Parade Route

Residential building permits took a tumble for the metro Milwaukee area this year, down 25.8 percent from 2007 for the first six months. The Metropolitan Builders Association’s Parade of Homes also took a hit: For the first time in at least a decade, the event will showcase less than 10 homes.

In fact, at eight homes, it’s half the size of Milwaukee;s first Parade, held in 1942 when it may well have been the first multibuilder showcase in the entire nation.

In 1947, control of the Parade shifted to the MBA rather than local real estate agents, and 14 showcase homes went up on the 2900 block of North 82nd Street, between West Chambers and Locust streets, in a treeless field at the edge of the city’s bus line.

It featured homes ranging from an $11,000 1 1/2-story, 812-square-foot bungalow to a $22,000 1,739-square-foot, five-room ranch. Brick, Lannon and fieldstone exteriors predominated, and the homes featured full basements, something considered almost revolutionary at the time. One of the 14 homes in 1942 even had a front driveway, presaging a time when alleys would become pass.

This year’s Parade (Aug. 16-Sept. 7) may be smaller, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless, says Chellee Siewert, MBA’s executive director. The Parade has evolved into “more of an event,” Siewert explains, with tents, food and entertainment.

In recent years, Parade homes have included indoor putting greens and full second kitchens in extravagant $2 million, 6,000-plus-square-foot homes. But this year’s models are more practical, with square footage in the 2,000-plus range.

The Belle Chasse subdivision in the city of Muskego beat out the competition to become this year’s site. MBA’s site selection committee, made up of builders and land developers, has stringent requirements, says Craig Caliendo, president of Kings Way Homes, which has participated in the Parade 24 times since 1980. “You have to outline the attributes of your site and of the community. Is there good and easy access to the site, schools, churches, parks? All of those types of things,” he says.

Other requirements include “proposed house and lot package prices” that relate to comparable packages in the community. All this preliminary groundwork, Caliendo says, benefits Parade-goers hunting for a great spot to build.

Participating in the Parade can pay big dividends for builders even years later. Kaerek Homes still gets requests for the Jefferson VI, a hybrid model built for the 2003 Parade, says Jakki Brunn, the company’ selections and design manager. That upgraded Parade model included a soaking tub and double sink in the master bathroom, a walk-in closet and tray ceiling in the master bedroom, and a three-car garage.

The Parade’ biggest crowd around 61,100 in 2004 converged on 38 homes in two subdivisions, Pabst Farms (Oconomowoc) and Taylor’ Woods (Menomonee Falls). The previous year was another blockbuster, with 51,700 visitors seeing rooms designed by four “Trading Spaces” designers.

The builders’ “showcase of the year,” as Siewert describes the Parade, was originally dubbed “Homes on Parade” by the Milwaukee Board of Realtors. But when the MBA took over in 1947, it created the name that’s now used across the country by the National Association of Home Builders. In ’47, homes that were a sprawling 1,000 square feet sold for $13,990.

That will just about cover the property taxes on one of next year’s models. The 2009 Parade will feature Ravinia Park in the town of Summit, says Jon Spheeris, developer and owner of Prudential Absolute Realtors, who’s developing the site. This high-end subdivision along the Bark River will include homes ranging from $800,000 to $1.2 million.

Best Laid Plans

Tom Langan, a custom designer for Waukesha’s Badger Home Builders for 20 years, focuses more on function than form in his work, and he’s seen his share of planning faux pas.

Take, for instance, dining rooms “used only to store Grandma Edna’s furniture,” garages too small for today’s toys, and living room space better spent on one big multipurpose room. There are excessive hallways, entryways that look into baths and rooms that are too big. “A 14-foot-by-18-foot bedroom is ideal,” he says. “You don’t get any real use out of an extra 3 feet between the bed and dresser.”

Langan also lists several sins of omission: not having a first-floor master bedroom, a master bath absent two sinks, no walk-in pantry, and failing to rough-in a basement bathroom Ð all things, he says, that save money in the long run.