The News-Gazette.com: Bells, whistles toned down for Showcase of Homes

Bells, whistles toned down for Showcase of Homes

By Don Dodson and Don Dodson

Friday, July 17, 2009 9:03 AM CDT

SAVOY – Nicole McGuire Thompson said she wanted to go into home building from an early age.

Three years ago, she got the chance. Her father, Jeff McGuire, was in the home-building business in Gibson City, and she joined him after seven years in pharmaceutical sales.

Now, one of the houses they've built will be featured in the Showcase of Homes, which starts today and runs through July 26 in the Liberty on the Lake subdivision in Savoy.

"My dad participated 19 years ago, and we wanted to get back in for the 20th anniversary of the showcase," she said.

Six homes from five different builders will be on display in the subdivision, located on South Mattis Avenue between Curtis Road and Old Church Road in Savoy.

The homes range from $350,000 to $430,000, but they're full of extra features, such as "surround sound" audio systems, said Jim Rasche, whose firm, Classic Homes, built two of the abodes.

Jim Rasche, owner of Classic Homes, touches up stain Thursday on a staircase in the 'Liberty Bell', a home in the Showcase of Homes, in the Liberty on the Lake subdivision in Savoy. By John Dixon

"They're loaded up. The houses could be less expensive if they didn't finish everything," said Rasche, who has participated in more than half of the showcases. "There are a lot of things you can look at and get ideas for your home, even if you're not building."

The Showcase of Homes – presented by the Home Builders Association of East Central Illinois – is an occasion that allows builders to show off big homes with frills. But this year, things are more modest.

"Normally in past years, we've had larger houses that have been much more expensive," said Robert Dillow, the committee chairman for this year's Showcase of Homes. "These houses are good size, but at a different price point in the market."

High-end home sales in East Central Illinois have been slow the last year or so, and the Home Builders Association pondered whether it should hold the Showcase this year in view of the economy.

"We determined for the community, it was a really good thing to do because we're not the East Coast or the West Coast," said Rita Head, the association's president and CEO. "We're not California. We're not Florida. This is a survival community, and we don't have those woes."

Nevertheless, Jim Walder of TimberCreek Developers said new home sales are "very slow."

"I'd like to see that change," he said. "It will probably take some time."

Walder has five "spec" homes – built on speculation, without a pre-arranged buyer – in the Mahomet, Champaign and Monticello area. They range from $329,000 to $519,000.

But the slow market didn't stop him from building a house for the Showcase of Homes.

"Builders take risks every day, and it probably is more of a risk nowadays," Walder said. "But if we sit at home in the living room, we're for sure not going to make any money, and if we build, we may make some."

Walder said the Showcase house he built has cedar beams in the sun room and office, a flat-screen TV and wet bar in the basement and a chandelier in the master bathroom.

The McGuire Custom Homes entry has its own distinctive features: a two-story, stacked-stone fireplace; concrete and white quartz counter tops; and dark floors contrasting with lighter moldings.

"It's definitely a metropolitan design," Thompson said. "I would say it will appeal to a narrower percentage of the population, but I think there's a demand for it.

"That's our personal taste as a company, and we wanted to showcase what we can do with our designs," she said.

Three of the homes in the Showcase have already sold, and three are still available, Head said.

When completed, the 240-acre Liberty on the Lake subdivision will have 500 homes – with about 80 percent of those single-family residences, said Shawn Luesse, director of development for the Devonshire Group.

The subdivision had 10 home starts this year, including the six Showcase homes, he said.

During the year that ended May 31, the company sold 30 lots, he said.

"We're looking forward to a very good turnout for the Showcase of Homes," he added.

If you go

What: Showcase of Homes, six furnished homes available for viewing.

Where: Liberty on the Lake subdivision in Savoy, on Mattis Avenue between Curtis Road and Old Church Road. The homes themselves are on Declaration Drive.

When: Today through July 26.

Hours: 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Admission: $5 for people 12 and older; $3 for children 6 to 11; free for children under 5.

Presented by: The Home Builders Association of East Central Illinois.

Entries

— "House for Kids' Sake," by TimberCreek Developers (profit from sale to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Champaign/Ford Counties).

— "The Stefani," by Signature Homes.

— "The Liberty Bell," by Classic Homes.

— "The Abby," by McGuire Custom Homes.

— "The Rosalynn," by Executive Homes.

— "The Celebration," by Classic Homes.