S&R Development Turning Buyers and Soil in Preston Hollow

Preston Hollow will never be the same when it comes to housing. From Northwest Highway northward to Royal Lane, blocks of quarter to half acre 60’s era homes mirror the frenetic tear-down/build fury of the Park Cities. Even better than the Bubble, Preston Hollow East evokes a countrified, tree-rich atmosphere, and while not as immersive as the grounds and estates of the “Preston Hollow fairway,” beautiful mansions have transformed the area with land pricing to reflect it.

A Builder Who Built on Presidential Land

Savvy builders snap up any lot they can, then build a talent showhouse. Which is why Saad Chehabi of S&R Development has not just one, but two stunning new estate homes under construction right now in Preston Hollow, on Chevy Chase and also on Park Lane. The first, 6411 Chevy Chase is located on a choice lot in the venerable neighborhood, and stands out from every home in Dallas for its unique contemporary design that can only come from a builder like S&R Development.

This is the same builder who also crafted a stunning contemporary home at the former lot footprint of President George and Laura Bush on Northwood, where the home caught the eye of the former owner.

“Laura visited the house and loved it,” says Chehabi. “A turn-key operation: we selected the furnishings, the art, even the flatware. Then we turned the key over to the buyer.”

I first met Saad Chehabi when I toured one of his mansions on Meadowbrook. I had never seen so much stone in my life, quarries of it, from the home facade to the patios. And I had never seen such beautiful tile work. Then we covered his contemporary glass creation on a verdant acreage at 5020 Park Lane, just west of Inwood. That home proved that Saad Chehabi is one of the most talented builders in the southwest, a builder who knows construction innately — he dreams about his projects at night — who looks at every house through the eyes of an architect. And he is not satisfied with producing one beautiful house. Each successive new build has to stretch his creativity and discerning eye, and take his clients to a yet higher design level.

Chehabi has built massive estates for some of the most prominent Park Cities families. Highland Park is also where Saad and his wife, Rana, have made their home and raised their family. Rana is an architect who heavily influences Saad’s work — she reads every blueprint and contributes professional input. Chehabi is a hands-on builder; he is on the project site literally every day.

“If I cannot be there every day, I do not build the project,” says Chehabi. “Agents often ask me, who is your designer? I design in my mind, and translate that vision to my team. Designing a beautiful home IS an art, a project for me. I’m fully immersed from the moment we turn soil to the day I hand over the keys.”

Chehabi knows the value of client contact extraordinaire. There is no phone menu, receptionist, message box or superintendent: Chehabi IS the superintendent, and the voice you get.

The Concierge Home Builder

“I spend hours and hours on these homes, whether for a client or for myself. Clients can call me day or night, any time: I answer my own phone.”

“Sometimes,” he says,” I’lI design an entire floor in my mind. I know vividly what the home will look like before it’s completed, even as I know the consequences of a wrong hammer stroke.

Prior to becoming a home builder, Chehabi designed intricate flooring with stone and tile mosaic. He has worked on homes for Oprah Winfrey and Sylvester Stallone, and for the Bellagio hotels in Las Vegas among other well-known resorts. He also built locally for Real Housewives of Dallas star D’Andra Simmons.

The Floating Staircase as Art

The home at 6411 Chevy Chase contains one amazing architectural detail that will take your breath away, never before seen in an S&R home: a complete floating staircase secured without any lower support, freeing up spaces that would otherwise be closets or lost space.

“It’s completely floated,” says Chehabi. “We found the engineers to do it beautifully and structurally sound.”

A Builder With Fluidity

Though he demands perfection, there are always imperfections or small design errors in any blueprint project. This is where Chehabi’s trademarked fluidity of style comes in: he constantly monitors the home from day to day, and will not hesitate to make a change in the design to offset what may turn out to be contrary to the aesthetic. 

“For another home we built on Park Lane, I decided to change the ceilings after a middle of the night revelation,” says Chehabi. “We had to tear it all out. I’m not afraid of change orders. Change orders are what make a house unique, part of the creative process of creating the structure. You write a book, or music, and the fluidity of change is what creates masterpieces.”

Chehabi grows his creativity by adapting new design styles, yet he has an innate sense of what styles will be short-lived. Example: the black and white trend.

“I predicted that would be short-lived. I embrace only clean lines, tastefully done,” says Chehabi.

But he still believes in abundant natural stone and tile. And he generously takes tile up the wall in every bathroom, not stopping at the floor or baseboards.

“Natural stone is very important, windows are very important, as is roofing, landscape design, and hanging lights,” says Chehabi. “In fact, I am very much into custom, hand-made, one-of-a-kind chandeliers and light fixtures, currently. Some of these may take four or five months to craft.”

Every light fixture in a S&R Development custom home is hand-crafted by an artisan.

6411 Chevy Chase

Enter the house through the foyer and immediately feast your eyes on 15-foot tall beamed ceilings in the massive living room straight ahead. To the right is a study paneled with book-matched chestnut paneling, floor to ceiling wood.

To the left is a contemporary glass bead, a six-foot-six-long linear fireplace under an architectural sculpture — the free-standing staircase. The home is 6700 square feet, five bedrooms and seven bathrooms. All walls are level five smooth on white-oak stained floors. The living room fireplace is backed by floor-to-ceiling caramel walnut panels.

The home has formals, professional Wolf/SubZero kitchen, mini-kitchen plus pantry, huge primary suite and spa bath with ceiling to floor travertine. 

The primary closet is a true showplace: 250 plus square feet of closet with floor to ceiling, hand-picked walnut-matched panels and three tiers of hanging space. A rolling ladder facilitates the climb to each level and upper storage.

Upstairs are four bedrooms, a game room, and a small gym. Even the garage is fully air conditioned and heated, with beautiful hanging light fixtures and a finished out floor.

“You are in your garage, in and out, almost every day,” says Chehabi. “It should be a beautiful room.”

A S&R Development-designed modern (and heated) pool awaits in the back yard.

The home at 6411 Chevy Chase is being marketed at $5.3 million, a beautifully priced home and one more example of Saad Chehabi’s masterpiece work in Preston Hollow.