Gramercy Cares

Building with purpose

The team at Gramercy knows the difference between building a “house” and a building “home”. It runs in the family. Second generation builders, Gramercy Developments was formed when Stephan Luking partnered with his cousin, Daphne Luking-Klassen, and her husband, Randy Klassen, and began building with the purpose of seeing quality homes become strong communities.

After each completing university degrees in the 1990s, Stephan, Randy and Daphne went to work for the family business, Lakewood Homes, started by brothers Hans and Jerry Luking (Stephan and Daphne’s Dads), in 1967. Stephan, who had worked on building sites with his Dad since he was kid, became project manager, while Daphne worked in all aspects of the office and marketing, and Randy became site supervisor.

By 2005, the trio merged their home building talents and experience to create Gramercy, where they are equal partners in building with purpose. “When we formed our company, we all agreed it wasn’t just about building and selling and making a profit. We wanted it to be about more than that,” Stephan says. “We try to put a little extra into the home itself, and most importantly, we strive for good customer service. We want to be able to drive by our projects 10 years from now and be proud of what we built.”

At Gramercy, that sense of pride is about more than building quality homes. It’s about caring for the communities where those homes are built. Gramercy believes in supporting worthwhile causes in the backyards of their home builds, most of which are in the Surrey and Langley areas. “Early on, we said we were always going to give a certain percentage back to the community,” Stephan says.

In addition to supporting local playgrounds and camps for kids, Gramercy also cares for those in the local community without homes. That’s why the company generously supports the work of NightShift Street Ministries, whose nightly outreach to the poor in Surrey includes warm meals, emergency counselling and nursing, along with day programs offering love, hope and purpose.

“We are called to look after the poor, whatever that poverty is, whether it’s addiction or struggle or whatever it is,” Stephan says. “We’re called to look after each other.”

As well as being a key sponsor and organizer for NightShift’s annual Charity Golf Classic (which also honours the contributions of Stephan’s Dad, the late Hans Luking), the team at Gramercy, and their families, have served those in need at meal outreaches.

Thank you, Gramercy, for being a home builder who cares!