BIA Parade of Homes

Just ask Gary Libertini. As chair of the selection committee that chose the 2009 Parade site, he knows the myriad of criteria to consider when selecting a site for the Parade: number of lots available, lot price, site location and readiness, support of the host community, and builder support. But this year more than ever, the downturn in the housing market was a factor.

Surprisingly, it’s been seven years since the BIA Parade of Homes has been hosted by the City of Dublin. (The 2002 Parade was held in Ballantrae.) When calls went out for the 2009 Parade, Tartan Ridge (and Ballantrae) developer, The Edwards Land Company, jumped at the chance. And the BIA jumped right back.

Tartan Ridge’s Dublin location was a key factor in the decision. As mentioned in the linked article above, the current economic environment has been very challenging for the home building industry. According to the Columbus Board of Realtors website home sales in Central Ohio are down nearly 13% and new housing starts are down approximately 14%. Dublin is certainly feeling the effects of the housing bust as well with similar declines in home sales and new builds. But the good news in Dublin is that home values are sticking, and even increasing a bit. The average home sales price for the month of October 2008 shows an increase of nearly 4% over last year.

So, in times like this, when a builder is working to get his home built AND sold, holding the Parade in an established community with the promise of job growth and market stability was a must. The Edwards Land Company has hosted Parades in the past, so there’s an established level of understand with the whole event.

So, Tartan Ridge it is.

That, and the cute little house that sits at the entrance (hmmmm… that one will be hard to tour!)

If you visit Tartan Ridge, site of the 2009 BIA Parade of Homes, things seem a little quiet and lonely - today. The streets are paved, properties are marked with flags, builder signs are posted on claimed lots, and co-developer Romanelli & Hughes has dug the first foundation for their own home.

But behind the scenes, there’s quite a bit happening. In this blog, we’ll cover the Parade of Homes development from turning dirt to polishing the floors. In addition to these topics, let us know what other questions you have that we can answer:

• How was the decision made for the Parade to be at Tartan Ridge?
• How does the City of Dublin prepare for the Parade? (And kudos for the completion of the Post Rd. Avery/Muirfield road roundabout)
• What’s the real story behind getting designs approved?
• What goes on in a builder’s mind and business before any dirt is turned?
• What’s it like to be a buyer of a Parade home?
• When do designers and landscapers come into the project?
• And what challenges does BIA staff overcome to pull this altogether by June?

Do you have other things you’re curious about? Post your comments and we’ll try to address them in future posts.

Charlie Driscoll from Edwards Land Company makes the announcement about the site of the 2009 BIA Parade of Homes. 

The 2008 BIA Parade of Homes People’s Choice votes have been tallied!  This year’s winners are:

Favorite Home

First Place – Manor

Second Place – M/I Homes

Third Place – Tuckerman Home Group

Favorite Décor

First Place – M/I Homes

Second Place – Manor

Third Place – Tuckerman Home Group

Again, from our ‘Parade correspondent’ Sara Wasserstrom, a quick reminder about the Playhouses at the Parade:

Nationwide Children’s Hospital TWIG (Together With Important Goals) is a group of volunteers that raise money for Children’s Hospital.  

Once again, most loyally, the TWIGS are auctioning off two playhouses, backyard equipment, and hidden fences at this year’s Parade.  Depending on the setting of your home you can chose which playhouse would look best. 

Designed and created by Bradco Supply Corporation and Insight Construction Services, ‘Home Sweet Home’ would look its finest behind a white picket fence.   As on the other hand, Capital City Milwork and Renovations Unlimited designed the ‘Builder Playhouse,’ which would look supreme if it were surrounded by cows and pigs.  The biggest attraction of all is the playground offered by Buckeye Backyard.  Last but not least, Dog Watch presents a “real” dog trainer, a hidden fence.  Raffles are for sale at $5 per piece of 3 for $10.  Proceeds go to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, of course.

Today, a few notable chefs came to the Parade to cook up some demonstrations.   Below is our resident intern Sara Wasserstrom’s account of two of the events.  Thanks, Sara, for being our ‘Chef correspondent’ today at the Parade.  

Simple Chef Tony Miller finds his balance in the kitchen.  M/I Homes hosted Chef Miller to make a few dishes in which he makes daily at the restaurant, Latitude 41.  As a new lunch dish Chef Miller makes Tunisian scallops with tabbouleh with broken citrus vinaigrette.  Day boat style is the way to go if you want fresh seafood, Miller said.  Not only did Chef Miller cook for a group of people, he also added in his own little lesson.  Do you know what the 90/10 rule is? Of course not, were not chefs!  While making seafood make sure to cook 90 percent on the top and 10 percent on the bottom.  Don’t forget, great ingredients give fresh colors!

Feeling guilty, ask Chef Martha Balint to “slave” in the kitchen and make some orange lavender and lemon rosemary shortbread.  Taking time out of Chef Balint’s busy life of teaching cooking classes and cooking tours, Key Homes welcomed her to show us the easiest shortbread recipe ever.  Orange lavender shortbreads use a coconut oil, which gives it’s a delicious flavor. On the other hand, lemon rosemary shortbread uses a pound of butter.  While cooking Chef Balint taught us that with humidity, the more humid it is outside, the more flour to use and vice versa.  A great quote Chef Balint learned and told should stick with you forever, “never eat food that jiggles.”

From broccoli salad to pot roast, Concessions by Cox is adding variety to this year’s Parade concession’s tent.  Cox is celebrating their first year catering for visitors who want a break between seeing the homes.  Some favorites are the wraps and salads, which head chef Ramona East creates daily - for lunch and dinner. 

“Everyone’s favorite wrap is the chicken caesar,” East said.  Other wraps consist of turkey munster and veggies (which BIA colleague Jen Kerns says is delish). 

Cox also offers an array of salads such as, fruit salad, Italian salad, Greek penne, broccoli salad, and potato salad.  The weekends have a delicious menu including entrees such as pot roast, fried chicken, and a classic mac and cheese.  To top off the scrumptious main courses East makes homemade butter crème added into some homemade cupcakes (yum!!). 

And for those husbands that want to hang out while their wives tour the homes, there is a nice array of refreshing brews available. 

Note: a minimum of $10 needs to be spent for those that want to use plastic.

Gracie’s Story.

The BIA Parade of Homes benefits Nationwide Children’s Hospital. We met Grace at the Tuckerman Home a few days before the parade began. This is her touching story, as told by her father, of her experience with Children’s.

Gracie’s condition is Tetrology of Fallo which is a five-pronged congenital heart defect that forces lots of kids to have surgery immediately after birth. We got lucky with Grace. She was eight pounds at birth (October, 2001) and visibly healthy. No scary “blue” spells. They wanted her to put on enough weight to better the odds of her surviving surgery, but they didn’t want to wait too long.

download the rest of Gracie’s story here.

Key Homes

Multi-level outdoor living, complete with their herb garden within steps of the kitchen.

Video production by Paul Milligan and Andy Brush, Milligan Media.

Craig Tuckerman from Tuckerman Home Group discusses the livability of his Parade home, the 2008 BIA Foundation House.

Video by Paul Milligan and Andy Brush, Milligan Media.