Home Builders Association

The Home Builders Association of Maryland is moving from its Woodlawn home to a new headquarters in Howard County. The trade organization has sent out invitations for a Nov. 21 groundbreaking ceremony for its two-story, 10,000-square-foot building, which will be called the Maryland Center for Housing. The building is scheduled to open next summer in the commercial district of Maple Lawn, a mixed-use community in Fulton in southwestern Howard County. In addition to the association, it will house the organization's nonprofit arm, the Building Industries Foundation, which will own the building.

The Remodelers Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland handed out its annual awards Thursday night at the Towson Golf and Country Club. "This program serves to recognize excellence in remodeling design and craftsmanship, to create a greater public interest in the remodeling industry and to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and companies in the remodeling industry," the HBAM Remodelers said in a statement. It was the group's 22nd annual competition honoring remodeling projects in the metro Baltimore area.

It looks like an ordinary subdivision construction site in Odenton, an Anne Arundel community where new homes are selling faster than nearly anywhere else in the Baltimore and Washington suburbs.But this section has six different builders putting up homes that won't just have a few dozen people tromping through when they are finished in a few months.In the last two weeks of summer, more than 50,000 may inspect the spacious foyers, cathedral ceilings, gizmo-laden kitchens, Jacuzzied bathrooms, tony master bedrooms and formal dining rooms in these upscale dwellings arranged around a circular roadway just off Piney Orchard Parkway.

The Home Builders Association of Maryland is moving from its Woodlawn home to a new headquarters in Howard County. The trade organization has sent out invitations for a Nov. 21 groundbreaking ceremony for its two-story, 10,000-square-foot building, which will be called the Maryland Center for Housing. The building is scheduled to open next summer in the commercial district of Maple Lawn, a mixed-use community in Fulton in southwestern Howard County. In addition to the association, it will house the organization's nonprofit arm, the Building Industries Foundation, which will own the building.

Building codes being adopted by local county governments have changed the way finished basements are being built or renovated, experts said, and they could influence future home sales. The codes require homeowners to provide accessible exits for their finished basements in the event of a fire or other catastrophe. For homes without walkout basements, homeowners must provide a door or window that meets certain width and height requirements if the cellar is used as a living space. The codes apply to new construction or basement remodeling in Carroll, Howard and Baltimore counties, according to the Home Builders Association of Maryland.

Williamsburg Builders received two Silver Merit Honor Awards from the Sales and Marketing Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland at a banquet held last month at Martin's West.The builder received awards for The Wesley House in Hobbit's Glen in the category of custom home from $225,000 to $274,999, and The Barrington Manor III House in Hobbit's Glen in the category of single-family home from $325,000 to $399,999.

Builder Mart trade show set for March 20 Builder Mart, the largest local building association trade show in the mid-Atlantic region, will be held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium on March 20. The annual show, which is not open to the public, features homebuilding innovations and exhibitors from across the country who demonstrate their products and technologies. The show, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Maryland, attracts builders from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Delaware.

Patriot Homes of Columbia won three awards last month from the Sales and Marketing Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland (HBAM).Patriot Homes won an Award of Excellence in the single-family homes, $160,000-$179,000 category; a Silver Merit Honor in the single-family homes, $220,000-$239,999; and the Affordable Housing Recognition award in Howard County.Patriot Homes is a companion company of the Heritage Housing Group, which includes HBAM Williamsburg Builders and Hallmark Builders Inc.

Housing, planning officials to speak at symposiumState housing and planning officials are scheduled to be some of the speakers at a symposium Feb. 14 on planning and growth management in Maryland.The 9 a.m.-to-noon event is sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Maryland, and meets the new Maryland Real Estate Commission continuing education requirement for a three-hour course on legislative issues. The fee is $40 per person, which includes parking at the Biddle Street garage. The registration deadline is Friday.

Names in the newsThe Land Development Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland recently presented an award of excellence to G. W. Koch Inc. for Woodberry Farms in Severna Park and to Sturbridge Homes for Tidewater Colony of Annapolis. Koch also won a Silver Merit award for the Preserve at Broad Creek, Annapolis. The Home Builders Association of Maryland is a nonprofit group that conducts governmental relations and educational opportunities for the association and functions as the industry advocate.

