Photography by Bo Carlock/Spacecrafting | Shot on location at Gardner & Co. Salon in Excelsior
Patrick Jacobson, Renee Aldecocea and Rob Aldecocea
50 years of building homes, remodeling spaces and earning trust.
When Lake Country Builders says they’ll be your builder for life, it’s something they’ve proven over time: The second-generation, family-owned design-build firm celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
That kind of longevity speaks to how they build and how they take care of people. They’ve built — and years later, remodeled — clients’ homes and even gone on to build for the next generation of those same families.
“It’s not transactional; it’s relationship-based,” says Vice President and Director of Operations Rob Aldecocea. “It’s the legacy founders Pete and Sue Jacobson created.”
What began with some tools and a van has grown to include an award-winning, in-house staff of designers and carpenters focused on making what can feel like a complicated process more thoughtful and manageable. Today, Lake Country Builders serves clients across the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin — including a dedicated cabin and lake home division — and offers a specialized Stay at Home service, with an aging-in-place design focus. “Having everyone in-house is a huge benefit,” says Vice President and Director of Marketing and Administration Renee Aldecocea. “We operate as one team with one shared goal.”
For an organization that has design-build encoded in its DNA and forward-thinking philosophies about continuously improving, Lake Country carries an appreciation and respect for history. Take the client who wanted to modernize their family cabins originally built in the 1930s by their grandfather.
“They were just built on a pile of stones,” says President Patrick Jacobson. “We lifted both cabins, moved them aside, carefully dismantled the original fireplace, installed a new foundation, and then set the cabins back in place. After that, we rebuilt the fireplace, stone by stone, in a new location.”
They prioritize lasting relationships, with care that extends well beyond project completion. A one-year follow-up is a standard part of their process. “We take care of your family,” says Renee. “It’s your home. Your life. It’s where you live.”
