On May 6, Chicago-area homebuilding pioneer and legend Ronald J. Benach, passed away in Boca Raton, Fla., at the age of 90 years old.
Known as a trailblazer and adept dealmaker, Benach’s career spanned more than six decades and 50,000 homes built, as well as commercial and residential developments in rental and for-sale niches. He founded several successful companies, including 3H Development, which he sold to U.S. Homes in 1972. After that, he founded Lexington Homes, which was the largest volume homebuilder in Chicago until he sold the firm to Westinghouse in 1989. His follow-up to Lexington was Concord Homes, which was one of the largest and most successful private homebuilding companies in the Chicagoland area until he sold it to Lennar in 2002.
In 2006, he started his fourth venture, which was the second iteration of Lexington Homes. Today, the firm continues its success as the largest private homebuilder developing in both Chicago and its suburbs, specializing in rowhomes in urban infill and suburban downtown sites as well as boutique luxury single-family home communities. Mr. Benach split his time between Chicago and Boca Raton, Fla., and continued to come into Lexington’s Chicago office where he served as chairman and worked alongside his son Jeff Benach.
“The only thing my dad loved more than the homebuilding industry was his family – there’s no one who taught me more about this business, and I’m so lucky to have worked alongside him for all of these years,” said Jeff Benach, principal of Lexington Homes. “The number of people who have lived in a home that he helped build runs into the six figures, and it never stops to amaze me when I run into someone who will say ‘I once lived in a Concord/Lexington home.’ Yet he always said ‘It’s not how many homes we build that matters. It’s how well we build each one.’ He was truly loved by all our staff and business partners for his great sense of humor and the stories he shared.”
A visionary in the industry, Mr. Benach was among a handful of developers responsible for building the majority of the homes in the northwest suburbs beyond O’Hare Airport when this area exploded in population in the 1960s and 70s. He led his firms successfully through various economic cycles as well as the many demographic and lifestyle shifts that impacted homebuilding preferences over the years. He was constantly adapting the firm’s home designs to serve residents’ changing needs. From pioneering the “coach home” in the 1970s and reinventing the suburban subdivision to designing today’s urban rowhomes work-from-home flex spaces, Mr. Benach was not afraid to be creative and make bold, innovative design choices if they would enhance the way people lived and enjoyed their homes.
Services to honor Mr. Benach were held in Boca Raton, Fla., and another private service is planned for family and friends in Chicago. Memorials in his honor can be made by donating to Magen David Adom.
