, Google SketchUp, and Adobe Creative Suite.

In her time away from the office she enjoys travelling, anything outdoors, and eating Tex-Mex with her husband and two crazy kids

The FBG Design Studio is a unique part of the Frankel Building Group construction process. The Design Studio offers clients various finishes ranging from exterior stone to cabinet finishes all under one roof, making the selection process more pleasant. As selection coordinator, Megan manages the Design Center and assists in selecting custom features of the home including cabinets, door hardware and paint colors. Megan also serves as liaison between a client’s personal Interior Designer and the FBG construction team.

Megan graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in interior design. She is a licensed Interior Designer with the State of Texas and member of ASID. Megan started her career at a High End Residential Design Studio in Houston, which specialized in new construction.

Client Testimonial

“Megan is a top hire. She is incredibly organized and detailed. She is prepared in advance every time I meet her. As someone who loves the details and loves organization- she is great at it. She puts my OCD at ease.

She is awesome.”

– TJ Farnsworth

Steven has had a life-long passion for design, combined with an unparalleled work ethic and desire to create. Attending FIDM University in Los Angeles exposed him to a multitude of design styles, cultural influences, and curated his passion for creating timeless yet personalized homes. His career began working for a high-end residential interior designer in Los Angeles where he gained extensive experience working in luxury residential interior design. With the desire to return to my hometown of Houston, Steven gained recognition by masterfully designing luxurious model homes for multiple respected Houston home builders. Steven is most renowned for my ability to meld color, spirited spontaneous details, and juxtaposition of raw and refined elements.  

In his spare time, he enjoys spoiling his dog William by taking him to local dog parks and on long scenic walks in Memorial Park.

Nicole earned her B.S. in Interior Design from Sam Houston State University.  She began her career in high-end residential furnishings and remodeling.  Prior to joining Frankel Building Group, she specialized in staging high-end homes and High-rises for luxury builders and real estate investors throughout the Houston area; her work has been featured in Paper City, Luxe Magazine, and other local publications and media.

Nicole strongly identifies with Frankel’s cohesive start to finish design approach to help clients build their dream home and is an advocate for customer satisfaction.

Professionally, Andrew brings more than 15 years of direct sales and sales leadership success and achievements, most recently in the real estate market. Andrew bears a very broad skillset, including outstanding communicative, collaborative, interpersonal, organizational, presentation, and closing skills to maximize revenue while also providing the utmost client satisfaction. Having worked with high profile homebuilders, Andrew has a wealth of experience and a reputation for excellence. Andrew’s positive attitude and infectious drive make him an ideal fit to represent the Frankel Building Group in our two Northside communities: Woodland Reserve and Lakes of Shadow Creek.

Originally from London, England, Andrew is a devoted husband to Athena and a father of six awesome children. Andrew attended the London Academy of Music, Drama & Art- where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree (USA Equivalent) in English Literature.

Client Testimonial

Andrew is an accomplished and driven person whose dedication and honesty make him a pleasure to work with. He is a multi-talented individual with an engaging personality, a passion to succeed and an ability to adapt to rapidly changing market circumstances.

Andrew has that rare sense of understanding the sweet spot between taking care of his customer’s interests as well as those of his company. He is a relationship builder who would be an asset to any employer.

– A.Tallack

Darren was born in New York and moved to Texas in his elementary school years. Growing up in the Brenham area, he moved to Houston in the late eighties. Darren has been in the home building business for over twenty-five years. He worked with his father remodeling historic homes and buildings in the Brenham & Chappell Hill area. Working at two nationally known home improvement centers as the manager of commercial/contractor sales, he gained valuable preparation for his career in the new home building business. Prior to Frankel Building Group, he worked for three nationally recognized homebuilders in the Houston and Austin areas. Darren has also won Houston’s Best Construction Superintendent of the Year by Greater Houston Builders Association for two consecutive years.

