Fort Smith homebuilders begin work on 2023 Showcase Home

The Greater Fort Smith Association of Home Builders (GFSHA) broke ground Wednesday (Feb. 15) on the 2023 Showcase Home, signifying the start of work on the association’s main fundraiser for the year.

This year’s showcase home will be located in the new Shire Glen Subdivision in Chaffee Crossing at 8429 Broadley Drive. The Shire Glen subdivision is a joint venture between builders Rocky Walker of Cobblestone Homes, president of the GFSHA, and Justin Green of Justin Green Homes. The 71 lots in the subdivision are more than 70 feet wide, and homes start around $280,000 and go up to the $450,000 range, Green said.

The smart, cost-efficient homes in the subdivision range in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet with some coming in a little more, including the 2023 Showcase home, Green said.

“We’re positioned in the middle of the market. We’re a step up from first-time homebuyers. We have all kinds of different price ranges of houses,” Walker said.

The showcase home will be a 2,334-square-foot, three-bedroom home with two and half baths, Green said. Justin Green Homes is the builder for the showcase home. The open concept home with a split floor plan will feature a back patio with a gas grill along with gas products throughout the home, Green said. Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, Chuck Fawcett Realty & Firstar Bank are the home’s sponsors. The showcase home is the biggest fundraiser for the  home builders association.

“We do the house so the associate members, vendors that are members, can display some of their newest products. They give them to us at a discounted price, or sometimes for free, and the supervising contractor doesn’t make any money on the project. We do it for free. (GFSHA) pays all the vendors,” Green said.

All proceeds of the sale of the house and the tours of the home during the parade of homes in October go back to GFSHA, Green said. The showcase house is for sale from the time construction begins, which will be next week, he added.

“Years past, we’ve had the home for a couple of months. Others we’ve sold before they are finished. It all depends on the market,” Green said of the showcase house sales. “The one caveat is that whoever buys it, they have to let us do the VIP tour and the parade of homes. So the public can view it. Because we have all the vendors, and we need to display their products.”

The home will be completed the first of October in time for the GFSHA. There have been 31 GFSHA Showcase Homes over the years, said DeAnne Hankins, GFSHA executive director. This year’s show is still in the planning stages, so what products will be showcased are not yet known, she said.

“The main focus of the showcase home is for vendors to show off products and to show the community what the greater Fort Smith Association of Homebuilders is all about, which is home building and homeownership,” Hankins said.

The 2022 Showcase Home, built by Don Wise Construction, was a 3,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home at 9501 Farleigh Crest in Stoneshire at Chaffee Crossing.