THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408180412
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN BUTLER, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Some come to buy, others to pick up the latest decorating and building tips. Many come just to dream.
More than 40,000 buyers, browsers and dreamers are expected to tour the 13th annual Parade of Homes, which began last weekend and runs through Aug. 28 in the city's Hunter's Glenn subdivision.
This year's event features 14 professionally decorated and landscaped homes designed to the theme, ``Where Quality Living is Always in Season.''
House hunters will find homes brimming with the latest - and finest - amenities: sunken whirlpool tubs, marble foyers, central vacuuming, high-tech intercoms and even private fish ponds.
Ten of the homes already have sold, says Beth Hargett Pelkey, communication and special event director for the Peninsula Housing and Builders Association, which sponsors the event.
Homes in the parade have a price cap of $265,000, or $277,500 with a pool. Builders can only exceed that price if they are making additions or changes specifically requested by the buyer.
The costs of the homes themselves are much less than the costs of duplicating them, Pelkey says, because many suppliers give builders discounts to use their materials in the parade homes.
In the past, the parade has been held throughout the Peninsula and Smithfield, but this is the first time it has been held in Newport News. Set back in the woods off Warwick Boulevard between Oyster Point Road and J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Hunter's Glenn is an established neighborhood with 120 homes. The site was chosen for its reputation of high-quality homes and convenience to schools, shopping and attractions, Pelkey says.
``It's a premier neighborhood in Newport News,'' Pelkey says. ``It's one of the nicest neighborhoods in the area.''
New to the event this year is ``Comfort Cove,'' sponsored by Virginia Power, featuring four all-electric homes designed with geothermal technology to reduce energy costs.
Seminars explaining the latest in heating and cooling technology will be held at noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m. today and tomorrow
Another added event is ``Ladies Day Out,'' from noon to 4 p.m. Monday. Sponsored by The Junior League of Hampton Roads, Ladies Day Out gives visitors a chance to meet decorators and designers and see demonstrations of such things as floral designing, stained glass and furniture finishing. A decorating seminar will be held at 2 p.m.
The showcase is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends and from noon to 9 p.m. weekdays. Admission is $5 for adults, free for children ages 12 and under.
Parking is available at Todd Stadium on Warwick Boulevard. Air-conditioned buses take visitors to the site. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
This year's Parade of Homes in the Newport News subdivision of
Hunter's Glenn features 14 professionally decorated and landscaped
homes designed to the theme, ``Where Quality Living is Always in
Season.''
by CNB