In his free time Darren enjoys spending time with his wife and two children as family is a central part of his life. His son is currently attending Texas Tech University & his daughter is a varsity cheerleader at her high school in Cypress.

He looks forward to working with each and every client and truly hopes they enjoy the building experience with the Frankel family.

Alexis works in Process Administration for Frankel Building Group. She was born and raised in San Antonio, then attended Texas A&M University where she got her Undergraduate Degree in Construction Science with a Minor in Business. Following graduation, she moved to Houston and immediately fell in love with the city. Alexis has worked in the residential construction industry for 3 years now and initially started her career as a Project Manager. In addition to project management, her role quickly grew into client selection management, estimating, purchasing, and warranty management. She relied on her organization skills and passion for working with people to guide clients though the custom home building process in an efficient and enjoyable manner. Her previous role prepared her for Process Administration where she shines in all her strengths.

After work and on the weekends, you can find Alexis painting, playing tennis, or trying out a new restaurant. One of her favorite things about Houston is the food, and as a fairly new resident she is always on the look out for new local spots. She feels extremely lucky to call Houston, and now Frankel Building Group, home.

Violett joins us as the FBG Home Care & Avea Pools Coordinator.  Born and raised in the Champions area, she has spent the last 18 years of my professional career in the construction/homebuilding industry in areas that range from sales and initial customer contact through home completion and beyond.  She started her career with a large custom home builder with a focus on permits, loans and municipality requirements.  Violett’s work expanded to include lot/site development, then on to personalized customer liaison for all pre-construction needs.  She utilized her creativity to develop procedures that streamlined the homebuilding processes from start through completion for buyers, vendors and office personnel.  She enjoys the challenge of site development and construction and the continuing education it provides.  Her past experience has enabled her to join the Frankel Building Group Team and provide the Customer Service that our clients expect and deserve.  Outside of the office, you will find Violett on the soccer fields cheering on her two amazing daughters. Her oldest earned a full scholarship to play in Oklahoma while her youngest is certainly following in her big sister’s footsteps.

Ally joins the Frankel team as the Marketing Coordinator and “Client Concierge” or Buyer’s Representative. She loves to utilize two of her strengths in this position- serving people, and creating! She is a Colorado Native who got her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Fine Arts through Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles). Although she’s always loved both people and homes, Ally’s professional background includes a myriad of things!  Most recently she did client services work as the Patient Coordinator at a cosmetic surgery office, and prior to that-  decades of work as an entertainer (dancer/actor/model/host for TV/Film) with some of the top companies / recording artists in the world. Professionally she’s excelled in web design, sales, fundraising, social media, merchandising, publicity, videography, and podcasting for many organizations. She is also heavily involved in her family’s nonprofit work in Uganda that rescues needy women and children. Above all else, Ally is most passionate about her faith, and carrying a culture of love and servanthood everywhere she goes.  She is the proud mama of 2 crazy kids, and you can catch her most days sipping Whataburger tea at her son’s sporting events or perusing the antique stores in Katy!

James was born and raised in Nacogdoches, TX (God’s Country), and attended Stephen F. Austin State University where he received his degree in Environmental Geology. James began in Environmental Consulting and later entered into the residential construction industry. He spent 11 years with a larger privately-owned production home builder until he started with Frankel Building Group in 2013.

James is a very competent and consciousness project manager who is well-known for his ability to coordinate with high-end customers and outside interior designers. James prides himself on his excellent customer service. We are very happy to have James as part of the team.

Outside of work, James is married to his beautiful wife and has three wonderful children. In his spare time, he enjoys doing cub scouts with his son and playing golf.

