Luke Judge

Charco Construction, a leader in the home remodeling business for over 46 years, has built more beautiful kitchens, bathrooms, family rooms, second-story additions and master suites than any other contractor in San Diego County.

CEO Chuck Swimmer, who founded Charco in 1966, first got his start in the industry at the age of 15 when his uncle took him under his wing and introduced him to the home remodeling business in Ohio. at 23, an ambitious Swimmer left his hometown in Canton and headed for the West Coast with $600 in his pocket and an entrepreneurial dream.

Since arriving in San Diego, Swimmer has now established one of the oldest and most reputable home remodeling businesses in the county. the business has been family-run since with Swimmer bringing his son-in-law, Armando Flores, into the company. Flores, who has been with Charco over 15 years, is a top designer with a flair for selecting and coordinating his clients remodeling projects to the end product.

Together, Swimmer and Flores created a unique combination of classic professionalism and cutting-edge innovation that assures Charco Construction will continue its long, respected legacy of praise and satisfaction.

More recently, within the last several weeks, Armando Flores has introduced his newest endeavor, Charco Design & Build. by carrying on the tradition and legacy of the original company, Flores is on goal. he takes pride in transforming his clients’ homes from "a vision into a reality."

Armando Flores is the owner of Charco Design & Build Inc.

Flores states, "It is an art form we don't take lightly, but we certainly know how to make it much simpler. at Charco Design & Build, our fully integrated architectural, construction, and interior design team will guide our clients through their project with ease and collaboration, managing every last detail so they don’ have to."

"We specialize in high-quality remodels and custom homes from concept to turn-key completion, seamlessly blending the design/build process to maximize your time and budget. Our team tailors each project to suit each client’s individual taste and budget, creating an inspired living space that encapsulates their personality and lifestyle while enhancing their day-to-day living experience."

A little history on Armando Flores prior to Charco: Flores is a San Diego native who got his start at a top-notch design firm in Los Angeles after studying architectural drafting and interior design.

His work has been featured in numerous magazines and on television. One of his most famous kitchen designs can be seen every week on the hit cooking show, "Sam the Cooking Guy." Additionally, Flores has also been nominated as one of San Diego’s Top Influentials, years 2009 through 2011, the Daily Transcript.

With an enthusiasm for architecture, cars, and art, Flores draws much of his inspiration from his passion for vintage vehicles (like his father-in-law, Chuck Swimmer), historic structures, and his frequent travels around the world. he states, "the idea is to capture and create a home you are dreaming of despite the challenges of space, architecture and budget."

For more information or questions on Charco Design & Build, Contact Armando Flores toll free at 888-600-4339 or visit charcodb.com.

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Mungo bought pine-forested land along Broad River Road and, with the construction of 119 brick, ranch-style homes in Riverside Forest, the Mungo home-building business was born.

But it would be the rolling hills of Whitehall, still one of Lexington County’s largest subdivisions, that would establish Mungo’s reputation and seal his legacy.

Mungo started work at Whitehall 50 years ago. He laid out a subdivision with variety, emphasized by curves in the streets; provided a sense of security with streetlights; and imposed rules, to give buyers confidence, that covered the size of homes and aesthetics — no clotheslines, trailers or signs tacked on trees.

“I like ideas and concepts,” said Mungo, now 81. “I used to call them dreams.”

Mungo said a desire to be recognized and to shake off the poverty of his childhood drove him to build the company that eventually made him a millionaire. “I wanted people to value me. I wanted to be productive,” he said.

He possessed the flash of a good salesman, bold as brass. In the 1970s, he turned heads with custom-made matador-style suits: waist-length jackets and flared pants in emerald green or burgundy velvet, complemented by white frilly shirts and a medallion around his neck. Later, he had a limo and a driver.

Even in retirement, Mungo maintains the trim, polished look of someone in the public eye.

But it’s his sons, Stewart and Steven, who run the Mungo company today. They grew up in the home in Whitehall where Michael Mungo still lives — though he has added on “three, four or five” times, enlarging the house to 5,700 square feet from its original 1,700.

His wife, Mary Meech Mungo, quit teaching to raise their family and help design the interiors of early Mungo homes. Both she and Mungo’s second wife, college professor and speech therapist Jennifer Brewer Mungo, died of breast cancer.

Mungo, who struggled with panic attacks and alcohol in his 20s, finds his white brick home a calming place. Each fall, his gardener plants thousands of tulip bulbs among azaleas and camelias on the shady, 12.8-acre lot.

“People don’t talk to me about business, the university,” said Mungo, the University of South Carolina’s longest-serving trustee. “They talk about flowers.”

The university has been a presence throughout his adult life. In 1968, he began his tenure on USC’s board, a 37-year run with just one break in service.

He made his marks in 1970, calming a clash between police and students protesting the Kent State shootings and, again in 1990, pushing out flamboyant president Jim Holderman and his extravagant spending habits.

Mungo’s life took a turn in 1978. The Legislature voted him off the board, though he won his seat back four years later. His wife, Mary, died. Two weeks later, the 50-year-old Mungo had a heart attack.

Without blinking, Mungo turned his business over to his sons — and his estate to a foundation he created to benefit select Christian and charitable causes, among them the Cooperative Ministry, Christ Central Ministries and Harvest Hope Food Bank.

He said he doesn’t miss the business one bit and never expected his sons to follow him into it. Once they did, he said: “They had a helluva problem on their hands. They had to make sure they didn’t blow what they got, and then they had to show they were smarter than their Daddy.”

They’ve done that, he said.

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