Custom Home Builder & General Contractor Serving Iowa City & North Liberty, Iowa
Forty-five years of custom homes, remodels, and commercial build-outs across Johnson County — built by Kevin Hochstedler himself, from the first walkthrough to the final walkthrough.
45+
Years Of Experience
A builder who still swings a hammer in Iowa City, North Liberty, and the surrounding areas
Kevin came up through the trades in the 1980s. He started with France Construction (oldest and largest builder in Johnson County, est. 1941), then worked for Watts from 2004–2012, then went out on his own. Since then, the company has built custom homes, taken on general contracting work, remodeled existing houses, and managed commercial build-outs — without ever specializing so narrowly that one slow season sinks the business.
What that means for you:
you’re not hiring a subcontractor who only knows one trade, or a large production builder who hands your project to a rotating project manager. You’re working directly with the owner on a company built to handle a home from the ground up — or a single remodel — the same way.
What We Build Across Eastern Iowa
Hochstedler Building and Development covers four core services, all run by one team instead of being handed off between subcontractors.
Custom Home Building
Ground-up custom homes across the Iowa City corridor, from single-family houses to multi-unit townhome developments like our 20-unit project in Tiffin. We work with your lot, your budget, and your plan — or help you find all three.
General Contracting
Full project management for builds that need one point of accountability — permitting, scheduling trades, sourcing materials, and staying on-site through completion.
Home Remodeling & Additions
Kitchen and bath remodels, basement finishes, and additions for homeowners who want to change how their current house works rather than start over.
Commercial Build-Outs
Design/build work for commercial spaces across Johnson County, including full interior build-outs for retail and drive-thru concepts — most recently a ground-up build-out completed on a tight timeline for a new retail tenant.
Where We Build
Our primary service area is the Iowa City, North Liberty, and Coralville corridor, with projects as far out as Tiffin, Kalona, and Muscatine depending on scope.
Iowa City, Iowa
Home base for most of our custom builds and remodels, including projects near the University of Iowa Community School District boundaries.
Coralville, Iowa
New construction and remodel work throughout Coralville, just west of Iowa City along the Iowa River corridor.
North Liberty, Iowa
North Liberty has grown roughly 53% since 2010, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the state — and one of our most active build areas, including dozens of homes in the Arlington Ridge subdivision.
Built to Handle an Iowa Winter
Foundations in Johnson County have to answer to Iowa’s climate, not a national average. That’s a detail a lot of homeowners never hear until something goes wrong.
Johnson County requires footings to extend 42 inches below frost line, with a minimum 16 inch footing width. Skip that depth and freeze-thaw cycles in our clay-heavy soil will heave a foundation over a handful of winters, not decades. It’s built into every estimate we write, not treated as a change order later.
This is the kind of detail that separates a builder who’s worked through 45 Iowa winters from one who’s reciting a national build guide. We size footings, plan drainage, and schedule concrete pours around what actually happens to ground in Johnson County — not what happens to it in Texas or Georgia.
This is the kind of detail that separates a builder who’s worked through 45 Iowa winters from one who’s reciting a national build guide. We size footings, plan drainage, and schedule concrete pours around what actually happens to ground in Johnson County — not what happens to it in Texas or Georgia.
How a Hochstedler Project Comes Together
01
Initial Walkthrough & Budget
We start on your lot or in your existing home, talk through what you want, and give you a realistic number before any design work begins.
02
Design & Permitting
We finalize plans, pull the required Johnson County or municipal permits, and lock in a construction schedule.
03
Construction
Kevin is on-site through the build — coordinating trades, managing materials runs, and keeping you updated instead of routing everything through a call center.
04
Final Walkthrough & Warranty
We walk the finished project with you, address anything on the punch list, and stand behind the work after the keys change hands.
Recent Work in North Liberty & Iowa City
Some of our most recent projects show the range of what we build:
Forty-Five Years, One Name on the Door
Hochstedler Building and Development isn’t a franchise or a lead-generation storefront. It’s Kevin Hochstedler, still picking up material at the lumberyard, still writing checks to the framers and trim carpenters directly, and still walking job sites the same week he’s finishing draws on a different project. Most of our work over the past decade has come through realtor referrals and repeat clients — not advertising — because the reputation was built one house at a time.
Questions About Building in Iowa City & North Liberty
How long does it take to build a custom home in Iowa City?
Timelines depend on the size of the home, permitting, and how customized the plan is. We’ll give you a project-specific schedule during your initial walkthrough rather than a generic estimate, since Johnson County permitting and weather windows both affect the real timeline.
Do you build in North Liberty and Coralville, or just Iowa City?
All three, plus Tiffin, Kalona, and select projects up to about 50 miles out, including past work in Muscatine.
Are you a general contractor or a custom home builder in the Iowa City area?
HBD is both a licensed general contractor and a custom home builder serving Iowa City, North Liberty, and the surrounding area. We manage every phase of your project ourselves — site clearing and grading, septic systems and wells, utility work, and full construction through move-in — so you’re working with one team from the ground up instead of coordinating multiple contractors.
Do you handle remodels and additions, or only new construction?
Both. Roughly half of our current work is remodeling and additions rather than ground-up custom builds, especially as available lots in the $50,000–$100,000 range have become harder to find.
How far will you travel for a project?
Most projects stay within the Iowa City, North Liberty, and Coralville corridor, but we’ve traveled up to about 50 miles for the right project, including recent work in Muscatine.
Serving Homeowners Across Johnson County
Beyond Iowa City, North Liberty, and Coralville, we take on projects in Tiffin and Kalona, and we’re happy to talk through anything nearby that isn’t listed here.
Iowa City
full-service custom builds, remodels, and commercial work
North Liberty
one of our most active build areas, including Arlington Ridge
Coralville
new construction and remodeling along the Iowa River corridor
Tiffin
including multi-unit townhome projects
Kalona
custom and remodel projects by request
Solan
area with strong school system
Start Your Project
Tell us what you’re building, remodeling, or managing, and we’ll follow up to schedule a walkthrough.
What Homeowners Say
We’re actively collecting reviews from past clients across our completed projects. Real client quotes will populate this section as they come in through our review campaign — do not fabricate placeholder testimonials.
