New, attractive and energy-efficient homes built by local companies will be on display during the Canadian Home Builders Association-Central Vancouver Island inaugural Parade of Homes.
Already a popular event in other B.C. communities, Parade of Homes is being introduced in the Nanaimo area to offer new home buyers and those thinking of remodeling an opportunity to see and ask questions about new products, technologies and designs from a variety of local professional builders, land developers and product suppliers, said Dayna Aysals, CHBA executive officer.
"Parade of Homes in other parts of the country are huge once they're established and like anything it's challenging being the first annual because we need to get people to know what it is and secondly to get people to participate," said Aysals. "And unlike Street of Dreams, which features elite houses, these are local, professionally built homes for the everyday person who is looking at building, renovating or remodeling."
All of the eight homes, which are in various stages of completion, are available for purchase and provide an opportunity for local homebuilders to showcase their high level of quality.
This year's parade will feature the CHBA's Stonewater Showcase Home in the Hawthorne community, built on the site of the former Green Home that was the victim of arson last year and burned to the ground.
Through the generosity of the community and industry partners, the home has been rebuilt and will serve as a fundraiser for the CHBA-CVI and its provincial office. Scheduled to be fully completed by next week, the Stonewater Showcase Home won't have the leading-edge environmental technology of its predecessor, but it will still be highly efficient and esthetic, and sold at an attractive price.
"Some of the things donated first time around, some people couldn't do it again," said Aysals. "When people donate it kind of takes the wind out of your sails to have something burn to the ground when you're three-quarters of the way done. It took a while, everybody took a deep breath, and then we decided to do it all over again. Members were even more generous this time around."
The Stonewater house also features a two-bedroom carriage house built above a two-car garage. The carriage house is a relatively new type of housing in Nanaimo designed to increase housing density and provide more and varied housing opportunities for Nanaimo residents.
The parade, which takes place Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the first day of National Renovation Month in Canada, will have contractors, lighting experts, decorators, appliance specialists and designers stationed at each of the eight homes on the tour to offer assistance and ideas. The homes themselves were built by local developers including InSight Holdings, Palladian Developments and Westmark Construction, all of whom earned Construction Achievements and Renovations of Excellence awards last week at a ceremony in Victoria.
Home locations include:
• Stonewater Showcase Home, Parade of Home headquarters, at 583 Stonewater Dr.
• 575 Sarum Way, located in Hawthorne Community and built by InSight
• 626 Sarum Way, located in Hawthorne Community and built by Palladian
• Lot 196 Westwood Road, a new development in Westwood Lake area by Westmark
• 3436 Ocean Mist Place, Rockwood Estates executive townhomes by Hazlewood Holdings
• 4821 Laguna Way, a contemporary home with panoramic views of Georgia Strait by Pheasant Hills Homes
• 6172 Nitinat Way, a Carmanah subidivision home built by Palladian
• 34-5251 West Island Highway, Qualicum Landing, CARE award-winning waterfront location built by Palladian
A one-time fee of $10 per couple will provide people with entry to all of the participating homes along with a chance to enter to win a super deluxe gas barbecue worth $1,000 courtesy of FortisBC. Register online at www.chbaparadeofhomes.ca or call the CHBA-CVI office at 250-755-1366.
reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com