Have you ever

wondered how subdivisions get their name? Titles like Forest Meadows and

Woodlake seem to suffer an identity crisis. Who are they?

One Fayetteville

neighborhood leaves no question, though. The Oaks, an upscale development

of custom homes, lives up to its name. Graceful homes nestled in the hardwoods

made the choice obvious.

The Oaks isn't

new. You've driven by it a hundred times. The 40-acre tract, on Ga.

Highway 54 west, was first developed in the mid 1980s by Steve Krakowiak.

Nearly twenty years later, the Oaks is growing again and it's been

a family project all along. This time it's Krakowiak's daughter

Stephanie who is developing the land. She's taken one extra giant

step - she's also the builder.

Stephanie is

a native Atlantan but her roots in Fayette County run deep. Her grandfather,

Hoyt Phillips, bought the land where the Oaks now sits in 1958. Stephanie

grew up romping and picnicking in her grandfather's woods. She even

remembers the farmhouse that was built on the land in the 1840s.

The home is

long gone now. It was beyond restoration and was dismantled to make way

for Phase 1 of the development. Parts of it survive, though. The Atlanta

History Center saved the old windows and boards.

When her father

started developing the property, Stephanie would tag along, ride her bike

and watch how her dad got things done. She didn't know it yet but

she was peeking into her own future. Looking back now it seems natural

that she would continue the family tradition. How did she go from a kid

trailing after her dad to, perhaps, the first woman home builder in the

county? Simple, lots of hard work.

Stephanie's building career may stem from her father's side

of the family but her love of design is from her mother, Anita, an Atlanta

interior designer. The two have worked side by side, giving Stephanie

an eye for design and a love of architecture.

She's added one more thing. "I have a management degree,"

she said. "It helps a lot. Building is all about scheduling."

There's

one more thing she's found out. "The thing about building is

it's a man's world. I've learned that," she laughed.

"People often mistake me for the client and I have to correct them

and tell them I'm the builder. The fact that I'm young is another

aspect of it. It throws them off a little bit, too. The subcontractors

know me now and know better."

Being good

at what she does and finding the right crew has gotten her past all that.

"Being a good builder," Stephanie explained, "is all about

scheduling, having great sub-contractors and realty agent." It's

all about learning and getting dirty, too.

The first step in the building process is meeting with the client and

the architect. The second step is rolling up her sleeves and getting to

work. "I'm learning a lot of hands on stuff," she said.

"In about an hour I'm going to go stain the front door. I come

to work in jeans."

Her boots have

come in handy, too. The biggest building delay was the wet spring. Rain

and mud can mess up the best scheduling.

She's

learned a lot more during the project, too. A great home is all in the

details. Learning what bathroom tile prevents slipping in the shower,

the best placement of the driveway or who installs the most beautiful

moldings is what make a job a success.

What gives

Stephanie the drive to learn and make her way in this business? Maybe

it's what she does for recreation. What most of us would find scary

and impossible is fun for her. She recently competed, as a member of the

Atlanta Track Team, in the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon. She and her

two team members combined forces to run over 100 miles in 24 hours and

came in second place.

She's also an accomplished cyclist and trains during down time on

the job site. Just like when she was a kid, she's still riding her

bike around The Oaks. There's more. Riding dressage - a style

of horseback riding that requires extreme precision and perserverance

- adds discipline to round out her strength.

Now that her

first home in Phase II is complete, what comes next? There are 10 lots

in Phase II and 15 in III waiting for their homes. Stephanie is ready

to fill them. "My personal goal is to build great homes," she

said, "and to keep the trees."

That is, after all, where The Oaks gets its name.

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