Page 119 - Abilene Living

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ook around you. Did you even notice? Did you notice the door frames, the walls, or the shape of the room? Every building you step in and out

of as you go about your daily routine is someone’s masterpiece. An architect, who drew out the very reality you are now sitting in, reading this article. “If you go into a building and you like it or you go into one that you don’t like, you may not be able to specifcally say why…but you feel it,” explains Jim McCathren, an Abilene architect and entrepreneur. Although he admits architects do have a few tricks up their sleeves to get the right response. “Like supermarkets, we change the lighting at the meat counter to make the meat look redder, and change the lighting at the produce to make it look fresher. In restaurants wood tabletops make you stay longer, while red checkered table cloths make you leave faster.” Dressed in jeans, and a casual tunic shirt, McCathren meets me at Starbucks to talk about his career, life and why an international businessman has set up shop here in the Big Country.

McCathren starts by confessing being an architect was not a lifelong dream. In fact he stumbled upon the career. Originally a Texas A&M veterinarian student, McCathren noticed his roommate, who was an architecture major, didn’t have any fnal exams, “So I changed majors and got into architecture, and ate it up.” Laughs McCathren.

Thirty fve years later, he has quite a resume. He has built buildings in more than 120 cities across the nation, resorts in Belize and other areas of Brazil, and is now working on projects in Africa. He also builds on private islands, called island co-ops. “A private island is way out of reach for most people,” explained McCathren, “So we take a group of people who want the lifestyle, incorporate a cooperative, buy an island and instead of a $4 million tab you are only out about $200,000.”

Though sometimes travel will take

McCathren out of town for more than forty weeks a year, he says, no matter what, Abilene is home. A Cooper High grad, McCathren married his high school sweetheart Cindy. Cindy owns Under One Roof on Pine Street, a store that sells every gift imaginable. “Abilene will be home,” stated McCathren, explaining that at times his clients have wanted him to be in a more centralized location. “We had a client from downtown Dallas that we did about sixteen projects for him. He said ‘Why don’t you move to Dallas?’, and I asked ‘how long does it take you to get to work? An hour, two hours on a bad day? You can call me and I can be here in three hours and I don’t have to put up with this mess everyday.’” McCathren is visibly fond of Abilene. He practically grew up here, raised his son here and plans to be a grandfather here, to his new grandson. “It’s comfortable. It’s like old clothes. You just know them.” McCathren says, “Abilene doesn’t have the mountains or the beaches or the tourist attractions, which I think is good for quality of life,

Whether its Jim McCathren’s uncoventional approach to business

or his quality, speaks-for-itself designs, people are drawn to his

architecture and his refreshingly laid back attitude:

look cool, have fun, and don’t make mistakes.

by Elizabeth Green | photos by Jason McDonald & Jim McCathren

Hometown Living At Its Best 139