Three weekends in October will bring the community together to showcase and celebrate the building industry in East Tennessee
What do you get when an aerospace engineer marries the sales and marketing director of a large regional builder and developer? A very precise and stylish homebuilding duo, that’s what. Ron and Diane Bills, the couple that owns and heads up Providence Builders of Tennessee, look forward to the chance to work with clients to bring their dream home builds to life each year. But nothing excites them more than getting to share a build with an entire community. And that’s where the Parade of Homes comes in.
Each year, the Home Builders Association of Greater Knoxville (HBAGK) puts on it’s annual Parade of Homes, a showcase of some of the very best in homebuilding in our region, and this year marks the 42nd year the parade has come to life. For builders, like Providence, it’s not just an opportunity to show the community a beautiful home, it’s also a chance to get to visit with neighbors, learn more about what people are looking for in homes each year, and share a bit more about their own stories—something you can imagine we at Cityview love to hear.
For example, did you know Ron, originally from Colorado, built a vacation home in Rarity Bay about 30 years ago? Or that he and Diane fell so in love with East Tennessee that they moved here? The Bills have called Knoxville their homebuilding base for the last 16 years, when they brought the Providence model to Tennessee. This is just a taste, but you begin to learn things like this about the builders when you head to their parade homes to visit each October. For builders, they get to talk with potential customers. But for community members, they get to learn more about the people who are quite literally building up East Tennessee.
“It’s a great time for our team to unite and hear feedback, and listen to people’s comments as they tour of the parade homes,” Ron says. “It’s kind of an overall connection feel to what’s happening in Knoxville and really get some good feedback from people we’ve never met before to those we’ve built for to those who we are going to build for, that we’re currently building for or may someday build for.” The parade is about connecting.
The Parade Takes Shape
While the official start year of the Parade of Homes in Knoxville is a bit of mystery, this is the 42nd annual documented event. “I’ve seen some documentation and photos going back to the 50s, if not early 60s,” says Ashley Burnette, Executive Vice President of the association. He can still recall finding a black-and-white photo of one of the early parades, cars lined around the neighborhood. “It was quite impressive,” he says.
If you haven’t attended a Knoxville Parade of Homes before, here’s the gist: builders from across the region work for months and months on homes that they open to the public, often fully furnished, during three weekends in October each year. These homes are in addition to all of the other projects they have in process. But they make it just as high a priority.
This year, Ashley says 43 homes, which are scattered across the region (even Gatlinburg), will be showcased, and nearly 15,000 to 25,000 people are reported as attending the parade each year. The homes will be everything from the starter home to a more high-end build, and everything in between. This year will even include a remodeled house, Ashley says.
And while it seems its popularity has existed from start, the parade as we know it today didn’t always exist in this manner. Mike Stevens remembers some of the early years well, having been not only a chair of the event in the past, but HBAGK board president. So does his wife, Marquita. Together, they head up another dynamic homebuilding team in our region: Mike Stevens Homes.
“When I first got involved, Parade of Homes was on a single site,” Mike says. “So developers would sponsor the parade and they were responsible for going out and getting five or six or seven builders and kind of build it in one development.” The event would end up organically turning into a bit of a competition, Mike says. “You’d have five of six builders that were over-building the market.”
That is, until the parade leadership at the time came across the idea of a scattered site concept from a parade in Raleigh, North Carolina. And while Mike says there was some pushback from the community and builders, the concept took off. And it’s been something that has continued to build a following year after year.
“When we open the doors that first day, I know people’s names,” Mike says. “There’s certain people that if they don’t show up, I’m going to go back and check the obituaries because they probably died. They’re so loyal and they come through regularly. And I think every builder has that.”
The parade has become such a staple within the community that so many segments of the population attend. Some people are looking for ideas for their current build. Others are freshly in the market, searching for the perfect builder. Builders will get attendees who are going to build “someday.” And there are some that simply love the pastime of looking at unique homes even if they aren’t looking to buy. So many different individuals come through the doors of the parade homes. The community at large waits for its arrival each year.
For the builders, it’s an opportunity to see what’s working, and what just isn’t hitting the mark. “I love to get very direct feedback,” Mike says. “If you’ve done something the public doesn’t like, you’re going to hear about it. So it’s just instant feedback—and instant gratification if you’ve done a good job.”
Mike urges any young builder to not look past this opportunity to market their business: “It’s the greatest marketing tool we have.”
Building a Parade Home
The creation of a parade home is different for every builder, but oftentimes the home is one that is actively being built for a homeowner—and the homeowner needs to be willing to have it shown off to the public. “It really starts with the vetting process of the home itself,” Ron says, adding later, “and it’s a big deal as we don’t do every home in the parade.”
While it is important, in some senses, to showcase unique layouts and push the envelope in terms of design trends, it’s also an opportunity to showcase what’s happening in the market right now. “Our job is not to pick out the latest trends and try to push it into a design, but it’s really to make sure we bring to the forefront for our clients what’s happening in the market,” Ron says. “At the end of the day, though, it’s their home and it’s personalized to them.”
The parade is also an opportunity to showcase other businesses in the community. Vendors, contractors, even realtors spend time in the homes throughout the weekends in October, giving them the chance to talk with potential customers, as well. Many of the homes in the parade will also be fully furnished, giving viewers an opportunity to see the work of professional interior designers. For Providence that’s where Diane steps in. This year she is working with designers Wolfgang H. Schaber of Wolfgang Interiors and Anne White of Boyd Harvey Designs to bring this parade home to life.
