Monthly Archives: October 2018

The 2019 BIA Parade of Homes

Written by: Tracy Schiefferle, Assistant Executive Director, BIA of Central Ohio

Since 1943, the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio has represented single- and multi-family homebuilders, developers and remodelers throughout the area.  The BIA Parade of Homes has been wowing hundreds of thousands of visitors for 66 years, via its tour of new homes featuring the latest and greatest in-home design and decor.  Each year, central Ohio’s premier builders showcase their homes, offering Parade guests the opportunity experience the most current trends firsthand.

On behalf of the BIA, we are very excited to present the 2019 BIA Parade of Homes at Evans Farm.    

The concept of Evans Farm becoming a Parade of Homes site has been discussed for a while now.  Finally seeing it come together is exciting.  The New Urbanism living and design concepts that Evans Farm brings to the table will be a bit different for the Parade of Homes and we think that the public will respond with enthusiasm.

Evans Farm checked all the boxes for our Parade of Homes site selection committee.  The roughly 1,200-acre mixed use development offers Olentangy schools, a convenient location just north of Lewis Center Road.  The New Urbanism concept promotes walkable neighborhoods and a variety of architectural custom homes featuring front porches and hidden parking.  The concept of connecting neighbors and bringing people together is front and center with the network of paths and ponds, parks and green spaces.     

Our BIA member builders find the site appealing for the above but also the community’s architectural diversity of styles that include Craftsman, Italianate, Victorian and French Eclectic.  With a dozen plus BIA member builders participating in the 2019 Parade, we are excited about the opportunity to showcase some new builders to the Parade as well as the return of some veteran Parade builders.  It’s always exciting to see what different designs and floor plans the builders bring to a Parade home and with the Evans Farm design concept this will be a must-see Parade.

Evans Farm will be the 67th year the BIA has presented a Parade of Homes to the central Ohio Community.  Our first Parade was in 1952 and was a scattered site Parade throughout Upper Arlington.  Since that time the Parade has been at locations all over central Ohio.  We recently completed uploading the past Parade guide books to our Parade website and it’s been so fun to look back and see how the locations, homes and décor has changed over the past 66 years.

The one thing that fortunately hasn’t changed is the community’s interest in coming out each year to see the latest and greatest in new homes.  One of the best parts of my job is just strolling through the Parade site and listening to the attendees’ comments.  Everyone has an opinion about the styles and décor and it’s as varied as the homes can be.

As one can imagine, there is quite a bit of planning that goes into a Parade.  Aside from the builders working on their homes, the BIA event team goes to work to secure sponsors and exhibitors, site and parking layout, staffing, publicity and on and on.  Each location presents a different set of circumstances and all of that must be considered when trying to put together the best Parade experience for our guests.  There are lots of planning meetings well in advance.  Tony and Dan have been working with us to start plans and they have visited with our team during the past two Parades to get a good understanding of some of the behind the scenes issues.  I am excited to be working with them on plans for 2019.  It’s going to be fantastic Parade of Homes and I look forward to seeing the central Ohio community out to tour it July 13-28.

YMCA Update

The YMCA of Central Ohio recently completed its Market Analysis for a new YMCA, an important milestone in the effort to partner with the community to develop a new Y at Evans Farm.   The study, completed by Triangle2 Solutions, revealed a great amount of interest in supporting a new YMCA through participation in membership and programs.  As it pertains to the facility, the greatest amount of interest centered around swimming pools, a walking/running track, fitness center, gymnasium and outdoor turf.  The YMCA’s Senior Vice President on the project, Brian Kridler, had this to say: “All of the amenities that we would expect to hear about were there, but there was also a significant amount of interest expressed in arts programming, so we are taking that into account with our initial facility design.  The preliminary concepts will be completed by the end of October at which point we will begin holding community meetings to collect feedback and solidify the vision so that we can begin the really critical work of fundraising.  There will soon be opportunities for everyone to get involved.”  When asked what surprised him the most, Brian shared, “The number of members that the study said we would attract was larger than we anticipated.  It was great news, but we had to rethink the size of the building needed to serve this family-focused community.”

New Faces

Evans Farm has expanded its staff to include two new personnel, Bob Kuederle and Joshua Perry. These recent hires will positively impact the development as the community continues to grow. As Phase 1 nears completion, Phase 2 is in progress of engineering and approvals.

Mr. Kuederle is a licensed professional engineer, directing our engineering and construction operations. Mr. Kuederle joined Evans Farm after serving as a Vice President for American Structurepoint in its Columbus office for six years. Before that, Mr. Kuederle served in various roles with Woolpert, a national design, infrastructure and geospatial firm.

As our Director of Development, Mr. Kuederle oversees our capital program including design, engineering, permitting, construction and site management. He is responsible for procurement and managing a wide range of vendors including professional services consultants and construction contractors.

Mr. Perry, well known in the area for graduating from Olentangy High School and continuing to The Ohio State University while pursuing his football career, graduated from OSU with a degree in Consumer Sciences. During his time in college, Mr. Perry spent time with M/I Homes and Continental Realty (now Newmark Knight Frank), and through his time with these firms learned many skills that will help him transition into his position at Evans Farm.

His position will mainly focus on client and customer relations. He will bring his relationships and knowledge of the area to this team. In addition to his position at Evans Farm, Joshua is a licensed Realtor with Buckeye National Realty, locally.

Onsite Update

As homeowners are eager to move into their newly constructed houses, Evans Farm is excited to announce that Phase I construction is nearing completion. All of the utilities are wrapping up, while the paving of all the roads and alleys are also finishing. It is estimated that the paving will be completed before Thanksgiving.

With approximately 20 houses under construction and a few expected to be finished in the next few weeks, Evans Farm is progressing into the Lewis Center neighborhood that everyone has been talking about. Several of our approved builders have started homes onsite, with some still available for purchase. If you are interested in learning more about the community or the builders, please contact us at 740-548-0113 or stop in our sales office.

Tailgate Throwdown

The Ohio State Buckeyes rallied against the Penn State Nittany Lions to upset the white-out crowd in a 27-26 game at Happy Valley. This ‘edge of your seat’ match-up was pre-gamed at the Evans Farm site by 200-300 people who wanted to learn more about the community, hang out with their future neighbors, walk through the nearby house, play cornhole, make buckeye necklaces, and meet Joshua Perry (former OSU linebacker).

Three Joshua Perry signed footballs and a signed a pair of cornhole boards were raffled off to some of the attendees. All of the proceeds of this raffle went to support the Joshua Perry Family Foundation.