Parade showcases new homes

Local home builders are geared up to show off their skills during the 2010 Parade of Homes, slated for June 18–20 and June 25–27.

The event, presented by the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield since 1954, this year will feature 17 stops – 16 homes and one commercial property.

All the properties will be open to the public 1–6 p.m. on parade days, with the exception of the St. Jude Dream Home in Kelby Creek, which is closed on June 27, the day it will be given away during a telethon.

The number of homes this year is down slightly from 20 last year, but HBA Operations Manager Charlyce Ruth said the number of properties in the parade doesn’t necessarily reflect a continued downward spiral in the construction industry.

While regional housing starts haven’t yet returned to the boom levels of 2006, there have been signs of an upswing, with first-quarter permits increasing by more than 50 percent from 2009 in Greene, Barry, Christian, Stone, Taney and Webster counties, according to a MarketGraphics Research Group Inc. April housing analysis.

Builders pay .75 percent of the price of their first home in the parade with a cap of $2,500, and $750 for additional homes, to participate in the parade, which provides them not only a chance to showcase their work but also ample opportunity to connect with potential buyers.

Kenson Goff, owner of Kenson Goff Homes, has been building for 11 years, but this is the first year one of his homes has been on the parade route.

“I have a unique house I wanted to display,” Goff said. “I’m hoping to gain some exposure in the modern market.”

Goff’s parade entry, a modern farmhouse on 10 acres east of Springfield, is owned and occupied by Paul and Hannah Catlett. Paul Catlett owns Studio 417 in downtown Springfield.

Ruth said one of the home’s most noticeable features is its 3,000-square-foot wraparound porch that has no view-obstructing pillars.

“All of our homes are interesting and unique, but this one really catches the eye for being different,” Ruth said.  

The home emphasizes a minimalist design, sustainability and Goff used reclaimed materials such as walnut beams and a barn door in the master bath.

The green building trend is a major theme of the homes on parade. Five of the 16 homes are Energy Star-rated, a trend that Ruth thinks is indicative of a growing demand for energy-efficient homes.

“People are more conscious of their expenses, and they are looking for a more energy-efficient home as a way to cut costs,” she said.

One of the five homes, built by Richland Homes, is located in Pearson Park, Springfield’s first subdivision with all Energy Star-rated homes, and another, built by Scott Kisling of Up-Tyte Construction, is the Ozarks’ first built to Gold Level standards of the National Association of Home Builders’ National Green Building Standard, which is modeled on American National Standards Institute requirements.

“We had to follow a set of guidelines from how to treat the lot before we started building to the finish,” Kisling said. Some of those guidelines included preserving trees, using recycled and sustainable materials, reducing waste by recycling material scraps, using energy-efficient air systems and appliances, low-volatile-organic-compound paints and low-flow toilets, and creating a gray-water irrigation system.

Builder A.G. Paul’s gun range, The Sound of Freedom USA, suffered a setback in early June when a small fire ignited in a trashcan during construction.

At press time, Paul, who typically builds mostly custom homes, was optimistic that the smoke damage would be fixed in time for the parade.

The range, which is located in Ozark at highways CC and 65, is 12,800 square feet with 16 lanes, a classroom and 2,300 square feet of retail space.

“Some of the residential is starting to pick up and this is a really good avenue to get our name back out there,” Paul said of the parade. “The slow market is one reason we decided to go ahead and build the gun range.”[[In-content Ad]]