Lisa Smith, who works for Ferguson Enterprises, serves once again this year as the co-chair of this year’s Parade of Homes alongside Becky Snyder of Loomis Construction. She says that while Knoxville can lean toward more of a traditional style, the influx of transplants to the area over the last few years has brought new styles to the region.
“They’re bringing their design aesthetic here,” she says. “You’re going to see a lot more clean lines, a lot more dark colors. You’re going to see a lot more things that are a little bit out there, that are outside everybody’s comfort zone like powder rooms with really nice wallpaper or different types of cabinets, different materials. You’re going to see all of that in the Parade of Homes.”
While the HBAGK doesn’t release their full Parade of Homes list until October, we got a sneak peak from some of the builders of some of the homes that will make up the 43 that will be showcased this year. The builders are outdoing themselves and viewers will be in for quite the treat.
Mike says one of their parade homes this year—located in the Gettysvue Golf & Country Club community—is for a younger family that works and plays at home. “We’ve combined two lots, and it’s been a tough lot, but it has turned out spectacular.” And while the lot meant the build needed to include a rather large retaining wall, this one will have an exceptional amount of recreation, including a stunning pool, downstairs entertaining area, and even a golf simulator.
For Ron, this year’s Providence home is a lakefront property—located in Rarity Bay—the second home they’ve built for this particular couple who spends a lot of time on the water. The home features an indoor elevator, large walk-in pantry, vaulted ceilings, and a lower level recreation area that walks out to the water. “We designed the home specifically around the enjoyment of being on the lakeside, from the travertine decking to the under the garage storage area for lake stuff and lake living,” he says.
Hunter Harrison, owner of HMH Development who is also a repeat builder in the Parade of Homes, says for him and his team the parade is an opportunity to showcase their subdivision communities. The HMH home on the lineup this year—located on Misty Lake Drive off Campbell Station Road—is Hunter’s first home in their Catatoga subdivision, but it’s also one where they’re trying to push the envelope and try something different. “We’re calling it a modern European farmhouse,” he says. “This is a product that came from the upper end sections of Charlotte, the upper end sections of Brentwood. We saw this product, hired this architect, who drew these to give us this look that I wanted.”
Hunter, a long-time resident of Hardin Valley, says he’s trying to distance himself from the “Knox box. I’m trying to make a statement of what Hardin Valley should look like.”
The HMH parade home is also a bittersweet one for Hunter. “Catatoga is my swan song,” he says. “I’ve got a total of 150 lots going in this subdivision. I’m 58. This is a six or seven year project for me and at that point, I will be turning this company over to a son and I will no longer be a business owner or business man—I’m going to come back to work for him as a superintendent.”
The Home Builders Association
While the Parade of Homes is the public-facing component of the HBAGK, it is far from all they do. Behind the curtain is an organization that serves builders and associate members (like contractors, goods suppliers, etc.) in Knox and surrounding counties, 17 in total. There are 500 members in the association, Ashley says, 200 of which are builder/contractor members.
Networking opportunities, education for members, and, of course, showcase opportunities like the Parade of Homes are all part of the HBAGK work to support this important economic pillar. But there’s more than meets the eye. HBAGK can also be found advocating through their governmental affairs arm for legislation that will positively impact the industry in our region.
“[Our members are] just committed, they’re dedicated to what they do, and they believe in it. And that’s how it comes about where they can call a county commissioner about an issue or a city council member or a state rep or a state senator about something that’s going on,” Ashley explains. “The bulk of the work that we do is advocacy. And that’s looking out for all those things that I just mentioned.”
Remember Lisa and Becky, the parade co-chairs? Both women have been part of the home builder’s association for a while, knowing just how much of an impact it can have on builders and associate members—and the future of the industry in East Tennessee. Both were instrumental in bringing the Professional Women in Building chapter back to the HBAGK, an important newer initiative, Ashley says.
Workforce Development is another new direction for the home builder’s association, but not just locally, Ashley adds. “It’s really the past five years that the need has been there. Well, longer than that. The contractors, trades are just desperately short on people entering those professions coming out of high school or even out of college, but there is a tremendous need for that. And everyone across the country is working on it.”
HBAGK members, like Lisa, go out and talk at schools and after-school programs about entering the trades. The association is also starting a tool closet, Lisa says, so students entering the trades can get boots, a tool belt, or other items they might need that might be a barrier to them being able to start or even get a job in the industry. “The trades are a wonderful way to be able to build up to be an entrepreneur—or just have a really good job where you make really good money,” Lisa says. “And you don’t need a four-year degree.”
The HBAGK ensures this local industry has what it needs to stay supported and grow. “When you really think about it…,” Lisa says, “you don’t have to go very far out of your circle of friends until you know somebody that does support their family through the construction trades in one way or another.”
Bringing it all Together
With the Home Builders Association of Greater Knoxville leading the charge, builders will have the chance to showcase this industry in their own way at the parade in October.
“It’s a really big win,” Lisa says, “for both the community and the home builders—and all of the associate members and suppliers.”
And while the October showcase means more hours for their teams, the work is worth it. It becomes, in some senses, a celebration of the industry. “I don’t think people understand how tough of a business this is,” Hunter says. “You’re turning around and selling a person the largest investment they will normally make in their lifetime, the ‘American Dream.’”
The Parade of Homes is free to the public. To learn more about the association and see the full list of homes and builders showcased in the event this year, visit hbaknoxville.com or theparadeofhomesknoxville.com.