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Set on a prime piece of ground on the southern edge of the Lake Eola historic district in downtown Orlando, Fla., with a view of the city's signature water feature, the three-story, 5,283-square-foot house is a legitimate and welcome addition to the neighborhood.
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Since their inception three years ago, Big Builder's APEX Awards have applauded the finest players in home building. However, rather than continuing to divide excellence into categories, this year's competition shines the spotlight on exceptional leadership–the "best in the business." The 2006...
For more than a decade, architects have used CAD programs to draw and adjust home plans. But, for the most part, until recently, those files stayed stuck in their computers. When it came time to share the drawings and plans, the bulky pages were printed, rolled inside a tube, and then couriered–an...
On a ruggedly beautiful stretch of rocky shoreline, the settlement first known as Cape Porpus, now the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, became home to English settlers around the same time as the founding of the Plymouth colony.
By the first year or two of this decade, many home builders had soured on the Internet. The fraud case surrounding Enron and the wave of dot-com crashes in the late '90s widely discredited the Web as a business model. The building industry even had its own homegrown dot-bomb: the ill-fated BuildNet.
Symphony Village reflects a couple of trends that have been bubbling up in the 55-and-over world for the past few years. According to Bob Karen, an industry veteran who planned and secured all of the entitlements for the community, the 495-unit project epitomizes what he calls the “new norm.” That...
For a well-heeled retiree in the market for a spot in paradise, Wailea Beach Villas in Maui, Hawaii, is a spectacular choice. As part of the 1,500-acre Wailea Beach Resort, its neighbors include the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa to the south, the Outrigger hotel to the north, and the upscale...
The folks at Jenamar Communities had some hurdles to leap when it came to developing and building Jubilee at Hawks Prairie, an active adult community in Lacey, Wash. It was the first Pacific Northwest project for the Granite Bay, Calif.–based company, which focuses on the design and construction of...
There are countless statistics showing that Americans are living longer, but how about this one: According to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate, in 1960 only 3,000 Americans were over the age of 100. By 2012, that number will change to 2.45 million. And all of them will need...
This past September, nearly 1,000 prospective buyers turned out for “Toll Advantage Day,” an invitation-only event that Toll Brothers conducted to showcase three mid-rise projects in the New York metro area. A picnic was followed by a tour of Hudson Tea, a 523-unit condo conversion of a former...
In a recent study of 2,000 baby boomers commissioned by Builder's parent company, Hanley Wood, and conducted by the market research firm DYG, 60 percent of respondents anticipated “downsizing” with their next move. But downsizing, they clarified, meant fewer rooms, although not necessarily less...
For the president of Carrollton, Ga.–based Patrick Malloy Communities, which will close over 400 homes in the Atlanta market this year with prices from the low $100,000s to mid-$300,000s, all the signs of a slowdown are there. Traffic has been dwindling. Cancellations have been rising. Large...
As if getting houses sold wasn't a big enough challenge, builders in what were some of the fastest appreciating markets in the country are beginning to experience more challenges–falling appraisal values and greater loan scrutiny right before closings.
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The New American Home would not be possible without the support of the members of the National Council of the Housing Industry (NCHI)/Supplier 100, as well as a legion of local and regional suppliers and installers. More than 40 NCHI members contributed products to this year's house and provided...
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The New American Home is a two-year commitment that stretches the limits of even the most organized and efficient builder. In 2007, the team met the additional challenges of historic-district oversight and a tight downtown lot. Working together, the team of Homes by Carmen Dominguez, architect...
Despite the fact that concrete is a common structural material in Florida, precast concrete walls and floor panels are less popular, especially in the residential realm. As with other aspects of its design and operation, The New American Home 2007 stretches the industry by building with this...
In recent years, The New American Home has been a beacon of innovation with regard to energy and resource efficiency, earning local and national distinction for low energy consumption and the use of sustainable construction materials and methods.