Building on Inspiration

Whether he is building houses, his business or his family, David Kitnick has the blueprints for success. As the president of Scottsdale’s Rosewood Homes, he has led his team to achieving Eliant’s 2010 Homebuyer’s Choice Award for providing the “Best Overall Purchase and Ownership Experience” in America as well as numerous coveted Phoenix Metro MAME awards. But Kitnick’s true successes don’t necessarily come in the form of awards. His family and innovative business show the result of years of dedication, hard work and an underlying passion for creating beautiful homes and communities.
Growing up in Los Angeles, inspiration hit Kitnick at a young age while tagging along to construction sites with his contractor father. He became mystified by the process of creating a home from start to finish. His interest in homebuilding continued to grow while in college, where he started collecting as many new-home sales magazines and brochures that he could get his hands on. “I love the fact that we are doing something totally from scratch,” he says. “Unlike a potato chip or a can of soda pop, which are gone in an instant, a home will last for generations.”
This idea of creating something permanent led him to the University of California, Los Angeles followed by Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he quickly realized his preference for sun over snow. Upon graduation, Kitnick began a low-paying management training position with a large homebuilder, unlike his Wall Street-bound classmates, and worked his way up.
In 1992, the company relocated Kitnick and his wife, Romy, to the Valley where he instantly felt a special connection. Here, he found the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurship and to start a family. He saw the Valley as a canvas in which he intended to one day project his vision upon and undo the uniform houses that seemed to be popping up everywhere he went. “Well-designed, well-built homes stand the test of time whereas poor design [and] construction blemish the landscape for an eternity,” he says. Kitnick puts emphasis on building unique and innovative housing developments, contributing to the idea that creativity does not necessarily have to add cost. “There’s nothing better than driving back through one of my older neighborhoods and seeing how well it’s stood the test of time.”
Outside of creating long-lasting dream homes, Kitnick is just as enthusiastic about his family, made up of his wife, with whom he just celebrated a 20-year anniversary, and three children, Ben, Emma and Abby. They spend their family time attending sports games and the movies and have just concluded a three-week summer tour of Switzerland, Italy and Greece. “Homebuilding is my passion,” Kitnick says. “It’s as much of my life as my wife and children are. This is what I do and what I love to do.”