Town South Builders
Another article in the July 1967 issue of Shreveport Magazine dedicated to promoting the Town South project focused on the builders: 
EIGHT Shreveport builders and developers who will construct new homes in Town South Estates have been responsible for over 1,665 acres of home construction in the Shreveport area, equivalent to five per cent of Shreveport’s total incorporated area.
These veterans of the building industry bring into the unique Town South development over 65 years of cumulative building experience. Between them, they have built approximately 5,000 new homes in Shreveport and its suburban neighborhoods.
Their experience will be needed, for Town South Estates is the largest planned unit subdivision ever opened in the Shreveport area, according to Beal Locke, Vice-president of T & H, Inc., the developer. A planned unit subdivision is one which has privately-owned common property as an essential element of development, and in which residential areas, recreational areas, parks, churches, schools and commercial development all are planned before the start of initial building. Plans focus on all concerns of privacy, safety and beauty.
Features of the new development are greenway parks, two swim clubs, and a private non-profit Homes Association for the exclusive benefit of the residents of the subdivision. The association is responsible for the maintenance and care of the greenway parks, and provides for a means of self-government for the subdivision residents.
The builders who have joined T & H in this development are unanimous in their praise of the new concept in subdivision building and speak of Town South Estates with glowing predictions of success.
“The day has passed when people buy futures,” Mr. Locke commented. “They want fulfillment of promises now – just seeing ‘proposed’ on a piece of paper doesn’t fill the bill any more.
“That’s why we are building the green belt and swim club now. The primary aim of all our development programs in Shreveport has been to create neighborhoods that endure and maintain values.”
T & H, Inc. is owned by J. Verne Hawn of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Hawn, a native of Athens, Texas, began operations in Shreveport in 1953. The firm has been responsible for the development of three other major residential areas in Shreveport – Highland Park, Cherokee Park and Spring Lake Estates, with a total of over 1,100 homes.
Mr. Hawn entered the home building and development field in 1952, building Buckner Park in Dallas. At present he has real estate holdings and developments in Atlanta, Ga., and Palm Springs, Calif., as well as in Shreveport and Dallas.
Mr. Locke, who directs the design, construction and sales team that has made T & H, Inc., one of the area’s outstanding community builders, has been associated with the building industry since 1954, and has been with T & H since 1959. He holds a business administration degree in production management from North Texas State University, and is active in the Chamber of Commerce. A member of the National Association of Home Builders and the Shreveport-Bossier Home Builders Association, he is a past director of the Louisiana Home Builders Association and is former vice president of the local association. He is also a member of the Shreveport-Bossier Board of Realtors.
Robert E. Rout, T & H’s director of sales, has been a member of the management team of T & H for six years. Bringing to Shreveport a comprehensive background of varied home building experience, he holds a certificate in home marketing from Southwestern Home Marketing Institute. Prior to entering the home building field in 1957, he was associated with a commercial equipment firm in Dallas as sales counselor for private business enterprises. Mr. Rout is a member of the Shreveport-Bossier Board of Realtors.
Rounding out the professional management of T & H, Inc. is James R. Harris, general superintendent. An Arkansas native, Mr. Harris began his building career here in 1946. During this period … comes by his building expertise naturally as the son of a veteran home builder. He has been with T & H for the past five years.
The bulk of the home construction will fall to seven experienced artisans who are charter builders in Town South.
Their names read like a Who’s Who in the Building Industry in Shreveport: W. S. Rhea, W. A. Colquitt, G. W. Hunter, Miller & Wise Construction, Inc., Elmer L. Berry, Charles E. Arnold and Roy J. Fulco.
Reporter Tom Herline went on to quote the builders:
W. S. Rhea – “I have always been interested in something new for Shreveport,” Mr. Rhea commented. “That’s why I chose to build in Town South – it’s something really new and unique … A builder has to keep ahead of the other fellow in design and in anticipating a customer’s wants…You have to weigh the customer’s requirements and anticipate all his desires. That’s why I’m in Town South, because I think it’s years ahead in design.”
W. A. Colquitt – … “I can’t imagine anyone building in the $25,000-$35,000 price range not wanting to be in Town South Estates,” Mr. Colquitt said. “The LSU campus is nearby and I think the swim club and green belt and cluster building plan is something really different. This cluster plan gives everybody a park or play area – room to wander around in safety.”
G. W. Hunter – “Owning a home in Town South, with its green parks, is the next best thing to owning acreage,” Mr. Hunter said. “It’s great for kid s, with play areas and swimming pools. There is no other subdivision like it.”
Lannon E. Miller of Miller & Wise – “Ninety per cent of our business is in custom-built homes, and they are all of top quality,” Mr. Miller said. “Our satisfied customers sell the majority of our houses for us by passing on by word of mouth their satisfaction with the work we did. I think Town South is something unique that Shreveport has needed for a long time. That green park running through the residential area is really going to catch on with the public.”
Elmer L. Berry – “Town South is an unusual subdivision. It is well-planned and in a fast growing area,” “Mr. Berry commented. “It is sure to be attractive to buyers. Our goal is to build a good home as reasonably as possible and still make a profit.”
Charles E. Arnold – “I think Town South has a real nice thing going. I’m sold on it … I’ve never been involved in a venture quite like this one before. I think what T & H is doing in Town South will really catch on.”
Roy J. Fulco – “I think Town South is going to be the subdivision in the Shreveport area. I think the homes constructed there will continue to be bigger and better as the area develops. It is well-planned and there is nothing else like it,” Fulco said. “I like to build every house as though I were the one who was going to live in it.”