Pulte Homes is trying to combat the housing slump with a Halloween-themed "monster" sale at seven Maryland communities, including Baltimore, with incentives that include selling at cost and guaranteeing the purchase of buyers' current dwellings. The homebuilder, one of the nation's largest, hopes to entice buyers frightened by plummeting sales, stagnant or falling prices and the potential of getting stuck with two mortgages. The builder said the size of incentives and availability vary by community and home site.

Ideal Fitness recently opened at routes 22 and 543. Owner Colin Wilcoxen converted an office suite to a personal training studio. Clients are trained in one-on-one, group, or in-home sessions. Ideal Fitness is committed to changing people's lives by helping them to become healthier through healthy lifestyle decisions and exercise. Wilcoxen, a diabetic for 15 years, has experience in personal training and nutrition. He offers customized programs with free nutritional counseling. Information: 410-420-0050.

About three years ago, back when the housing boom was still booming, David Fleming and his wife pooled their skills - hers in real estate and his in developing - and launched a building business. They incorporated as Peninsula Building Group, stocked up on land in the Baltimore region and, like many others, built on speculation, confident that they'd find buyers as the houses were finished. Then the housing market slowed. Then the subprime mortgage market for those with shaky credit collapsed.

Awards Catonsville Homes received two Maryland Awards of Excellence from the Home Builders Association of Maryland for its custom home designs in the Charleston II at Patapsco Park Estates and for design of a private residence. Designations Louis R. Woods Jr., a chef instructor at Anne Arundel Community College, has been certified an executive chef and culinary administrator by the American Culinary Federation. New contract SM Consulting Inc., in conjunction with Microsoft Corp., has contracted to provide the National Aquarium in Baltimore with a strategic business intelligence system to improve operations and track customer needs.

Jack D. Millard, a former builder and longtime Parkville resident, died at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care on Feb. 7 of complications from a broken hip. The Parkville resident was 74. Mr. Millard was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Baltimore in 1950. He attended the University of Maryland, College Park and later owned Apex Construction Co. and IMS Construction Co. He was a former president of the Home Builders Association of Maryland. Mr. Millard retired from home building in the 1990s but was still working as a notary and handling real estate settlements.

Volunteer firefighters will square off against builders next month, when a proposed ordinance requiring sprinkler systems in all new single-family homes throughout unincorporated areas of Carroll County goes to a public hearing. The county commissioners authorized the hearing yesterday and will act on the proposal after gathering public comment. The 87 fire deaths in Maryland last year occurred in homes without sprinklers, fire officials said. "This is no different than requiring seat belts and air bags," said Richard Green Sr., who chaired the county sprinkler committee and is an assistant chief at Gamber and Community Fire Company.

The Remodelers Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland handed out its annual awards Thursday night at the Towson Golf and Country Club. "This program serves to recognize excellence in remodeling design and craftsmanship, to create a greater public interest in the remodeling industry and to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and companies in the remodeling industry," the HBAM Remodelers said in a statement. It was the group's 22nd annual competition honoring remodeling projects in the metro Baltimore area.

Awards Catonsville Homes received two Maryland Awards of Excellence from the Home Builders Association of Maryland for its custom home designs in the Charleston II at Patapsco Park Estates and for design of a private residence. Designations Louis R. Woods Jr., a chef instructor at Anne Arundel Community College, has been certified an executive chef and culinary administrator by the American Culinary Federation. New contract SM Consulting Inc., in conjunction with Microsoft Corp., has contracted to provide the National Aquarium in Baltimore with a strategic business intelligence system to improve operations and track customer needs.

Don Sample, a co-founder of Land Development Services in Fallston and 13-year member of the Home Builders Association of Maryland, was named 2005 president of the association during an event this month at the Maryland Science Center. Other senior leadership posts went to: Linda Veach of Bob Ward Cos. in Edgewood, president-elect; Chris Rachuba of Rachuba Home Builders in Eldersburg, first vice president; and Herb Lose of Norandex-Reynolds Distribution in Baltimore, associate vice president.

The state's homebuilders are embarking on a new campaign to highlight the economic influence of residential construction on local taxpayers and to counter criticism of their supposed role in area sprawl. Members of the Home Builders Association of Maryland will outline a new study during a conference in Baltimore this week showing the tax dollars that new homes provide area jurisdictions. Builders want to emphasize the jobs that residential construction creates and the tax revenue it generates.