Ninety Years On Your Land

After World War II, brothers Jack and Horace Tilson build their first model home at 5516 Yale Street in Houston. There is no brand yet, no marketing, no Design Centers — just a house on a lot, built by hand, held to the family name.

The brothers take on every job Texas sends their way — custom homes, commercial jobs, even refurbishing barracks at Fort Hood and Big Spring. In 1954, KPRC Channel 2 nearly misses its debut air date until County Judge Roy Hofheinz fires the original steeplejacks and hires the Tilsons. They raise the broadcast tower in three days.

Jack Tilson Alarid, nephew of Jack and Horace, is promoted to President. Horace Tilson sells his share of the company to Alarid. Alarid brings his boyhood friend and brother-in-law James Loper alongside him to oversee construction.

The company rebrands as Tilson Custom Homes and moves two blocks east to the newly constructed North Freeway. It's the decision that defines every year that follows — a sharpened focus on custom homes, built on the customer's own land.

Alarid promotes James Loper to President. The Houston homebuilding industry is booming, it seems like anyone with a hammer can enter the business, and no one can build houses fast enough.

The 1980s recession hits Texas hard. Tilson's answer is counterintuitive: expand. In 1981, Design Centers open in Angleton and Bryan. In 1982 and 1983, Buda and Boerne follow to serve Central Texas. In 1984, Jack Alarid's son Keith becomes VP of Houston Operations. Geographic reach becomes the foundation of everything that comes after.

James Loper retires as President in 1993 and is replaced by Jack Alarid's son-in-law, Eddie Martin. A year later, Tilson Custom Homes is renamed Tilson Home Corporation. In 1998, the corporate office moves to a fully renovated building at 411 Durham Drive in Houston, designed to carry the company into the next century.

A new Design Center opens in Georgetown to serve a rapidly growing Central Texas market. The pattern is set: when Texas grows, Tilson follows.

The company expands into North Texas with Design Centers in Melissa and Weatherford. In 2001, the Buda location relocated to I-35 in San Marcos, closer to where Central Texas is growing fastest.

A new Design Center opens in Spring, deepening the Gulf Coast footprint. The same year, Jack Alarid's grandson Eric Alarid joins the company, a fourth generation begins to show up on the job.

A new Design Center opens in Katy, closing the geographic gap between the Gulf Coast and Central Texas Design Centers. The map starts to look like a network.

Brandon Martin and Chris Alarid take on leadership roles in Finance and Operations. Eric Alarid moves from Sales into Business Development. The fourth generation starts shaping how Tilson is run.

A new Design Center opens in Waxahachie to round out the DFW footprint, and a new model home opens in Huntsville inside Texas Grand Ranch. North Texas finally has the coverage Central Texas has had for two decades.