Drake Homes
Drake Homes & Commercial Builders is a family-owned construction firm founded in 1980 in Charleston, Illinois, building custom homes, shell homes, and commercial buildings (restaurants, healthcare, agricultural, retail) for residential buyers and commercial clients within a 100-mile radius of Central Illinois.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersCharleston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Drake Homes does
Drake Homes & Commercial Builders is a privately held, family-owned construction firm founded in 1980 by Steve Drake and headquartered at 1765 Beech Tree Rd, Charleston, Illinois. The company engages in two core service lines: custom residential home construction (including fully finished custom homes, shell homes for hands-on buyers, remodeling, additions, and basement/kitchen/bath renovations) and commercial building construction (covering offices, retail, restaurants, healthcare facilities, agricultural dealerships, warehouses, industrial and educational facilities, and mixed-use developments). Underlying capability is conventional construction execution supported by in-house design teams and long-tenured craft labor; there is no proprietary technology platform, and projects are delivered through traditional build methods rather than modular or industrialized construction systems.
The business model is project-based and quote-driven, with revenue recognized on a one-time/contract basis per project. Custom home pricing is segmented into five tiers ranging from $250K-$350K (entry-level) to over $650K (luxury), with each tier subject to variation based on lot selection, floor plan customization, and finish specifications. Commercial engagements are individually quoted, with notable executed projects including Domino's Pizza franchise builds (active since 2021), a Case IH agricultural dealership for Birkey's Farm Store completed in Urbana in 2014, and a walk-in medical clinic for Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System in Charleston. Land supply is partially internalized through ownership of five subdivisions (Arrowhead Ridge, Chestnut Grove, Hunters Glen, Stillwater, Stonegate), and the firm operates six model homes as both inspiration galleries and sales assets.
The go-to-market model is exclusively direct sales: no-obligation consultations (in person or by phone), supported by a website (drakehomes.com), Facebook and Instagram channels, client testimonials, and model home walk-throughs. The company serves both primary segments — residential home buyers (families, retirees, veterans) and commercial property owners/franchise operators — within a strict 100-mile service radius of Charleston, Illinois, encompassing Champaign, Danville, Mahomet, Mattoon, Urbana, and Galesburg. The firm is privately held with no external funding, no subsidiaries, and no parent organization; ownership and operations remain with the founding family. No revenue, headcount time-series, awards, patents, partnerships, or regulatory actions are disclosed in the source material.
Drake Homes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Drake Homes
- Legal name
- Drake Homes & Commercial Builders
- Website
- https://drakehomes.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Drake Homes & Commercial Builders is a family-owned construction firm founded in 1980 in Charleston, Illinois, building custom homes, shell homes, and commercial buildings (restaurants, healthcare, agricultural, retail) for residential buyers and commercial clients within a 100-mile radius of Central Illinois.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Drake Homes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Residential and Commercial Construction Services
- NAICS
- New Single-Family Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders) (236115), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (236220), Residential Remodelers (236118), New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117)
- SIC
- Operative Builders (1531)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Single-Family Home Construction (Detached Homes) (IMAFABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders (IMAFABAE), Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA), Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL), New Construction & Builder Sales (BPAJAAAB), Government & Civic Building Construction (Courthouses, City Halls, Public Safety) (IMAFACAF)
Keywords
Where Drake Homes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charleston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Drake Homes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Custom Home Construction: Full-service custom home building from consultation through completion, including lot acquisition assistance, custom design, and construction. Revenue is generated through one-time project fees based on home size, finishes, and specifications.
- Commercial Building Construction: Construction of commercial spaces including restaurants, retail, offices, healthcare facilities, agricultural facilities, warehouses, and mixed-use buildings. Revenue generated through project-based contracts for commercial clients.
- Shell Home Construction: For customers who prefer a more hands-on approach, Drake Homes offers shell home construction services, providing the structure without completing interior finishes.
- Remodeling and Additions: Home remodeling, additions, basement finishing, bathroom and kitchen remodeling services for existing homeowners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Entry-level custom homes in the $250,000 to $350,000 range |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Mid-range custom homes from $350,000 to $450,000 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Upper mid-range custom homes from $450,000 to $550,000 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Premium custom homes from $550,000 to $650,000 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Luxury custom homes over $650,000 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Drake Homes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Drake Homes & Commercial Builders is a construction company that designs and builds fully customized residential homes and commercial buildings across Central Illinois. Services span consultation, lot acquisition assistance, in-house design, shell-home construction for hands-on buyers, home remodeling and additions, and full commercial builds including offices, retail, restaurants, healthcare facilities, agricultural dealerships, and warehouses. Projects are delivered through one-time, project-based contracts within roughly a 100-mile radius of Charleston, Illinois.
