Parade of Homes starts Saturday / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, April 25, 2008

Will Sharp, Lawrence, an employee with Keys Landscape Inc., Lawrence, prepares to plant a tree outside 536 Country Club Terrace. This home, built in 1930, has been remodeled and will be on the annual Lawrence Spring Parade of Homes scheduled for Monday and Tuesday as well as May 5-6.

By Mark Fagan

April 25, 2008

Parade of Homes will feature builders' work

Lawrence home builders are looking forward to showing off their best work during the annual Spring Parade of Homes. Enlarge video

Past Event

When: Saturday, April 26, 2008, noon to 5 p.m.
Where: www.lhba.net has a map of entries
Cost: Free
More on this event....

Mike Nuffer usually builds new homes, but now he's marching to a bit of a different beat for this year's Spring Parade of Homes.

His $825,000 entry at 536 Country Club Terrace is more than a five-bedroom, four-bath residence with zoned heating and cooling.

It's also a remodel.

"It definitely shows what we can do with anyone's home," said Nuffer, president of Michael Nuffer Construction Inc.

Nuffer's novel approach - only the second time a remodeled home has made it into one of the Lawrence Home Builders Association's traditional showcase events for new homes - is reflective of a market still working to wring out excess inventory in the midst of tightening mortgage standards and a nationwide slowdown in sales and prices.

Builders are finding themselves turning more often to remodeling projects to keep things going between speculative construction jobs.

"They're being creative, and finding ways to continue to be in the business," said Bobbie Flory, the association's executive director. "A lot of them are doing remodeling. There's still people out there doing new construction, and some are fine and doing quite well. But others are finding other things to do until the market returns."

Of the parade's 27 entries - undeveloped lots, built homes and ready-to-buy condos - eight are return entrants, Flory said. Such events are organized to give builders an opportunity to show off their best work, letting the public see features, styles and other elements that might one day be built into a new home.

Or add to an existing one.

The house on Country Club Terrace, for example, has been around since 1930, back when Herbert Hoover was in the Oval Office. Nuffer and Jeff Arensberg, broker/owner of RE/MAX Professionals, partnered up to buy the expansive lot and set about to update the place and make room for other homes nearby.

The 78-year-old home still retains its brick exterior and other foundations that simply couldn't be built today, Arensberg said.

"This place was built like a bunker," he said. "Every wall that's here was perfectly level. Every floor that's here was perfectly level."

While simply refinishing the oak floors made sense, they couldn't stop there. An expanded kitchen, new garage and additional rooms are part of a home that now measures out to 4,200 square feet, more than 50 percent larger than the original.

Workers spent much of the day Thursday scurrying to get landscaping into place, as Nuffer and others were putting finishing touches on their handiwork inside.

The residential market may be relatively slow by Lawrence standards, but preparations for the parade were as fast as ever at entries across town and into Baldwin City and Eudora.

"We still have builders out there, right now, getting their 11th-hour work in," Flory said. "It's a fun, exciting time."

Discussion

LJWorld.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

25 April 2008
at 11:31 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Thats_messed_up (Anonymous) says…

“This place was built like a bunker,” he said. “Every wall that's here was perfectly level. Every floor that's here was perfectly level.”In a Lawrence Builder's view this is a rare crowning acheivement! Should be a great tour of waaaay over-priced homes that they hope you're dumb enough to buy.
25 April 2008
at 11:47 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…

“”Every wall that's here was perfectly level.”I would hope that they are plumb, and not level.
25 April 2008
at 1:18 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Keith (Anonymous) says…

Oh good, a new episode of Desperate Housebuilders.
25 April 2008
at 1:34 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

FormerCentralKansan (Anonymous) says…

How much was the LJWorld paid to run this article?
25 April 2008
at 2:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

cowboy (Anonymous) says…

did y'all take hateful pills today , jeez
25 April 2008
at 2:44 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

pip2006 (Anonymous) says…

If you went to the ribbon cutting then yes you would have seen the history of this home. But I see that you choose to spend your time elsewhere. If you have any knowledge of Lawrence then you would have already be enlightened. Keith- “a new episode of Desperate Housebuilders” I see nothing “Desperate” about this homebuilder. Cowboy- I would agree with you, I believe they took a double dose.
25 April 2008
at 9 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

BigPrune (Anonymous) says…

Hangovers make people irritable, that, and being envious and wrathful of new home builders. Live in an old dump is the way to live, for some.Normal people like new homes if they can afford them. Making them unaffordable was a goal of the envious and wrathful people in this town.

25 April 2008
at 9:27 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

I get tickled everytime I see someone like Jeff Arensberg's name in the paper.You know the ones. Those little kids that ran around the pool driving us older kids nuts. Like FLIES they were, we just wanted to swat them into the pool. Which was where they were headed anyway. Thank goodness for the “adult swim” whistle..at least the action headed to the concession stand.Now, to see them doing things that our dads did..it's just too amusing to imagine.