In The News: Parade of Homes to feature 50 homes, and showcase Beulah Park Living community

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Parade of Homes to feature 50 homes, and showcase Beulah Park Living community

By Jim Weiker, The Columbus Dispatch

For the second year, the Parade of Homes will feature new homes throughout the Columbus area, instead of in one development.

About 50 homes in dozens of subdivisions throughout central Ohio will be featured in this year’s parade, which runs Thursdays through Sundays from Sept. 15 through Oct. 2.

After decades of showcasing luxurious new homes in one community each year, the Parade last year switched to a “scattered site” format similar to other parades around the country, showing dozens of new homes throughout central Ohio, many of them existing model homes.

This year’s event is smaller than last year’s, which showcased 63 homes, but still offers a wide range of communities, styles, sizes and prices from 18 homebuilders.

What to expect at the 2022 Parade of Homes

The Parade’s “featured community” is Beulah Park Living, the 212-acre development on the site of the former Beulah Park racetrack in Grove City.

For the development, the Parade represents a fulfillment of a two-year promise. Beulah Park was scheduled to host the 2020 Parade before it was canceled by the pandemic.

On the plus side, Beulah Park offers far more for visitors to see now than it would have two years ago. The development expects to showcase at least four properties, each representing one of the community’s various residential options — an apartment, a condominium, a single-family home and a retirement community residence.

Since construction began less than three years ago, Beulah Park Living has completed 264 out of a planned 384 apartments, 103 out of 114 planned Epcon Communities patio homes, about 100 out of 224 single-family homes, most by Pulte Homes, and 94 residences in the Danbury of Grove City retirement center.

The homes, ranging from about $400,000 to more than $800,000, are all built around a 32-acre city park.

Instead of delaying the development, the COVID pandemic accelerated it, said Pat Kelley, president of Beulah Park Living’s developer, Falco, Smith & Kelley.

“We are way ahead of schedule,” he said. “I was planning on 10 to 12 years for build out. Here we are in year three and I project we’ll be done in year five.”

Kelley estimates that 60% of Beulah Park’s residents have come from outside Grove City. The neighborhood’s cradle-to-grave mix of housing — from apartments to retirement living — has especially attracted families who want to live near one another to the community, he said.

“That’s what’s so exciting — to see so many new people coming here,” he said.

Still to come are 30 retirement “villas” on the Danbury site, a dozen three-story townhomes, 54 two-story townhomes and two mixed-use buildings, each with 30 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. In addition, Kelley expects to move ahead on plans to develop commercial buildings along Southwest Boulevard, the development’s northern boundary.

The mixed-use buildings, on Beulah Park’s southwest corner, help bridge the gap between the development and downtown Grove City, and further Beulah Park’s goal of being an integrated extension of the city.

“We were fortunate to have an iconic, historic site — everyone knew Beulah Park racetrack — and to have that right next to the town center,” Kelley said. “That’s what makes this so special.”

If you go

The BIA Parade of Homes, presented by James Hardie, will run from Sept. 15 through Oct. 2. About 50 homes by 18 builders will be showcased in dozens of communities throughout central Ohio during the event. Homes will be from noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The event is free.

 

READ COLUMBUS DISPATCH ARTICLE HERE

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIA PARADE OF HOMES HERE

DIGITAL PARADE OF HOMES GUIDE HERE