Client Testimonial

“I want to thank you for and recognize James Milford. This afternoon I was in OKC when Kristin called in a panic that water was flowing from the side of the house. I called James who 4 years from completing our house picked up on the 4th ring, took down Kristin’s number and walked her through shutting off the landscape water. We continually find the benefit of remaining in the Frankel family and appreciate you retaining your employees long term. Thank you again”

-Rick and Kristin Brice

Matt joins Frankel Building Group as a Project Manager and Pre-Construction Coordinator.  Matt was born and raised in Massachusetts and graduated in 2010 with a Bachelors degree in Construction Management. His passion for construction goes back as far as he can remember. He grew up working for his uncle’s general contractor business while on school vacations. Growing up with a hammer in his hand certainly paved the way to his future career. Prior to joining Frankel Building Group, he worked as a construction manager for two large home builders in the Houston area. Working in construction has always given him the opportunity to learn something new every day and provides a great sense of accomplishment in managing someone’s dream becoming a reality.

Victor was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and grew up in the construction environment. His family owns and operates a drywall and remodeling business which exposed him to the industry at an early age. Victor has been involved in residential and commercial construction for as long as he can remember. He has worked for 3 large national builders in numerous positions before landing his role as Project Manager at Frankel Building Group.

Outside of work, Victor enjoys spending time with his family and fur babies. He also enjoys traveling on his motorcycle.

Kaleb is from Houston, Tx. He attended UTSA in the Construction Management program, where he received his bachelor’s degree. He started my career in construction around his junior year of college with a semi-custom home builder. Shortly after he graduated he was given the opportunity to work as a Project Manager & Estimator for a custom home builder in San Antonio.

Being apart of such grand, luxurious projects, and seeing the smile of a thankful client definitely leaves, Kaleb, with the feeling of accomplishment and pride.

In his spare time, Kaleb likes to travel, watch sports, or spend time with good family and friends.

Aaron is a native Houstonian who graduated in 2010 with a bachelors degree in Construction Management from the University of Houston. He began his career in the homebuilding industry working for a small semi-custom home builder in the Inner Loop for 5 years where he quickly learned the ins-and outs of building a home. He then branched off and worked for 2 years as a coordinator/quality control manager for a company specializing in balcony waterproofing and coatings. Aaron takes his past knowledge to ensure that the Frankel houses he builds are designed and built with special attention to waterproofing details!

Newly married, Aaron enjoys spending time with his wonderful wife creating and enjoying gourmet recipes at home, as well as finding new spots to eat around town. When he is not spending time with his wife and family, you will almost always find him casting a line on the beautiful Texas coast.

Above all of his accomplishments he is a proud father and family man.

David joins Frankel Building Group as a Project Manager. He was born and raised in Galveston. Growing up his dad ran his own construction business, so construction has been embedded in him since he was young. After graduating from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, he had the opportunity to take over his dad’s business with my older brother for about 5 years. This is where he first gained a true passion for homebuilding. He most loves seeing through a project from the ground up and making clients dreams become a reality. For the past 8 years while living in Spring, David worked for two national homebuilders. This gave him the skillsets and experience that ultimately provided the opportunity to work for Frankel Building Group.

He is happily married to his wife Nicole of 11 years and they have 2 children, Ivy and James. Outside of work, David enjoys watching sports, golfing, surfing, traveling, listening to live music, and spending time with friends and family.

Joel joins Frankel Building Group as our Maintenance Specialist.  Joel joined Scott Frankel years ago in his early building days.  Scott jockeyed to get an opportunity to run his own neighborhood while working for a production home builder. Luckily and terrifyingly enough Scott was given that opportunity right away and had to open a model home in that neighborhood. Scott’s first house he ever built was a model home and a prototype for this large production builder who wanted to build in multiple cities. The only reason that house turned out well is because Joel came in at the very end and made that house “perfect”.  Joel has been a valuable team member ever since, working hard to find solutions and maintenance to every home and even our office. His hard work and diligence to every task, truly leaves every home complete.  The team loves working with him and we are so proud to have him as part of The Frankel family!

Stanley has been an extremely valuable addition to the Frankel team. He is a hard-working member who is involved in multiple stages of the construction process. Stanley is reliable, smart, and diligent as he completes a range of tasks in our homes and office.  There’s nothing he can’t do!  We are grateful to have him on the Frankel team, and our projects would not be the same without him.