Product overview
Drake Homes & Commercial Builders is a custom home and commercial construction company operating since 1980 from Charleston, Illinois. The company offers two core services: Custom Homes (fully customized residential construction with options for shell homes, design services, and land acquisition across five subdivisions) and Commercial Buildings (construction of office, retail, restaurant, healthcare, agricultural, warehouse, industrial, and educational facilities). The product portfolio includes pre-designed Model Homes for inspiration, a Mortgage Calculator tool, and Building Estimate questionnaire for prospective clients. Notable commercial projects include Domino's Pizza franchise builds, agricultural dealerships, and healthcare facilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Homes
Companies that use Drake Homes
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Drake Homes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Drake Homes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Drake Homes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- David Weekley Homes: One of the largest privately held custom homebuilders in the United States, operating across multiple states with a similar custom-home, design-assisted model. Highly comparable to Drake Homes in business model, customization focus, and private ownership, though operating at much greater geographic scale.
- Toll Brothers: Public luxury homebuilder with customizable floor plans, in-house design studios, and a tiered product offering from entry-level luxury through estate homes. Closely comparable to Drake Homes' luxury tier ($650K+) and customization-driven go-to-market, but at national scale and on public markets.
- M/I Homes: Midwest-based homebuilder with significant operations in Illinois and similar secondary-market geography, offering both production and custom-style homes with personalization options. Comparable business model and geographic overlap in Central Illinois adjacent markets.
Broad incumbents
- PulteGroup: One of the largest U.S. homebuilders (Centex, Pulte, Del Webb, John Wieland) with national geographic reach and an integrated mortgage arm. Competes in the same entry-level to move-up price band where Drake Homes is most exposed, and benefits from volume purchasing and rate buy-down incentives.
- D.R. Horton: Largest U.S. homebuilder by volume, with national coverage including Illinois. Competes at the entry-level price band ($250K–$400K) most relevant to Drake Homes' lower tiers, and applies national scale to win lot acquisitions in markets where Drake operates.
- Beazer Homes: National homebuilder serving entry-level to move-up buyers across multiple U.S. regions, including Midwest markets. Overlaps with Drake Homes' pricing tiers and customer profile, but operates at significantly broader geographic and volume scale.
- Gilbane Building Company: Large private national construction services firm delivering commercial, healthcare, education, and mixed-use projects across the U.S. Comparable to Drake Homes' commercial building services (e.g., Domino's franchise builds, healthcare clinics), though at substantially larger project scale and broader geography.
Regional players
- Fischer Homes: Large privately held regional homebuilder based in the Midwest (Cincinnati/Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio) with a customizable, design-studio-driven model similar to Drake Homes. Comparable in customization approach, though operating in different Midwest geographies with broader scale.
- Leopardo Companies: Major Midwest commercial and residential contractor headquartered in Illinois, offering design-build, construction management, and general contracting across multiple sectors. Comparable to Drake Homes' commercial construction arm, though operating at larger scale across Chicago and surrounding regions.
- Pepper Construction: Midwest-focused general contractor with deep Illinois operations across commercial, healthcare, industrial, and education sectors. Comparable to Drake Homes' commercial customer set (e.g., Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, Birkey's, retail/restaurant brands), but at substantially greater scale and project complexity.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Drake Homes social profiles
Digital presenceDrake Homes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Drake Homes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Drake Homes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Drake Homes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Drake Homes
What does Drake Homes do?
Drake Homes & Commercial Builders is a construction company that designs and builds fully customized residential homes and commercial buildings across Central Illinois. Services span consultation, lot acquisition assistance, in-house design, shell-home construction for hands-on buyers, home remodeling and additions, and full commercial builds including offices, retail, restaurants, healthcare facilities, agricultural dealerships, and warehouses. Projects are delivered through one-time, project-based contracts within roughly a 100-mile radius of Charleston, Illinois.
Is Drake Homes a public or private company?
Drake Homes is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Drake Homes founded?
Drake Homes was founded in 1980. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Drake Homes based?
Drake Homes is headquartered in Charleston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Drake Homes make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Custom Home Construction is the primary driver. The others are commercial Building Construction, shell Home Construction and remodeling and Additions.
Who are Drake Homes's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are David Weekley Homes, Toll Brothers and M/I Homes. Broad incumbents are PulteGroup, D.R. Horton, Beazer Homes and Gilbane Building Company. Regional players are Fischer Homes, Leopardo Companies and Pepper Construction.
Does Drake Homes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Drake Homes.
What industry is Drake Homes in?
Drake Homes's product category is Residential and Commercial Construction Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAFABAA, Single-Family Home Construction (Detached Homes), with a secondary code of IMAFABAE, Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders. Its NAICS code is 236115 and its SIC code is 1531.