Six unique homes will be featured in this year’s Dallas Builders Association Parade of Homes, which benefits a nonprofit that builds custom, mortgage-free homes for combat-wounded U.S. military veterans.
Addresses for the dwellings on parade will be emailed to ticketholders a few days prior to the May 7 event. They are in Briarwood, Midway Hollow, and East Dallas near White Rock Lake, as well as in West Dallas, just south of the Trinity River.
“The Parade is a hallmark event that has been a part of our city for more than 60 years,” said Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builders Association. “This year’s version is an outstanding depiction of what our members are creating for homeowners even in today’s challenging market.”
A Sustainable Beauty by Hoffmann Homes
One such home featured on the tour is 2111 Autumn Sage Place, nestled in sustainable builder Alan Hoffmann’s Abode at White Rock.
The 3,650-square-foot dwelling features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a two-and-a-half car garage with a car-charging station, energy-efficient materials, high-performance windows, and concrete-insulated walls.
It was completed in November, and, like the other homes on the parade, is already sold and occupied.
“It’s a really great floor plan,” said Hoffmann of his eponymous Hoffmann Homes. “The great room is central to the other rooms. It’s a modern farmhouse design with a lot of natural light. It has 14-foot ceilings, a beautiful 400-foot patio, and an area for a fire pit.”
Hoffmann Homes aims to construct homes and communities that are “sustainable, beautiful, and efficient with processes that are cost-effective and sensible,” according to the company’s website. Hoffmann also serves as founder and president of 4Tree Development LLC and is considered a leader in the environmental building movement. In 1995 he became the first builder to introduce concrete forms to North Texas.
The Autumn Sage property on the Parade of Homes tour features the items Hoffmann is famous for — thick, thermal mass walls, breezeways, and whitewashed cement finishes.
“The lot is very private, designed so that your neighbor is not looking into your yard,” Hoffman said. “That’s really important for long and narrow lots. There’s also a private pocket park where three of the homes in the development are capturing the rainwater off the rooftops in an above-ground cistern for irrigating the entire site.”
The pantry is a storm room, and the home is equipped with an additional panic room/storm shelter.
Each home in the community is certified with the Department of Energy’s Net Zero Ready Program, Energy Star Program, and Green Built Texas.
The Abode community is half sold, with another spec under construction and three more starts on the horizon, Hoffmann said.
Tour Tips
In addition to Hoffmann’s farmhouse, the tour features builds by Richard Miller Custom Homes, Divino Homes, Classic Urban Homes, Alexander Hunt Distinct Homes, and Shaddock Caldwell Builders and Developers LLC.
Tickets cost $25, and a portion will go toward Operation Finally Home, which builds custom, mortgage-free homes for combat-wounded U.S. military veterans. The Dallas Builders Association’s eighth Operation Finally Home project is under construction in Irving.
The ticket price covers entry to all six homes. The homes are all occupied, so public restrooms are not available, and photography is not allowed. Guests can start at any home on the self-guided tour, and should allow about 45 minutes for each home, including travel time.
