Architecture / January 17, 2018

WHA Brings Home a Gold and a Silver | 2018 International Builders’ Show

By: Ron Nestor

Everything about it was huge. The NAHB 2018 IBS is one of the largest conventions in one of the largest convention centers in the world. There were attendees from every continent, altogether, more than 75,000, many of which were talking about world-class traffic in the area. The show occupied the entire convention center and was kicked off by a fun-filled presentation by legendary sports and entertainment personality, Terry Bradshaw.

I attended numerous learning sessions, many of which focused on modular construction and on post-disaster rebuilding (after hurricanes in Texas, Florida and the South). I am particularly interested in these timely topics, especially with the rebuild efforts in the Santa Rosa/Wine Country and Ventura areas after our historic fires and mudslides, and on reducing costs and speed of construction.

The highlight of the show was the 2018 NAHB “The Nationals” Awards which honored the best in sales, marketing and design in the United States and Canada. Almost half of the audience was late – stuck in traffic – when dinner began. As usual, California architects, developers, builders, and projects dominated the awards. Gold award winners for Rookie Sales Professional and Sales Professional of the Year were both from Orange County, and many of our clients like Rancho Mission Viejo, Shea Homes, Riverstone, and FivePoint Communities all won Gold in various advertising categories. Toll Brothers, Trumark, Woodbridge Pacific Group, Pardee, Brookfield, Warmington, CalAtlantic, Brookfield, The New Home Company, and Shea Homes all won numerous Gold or Silver awards for their California projects. WHA’s Arista – Plan 3 for Pardee Homes, received a Silver award.

Several well-deserved awards went to The Howard Hughes Corporation for Ward Village in Honolulu, a redevelopment of an aging commercial area into a vibrant 60-acre residential, retail, dining and entertainment area between downtown and Waikiki. It looks to be a truly exciting place and we were all invited to come and visit!

The final award of the evening, Master Planned Community of the Year resulted in a tie. The twin Gold awards went to Ward Village, and to WHA’s Riverstone in Madera (Central California). This 2,000-acre community faced numerous challenges, including convincing buyers to move to an unproven section of Fresno area and overcoming sustainable water issues during the prolonged drought. The project, with a build-out of 6,600 homes in eight districts, provides for numerous amenities, trails, and parks while maintaining historic olive and citrus groves and protecting natural resources. The community also includes supportive commercial and mixed-use spaces and on-site schools. We will highlight more on Riverstone in an upcoming blog.