Our Team

One team, from first sketch to final walkthrough.

Emerald exists because this team believed the bar for luxury homebuilding in Omaha could be higher, and decided to raise it themselves. Five people on every project, start to finish. You won't get handed off. You'll get us.

“We won't let you make a decision you'll regret just because it's what you wanted to hear.”

The Emerald team

Kelly Flippin

Co-founder · Design & client lead

Kelly leads design and client relationships on every Emerald project, from first conversation to final walkthrough. With more than a decade of luxury design experience, her eye for design and material selection shapes not just how Emerald homes look, but how they hold up. She is also a licensed real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate, which means clients get one trusted guide from finding the homesite through move-in.

Whit Smith

Builder · Four decades of luxury homes

Whit built luxury homes across the Omaha area for four decades as Whit Smith Construction. That experience now sits behind every Emerald estimate, schedule and build decision, and it is why the hard problems get solved before they reach your site.

Brian Arant

Site superintendent · 38 years on site

Brian is on your site every day. Thirty-eight years of on-site leadership means the details get caught before they become problems.

Patrick Kalasek

Estimator & project manager

Patrick turns the design into a number you can trust and a schedule that holds. He coordinates every trade, every selection and every milestone so the build runs the way it was planned.

Karen Fries

New-construction agent

One of Omaha's top new-construction agents, with the local knowledge to match the right family to the right ground.

This is where your home begins

We only take on a handful of projects each year.

If you're thinking about building, we'd love to hear about it. Call 402-498-2777 or tell us a little about the home you have in mind.

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