North Dallas luxury homebuilder Les Owens, founder of LRO Residential, is building his ninth playhouse for Dallas CASA. The playhouses become a team effort each year for Les, his family and all his subcontractors. Owens sets the house on one of his job sites, and his crews take pride in working on it. Owens first became involved with Dallas CASA in 2009, after the birth of his first child.

“I saw how much love and support he was given by our family and the great support system he was going to have growing up,” said Owens, who lives in the Park Cities with his wife and young children. “It made me realize what many kids are missing. I realized with my skills I could build a playhouse and help CASA help kids in the foster system.”

Owens’ playhouses are creative and unique, and he aspires to build a quality product families would be proud to have in their backyards. He’s built a ski lodge, a fire station and a barn. Last year’s Tudor-inspired whimsical cottage featured a curved front door, a copper roof, oak flooring and full electrical.

“Many of my subcontractors and tradesmen work on them each year,” Owens said. “Once they know what the purpose of the house is, they are all in. It’s become something we look forward to each year.”