Look here for the latest news at and happenings with our company.

Simple Remodel or Custom New Home?

I'm sure you have noticed that in the city of Atlanta there is a scarcity of land for building a new house. So, many people are either adding onto their existing house, doing large renovations including adding second stories or an even more popular trend tearing the entire house down to build a new one with fewer design restrictions. Suburban living was once thought, by many, to be the best option. You could purchase a larger house for less money than in town, if you were willing to commute to work and back. This is no longer as viable an alternative.

Now that energy prices are on the rise and the population in Atlanta is steadily rising being inside the perimeter has become a more popular favorite. Many people have come to realize that they are losing time with family in their daily commute and the amount spent in gas and automobile expenses could easily be the difference on a home in town.

So, how does this change affect us? As many of you know, R.L. Connelly and Co., started out as custom home builder. As with remodeling, when the need arose to change to remodels as the market changed and the ideas of homeowners in metro Atlanta changed to remodeling we gladly converted; now, that the needs of our clients are changing to more in depth remodels and custom homes we are changing with them. The great thing is we have the knowledge and experience to help any client no matter what their needs, whether it is a simple remodel or a custom new home.

Has anyone seen my dog?

Well if you were looking in the right places you may have seen all three of our dogs making the headlines. Nugget, Buddy and Zeek are now local and national stars, or so they think.

It all began with a little article in the Buckhead Paper, published by the Atlanta News Group. The Article, Office Dogs & Copy Cats, distributed February 2005, featured the trio. The article obviously entailed the fact that many offices in Atlanta, from doctors to decorators, now have not only birds and fish, but also dogs and cats ready and willing to greet the next customer at the door. In the paper a picture was taken of all three of our dogs in the office at Club Drive. Nugget, the golden retriever and the oldest was described as the supervisor, fitting as his owner is Bob. The two boxers, Zeek and Buddy were also elaborated on. Zeek, the youngest was explained as curious and Buddy, well hence his name.

Later, R.L. Connelly & Co., Inc. received a call from Mark Pickard of NBC/11 Alive informing us they were doing a piece on animals in the office and would like to come and film our office and the dogs the next day. Of course, we accepted. Mark interviewed Bob about our company and his thoughts on dogs in the workplace. Bob commented, “They are good for the soul.”

In the news it was later stated that perhaps Bob was onto something as a psychologist was also interviewed and her findings correlated with Bob’s in that there was peace and productivity in the office when there were dogs and other animals around. This same spot was later run on MSNBC making the fabulous trio national stars.

We always knew the dogs brought laughter and comfort into our homes now they bring it into our work. Aren’t they something, TV stars…?

R.L. Connelly and Co., Inc. is proud to announce that company president Bob Connelly successfully passed the North Carolina Unlimited General Contractor's License exam December 30, 2002. Connelly plans to use this licensing to begin working (by "popular demand") in the Cashiers/Highlands area of North Carolina. To accomplish this, Connelly has already formed a new company called Mountain Lifestyles Builders, LLC that will be a sister company to R.L. Connelly & Co. and do business in North Carolina. "Many of our long-term clients have second homes in Cashiers and Highlands," says Connelly. "They have been asking me for years to help them with their projects in North Carolina. We recently decided it's time to take this step."

Besides their own project (Bob and Sharon are currently building a second home in Cashiers), they already have a couple projects in the works and are looking forward to doing exciting projects in the future.