Regular attendees of the BIA Parade of Homes here in central Ohio will easily recognize the name of 3 Pillar Homes. In an average year, it’s one of the most prolific builders on the tour, having five homes in this year’s Parade alone.
This year, 3 Pillar celebrates its 25-year anniversary, and it’s been putting homes on the Parade line-up for the vast majority of its quarter-century in business.
The company joined the Columbus-area custom homebuilding world in 1999, guided by the vision of President, CEO and Founder Zenios Michael Zenios. It’s added thousands of homes to the central Ohio market in the intervening years.
Zenios had planned to return to his father’s construction business in Cyprus after completing his degree in civil engineering at The Ohio State University. But he decided instead to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree at Franklin University and, to finance this effort, built his first home in the U.S. at age 24 in 1998. Continued referrals afterward would prompt him to stay in the country and found 3 Pillar the next year.
An established reputation
The company prides itself on, among other things, its productivity. Central Ohio has no shortage of custom home builders, but 3 Pillar is able to complete a good number of custom homes each year, says company Director of Sales and Marketing Rachael Durant, and has multiple staffed model homes to explore.
“3 Pillar has been an exemplary builder in central Ohio in terms of engagement with the community and engagement within the building industry,” says Jon Melchi, executive director of the BIA of Central Ohio. “They should be applauded for showing that you can grow your business, maintain the highest standards and continue to serve not just this industry, but the public, in such a great way.”
Crystal Jo Foto
The company is committed to community service and is always looking for new charitable opportunities, says Ashley Carrier, new home sales and marketing specialist for 3 Pillar. One notable example: The company built a two-and-a-half-story tree house for a young leukemia patient in Newark as part of his Make-a-Wish request.
“If I’m going to support any kind of company, I want to know they’re also giving back and they have a good heart behind them,” Durant says.
Durant points to Evans Farm in southern Delaware County as a prime example of the type of area where 3 Pillar likes to build: dynamic communities in good school districts that have potential to grow, where homeowners can see a vision of where they want to live.
Zenios is very strategic about where the company builds, Durant says, and Evans Farm – designed in the New Urbanism style, emphasizing walkability and front porch living, with a strong sense of community – fits perfectly.
“We also are taking that vision and carrying it down to Beulah Park (in Grove City), which is also going to be a walkable community,” says Durant.
3 Pillar in the Parade
Visitors to 3 Pillar’s Parade homes and models will recognize some of its signature design elements, including open kitchens with oversized islands and heavily detailed trim.
“When a client walks into a home and sees the trim details, they say, ‘Oh, this is a 3 Pillar home,’” Durant says.
The company’s Parade homes have also grabbed attention for such elements as lower-level finished bars, ceiling-height cabinets and covered rear porches, Carrier says.
“You know, when you go into a 3 Pillar home, you’re going to see fantastic design and craftsmanship, and you’re going to be treated a certain way,” says Melchi.
3 Pillar has twice built the Parade’s Foundation Home: at Trails End in Delaware in 2014, and at Jerome Village’s Eversole Run neighborhood in 2018. The company has also taken home a considerable number of Parade awards, the first being a third-place People’s Choice Award for interior design and an overall third place award for Favorite Home in 2004.
3 Pillar likes to build Parade homes at multiple price points – while still maintaining the highest quality, Melchi says – giving visitors a chance to see a broader vision of the options available to them.
“Yes, we’ll have our luxury model homes, but we’re giving people in all different phases of life a taste of what they could have,” Durant says.
In addition, Zenios is a past president of the BIA of Central Ohio.
What’s in a Name?
3 Pillar Homes’ name derives from the company’s three pillars of homebuilding: honor, quality and design.
Parade Awards
Among the awards 3 Pillar Homes has won at the BIA Parade of Homes include:
- Best Overall in 2021, 2022 and 2023
- Second place for Best Overall in 2012
- First place for Best Floor Plan in 2013
- First place for Best Great Room and Family Room in 2014
- First place for Best Interior Design in 2018
- First place for Best Exterior Architecture, Best Entertaining Area and Best Outdoor Living in 2019
- Best Interior Design, Best Floor Plan Design and Best Owner’s Retreat in 2021
- Best Interior Design, Best Floor Plan Design and Best Owner’s Retreat in 2022
- Best Living Space, Best Curb Appeal, Best Community Amenities, Best Floor Plan Design and Best Interior Design in 2023
3 Pillar’s 2024 Parade Communities
- Carriage Farms
- Evans Farm
- Jerome Village
- Loch Lomond Hills
- Villas at Old Harbor West
Evolution of the Parade
Beyond the rise of 3 Pillar Homes, the BIA Parade of Homes – first held in 1952 – has seen significant changes over the past 25 years.
The 1999 Parade featured a total of eight homes in New Albany’s Tiverton neighborhood. The fact that it took place there should hint at the biggest change of the last quarter-century: the transition from homes in a single neighborhood to homes all across central Ohio, a format first followed in 2021.
Making a major structural change to a 70-year community institution came with its share of hurdles, Melchi says, but the Parade is better for the greater diversity of options it now spotlights.
“This is the reality of the central Ohio development landscape,” he says. “Development is happening all around the region, and we thought it was important to be able to showcase homes all around the region, not just in one neighborhood.”
Case in point: Last year’s Featured Development, Quarry Trails – a mixed-use community inside the Outerbelt with city of Columbus services – would have been unthinkable in 1999, Melchi says. Now, the Parade can highlight different styles of homes in different communities, giving visitors a much more comprehensive picture of the options available to them.
“We have some of the best builders in America right here in central Ohio, building homes of all types and sizes for someone to call home,” he says. “That’s what the Parade of Homes is all about.”
Other changes of significance include:
- Expansion beyond single-family homes to apartments, townhomes, senior living and more
- Featuring new builds in legacy communities that couldn’t host a full Parade anymore
- Adding more affordable options, such as 2021’s Franklinton Rising project
Another Silver Anniversary
3 Pillar Homes isn’t the only organization celebrating 25 years in 2024. This year also marks the silver jubilee of CityScene Media Group, the publisher of the Parade book you’re reading.
The company’s first publication was CityScene Magazine, which has covered arts, entertainment and living in central Ohio for the past 25 years. CityScene also publishes Discover Grove City Magazine, Dublin Life Magazine, Pickerington Magazine, Tri-Village Magazine and Westerville Magazine, as well as a number of custom projects for such organizations as chambers of commerce and visitors’ bureaus.
In 2002, CityScene added a new section, Luxury Living, which focuses on homebuilding and renovations in central Ohio. Over the years, the magazine has featured countless stories on local homebuilders, including many of those appearing on this year’s BIA Parade of Homes – as well as previews of the annual Parade itself.
CityScene has partnered with the BIA of Central Ohio to publish the official Parade Tour Guide since 2021.
Join us for the 25th Anniversary & Best of the ‘Bus Party Sept. 25 at The VUE. The first 200 guests will receive a complimentary welcome cocktail and swag bag. For tickets and more information visit www.CitySceneColumbus.com.
Garth Bishop is a contributing editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
