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Sarasota Herald Tribune
January 9, 2006

Miller flying high after humble start

Custom builder of high-end homes is young, rich and self-made
By STEPHEN FRATER

SARASOTA -- Just a little over a decade ago, a newly licensed, baby-faced general contractor named Mark S. Miller landed his first deal to build a house.

"It was a bird house," recalls Miller, then 25 years old and happy to get the work.

Today, as CEO of Sarasota's Westwater Construction Inc., he builds for high-fliers of a different feather, the rare gilded ones who nest in $5 million to $10 million custom homes in chic subdivisions, including The Concession and Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch.

He's building a lot of high-end homes, in addition to taking on numerous other ventures in commercial development, realty brokerage and material supply.

"But, if things get tight, we can always go back to building bird houses," he says.

Don't believe it; Miller is not about going anywhere but up.

A little more than 15 years ago, Miller was a 19-year-old college dropout who, while looking to make a buck over spring break, tapped a buddy for a job laying tile for "about $6 an hour, which seemed like a lot of money at the time."

Today Miller, a member of Sarasota High School's Class of 1988, is the multimillionaire chief executive and 90 percent owner of Westwater, one of Southwest Florida's top builders of ultra-high-end homes.

The cheapest single-family home Westwater has available right now comes in at just under $4 million. Others are closer to $10 million.

Miller is a "unique breed," says his friend Chad Gates, a partner in the Sarasota law firm of Levin, Tannenbaum, Band, Gates and Pugh.

"He lays it on the line when he has to, but is still a simple normal guy," Gates said.

Despite Miller's lack of a college degree, "He's one of the brightest people I ever met, with a financial mind that's unbelievable," the attorney added.

Miller, 35, looks like a good-old-boy lifeguard or fishing buddy, but is, in fact, the driving force behind one of the most remarkable business success stories in the region.

Neil McCurry, president of People's Community Bank in Sarasota, is a key lender to Westwater and a big fan of Miller.

"What separates Miller is that he's always looking at projects through a critical eye and he's always exceeded everything he said he'd do," says McCurry, adding that he would lend Miller "up to $6 million" for just about any local real estate venture Miller chooses to undertake.

"Everything he does, it's the best quality," says McCurry, and "he does not bite off more than he can chew."

The current market value of Westwater's projects in inventory comes in north of $250 million, and as a young guy, he's just warming up.

They include:

* Twelve high-end town houses at the Enclave at Bay Isles in Longboat Key.

* Three $5 million-plus Lake Club homes at Lakewood Ranch in East Manatee County.

* Ten $5-million-plus homes at The Concession, also in East Manatee County.

* One hundred eighty-nine condominiums and 11 single-family homes at the former Forest Lakes Golf Club in Sarasota, with a estimated value of about $120 million.

* Twenty-three condo-villas at Burns Court near downtown Sarasota.

* Forty multifamily town houses at a new development near 17th Street and Beneva Road in Sarasota that may be worth $30 million.

* A "spec" mansion on Bird Key Drive in Sarasota worth about $8 million.

In addition, Miller owns the former Churchill's Furniture site at 1515 Fruitville Road near central Sarasota, which he hopes to develop as a 100,000-square-foot commercial property.

He also owns a 1.5-acre property at the site of Westwater's modest corporate offices at 1225 Fruitville Road, which could become a 18-story office tower someday.

What's it all worth?

More than Miller ever dreamed of having.

"My dad was a high school teacher and later principal who had three master's degrees and retired on a salary of $50,000," remembers Miller, shaking his head.

We were "middle class, at best," said Miller, who used to make money on tough, hot jobs roofing houses, just so he could "hang out with the rich kids."

Today, few of those kids could likely hang out with Miller, who owns a multimillion-dollar mansion he built near Siesta Key and a brand new 52-foot fishing yacht.

One person who could and does hang out with Miller is his pal Chad Bratzke, the former Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants defensive lineman.

Bratzke, who retired from football in 2004, grew up in the Brandon area and now lives near St. Armands Circle.

The pair met about five years ago while fishing and have become friends as well as partners in development projects.

Miller is an "example of what hard work gets you," Bratzke said. "The guy works his tail off."

"He's very smart and a very quick learner," Bratzke added, saying Miller "has a keen business instinct but is a very fun guy at the same time.

"If I was moving here today, Miller is the person I'd want to build my home."

Westwater Construction, Inc. : 1074 North Orange Avenue : Sarasota, Florida 34236 : (941) 366-9936
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