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The Official Magazine of the Greater Houston Builders Association • www.ghba.org AUGUST 2018 HOUSTON Builder Custom Lighting & Hardware is now Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery – the premiere showroom for ALSO INSIDE: the Greater Houston area Harris County Bond Election pg 8, 12 page 21 Carpentry Education Program Launches in NW Houston pg 18 Project Playhouse Winner Revealed pg 24 CUSTOM BUILDERS’ FIRST CHOICE FOR HIGH QUALITY LUMBER... FAST! NEXT DAY DELIVERY ON FRAME PACKAGES, SAME DAY ON FILL-IN ORDERS FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED FOR SIX GENERATIONS WE CARRY: ...AND MORE! NOW AVAILABLE! Call (713) 329-5300 FRAMING LUMBER PLYWOOD & OSB TREATED LUMBER ANTHONY POWER BEAMS SIDING & TRIM CUSTOM FLOOR TRUSSES SCHOLL LUMBER | 6202 N HOUSTON ROSSLYN ROAD | HOUSTON, TX 77091 | SCHOLLLUMBER.COM NEW FiberCraft ® Composite and ThermaPlus® Steel! “Looks so good, you’ll think it’s wood.” TM See why these are The Better Doors. 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Contact us for details: Visit www.glasscraft.com 713-690-8282 | 2002 Brittmoore Rd., Houston TX 77043 www.glasscraft.com® CONTENTS ON THE COVER HOUSTON BuilderThe Official Magazine of the Greater Houston Builders Association August 2018|Volume 31|Number 08 FEATURES Action Alert: Vote for Proposition A New look. Same great service. 08 The Houston region has experienced repeated and unprecedented devastation and Custom Lighting & Hardware is now Ferguson loss, with thousands of families flooded and thousands more displaced by Harvey. Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery (a 2018 Investing in flood control and infrastructure will protect property values and help our GHBA Pinnacle Partner). The Westheimer region grow. Vote YES for Proposition A in the August 25 Harris County Bond Election. Road location has been remodeled and will now serve as the premiere showroom for the Greater Houston area, with over 7,000 square 12 Government Affairs: Advocacy Report feet of display space. From home remodels to A $2.5 billion Flood Control District Bond Election is set for August 25. Passage of this custom homes, Ferguson can handle every bond proposal is critical to improving resiliency and helping our industry continue job with turn-key service. pg 21 to grow in the Houston region. These dollars will go directly to fund local flood mitigation projects. With $2.5 billion in bond funds, Harris County’s goal is to leverage federal funds to create $10 billion in resiliency projects. Departments 08 President’s Message 12 Government Affairs The Economy: Finally Behaving Well 22 Benefit Homes Project 14 Dr. Elliot Eisenber's mid-year economic forecast suggests that the U.S. economy will 24 HomeAid Houston perform better over the next 12 months than at any time in the last nine years due to 27 Green Built Gulf Coast Program a combination of tax cuts, spending increase, falling unemployment, and rising wages. 28 Education Department He also explores labor shortages, housing starts, rising interest rates, and trade wars. 29 Sustaining Associate Members (SAMs) 30 New Members & Renewals Carpentry Education Program Launches in Northwest Houston 38 Associate Council 18 The newly launched HBI Acres Homes Program includes two 12-week carpentry 39 GHBA Partnerships classes, with 14 students, ages 18 to 24, enrolled in each class. The program is a 40 Montgomery County Division product of great stakeholder collaboration between Norbord, the Home Builders 42 Custom Builders Council Institute, the City of Houston, Mayor Turner's Complete Communities initiative, the 44 Remodelers Council Texas Workforce Commission, GHBA, and the Chesmar Foundation. 46 HOME-PAC Roster 47 Sales & Marketing Council 48 Officers & Leadership 22 Highland Homes and GHBA Break Ground for Charity 49 Calendar of Events GHBA members gathered at the Information Center in Balmoral, to help mark the 50 The Network official groundbreaking of one Highland Homes' 2018 Benefit Home. Upcoming Events 24 Take a Minute for HomeAid Houston 10 Texas Bash Thousands of Houson Astros fans shared the special moment when the 2018 winners 16 Houston's Best PRISM Awards received the key to this year's Project Playhouse on the field at Minute Maid Park. 20 Sunbelt Builders Show 37 Bay Area GoKart Racing Networking GHBA's Second Quarter Report Card 41 Young Professionals Networking 34 The GHBA staff, councils, divisions and committees have been busy lately! In case you 43 Product Expo missed it, here are a few highlights and successes from the second quarter of 2018. 45 Remodelers Council Charity Garage Sale Greater Houston Builders Association Mission Advertising/Editorial Information: To provide advocacy, education, professional development, and Contact Brittany Feldmann at (832) 215-7232 or valuable services to its members and the homebuilding industry. [email protected]. Houston Builder encourages members to submit articles for publication. Articles should relate to members and to the homebuilding 9511 West Sam Houston Pkwy North, Houston, TX 77064 industry. For questions or to submit a letter to the (281) 970-8970 phone; (281) 970-8971 fax editor, email [email protected]. 6 AUGUST 2018 | HOUSTON BUILDER | GREatER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIatION – BUILDING A BEttER FUTURE strucsure_houstonbuilder_042018_f.pdf 1 3/19/18 12:46 PM SpringSpring hashas sprung!sprung! The Spring Selling Season is upon us…make sure you are covered by the leading new-home warranty provider in Texas. Sell more homes while protecting your bottom line and avoiding the courthouse. C M Y CM CONTACT ME TODAY TO LEARN WHY STRUCSURE HOME WARRANTY IS THE MY NUMBER ONE PROVIDER OF NEWHOME WARRANTIES IN TEXAS. CY CMY K Contact me to learn more about StrucSure’s insurance-backed, new-home warranties and how you can get the best coverage available on workmanship and materials; wiring, piping and ductwork; and structural components. D’ANN BROWN, CGA, CGP Insurance Agent License #1755172 832.814.3942 | [email protected] | www.strucsure.com HOW THE NATION’S BEST BUILDERS Copyright 2018 StrucSure Home Warranty. All Rights All Reserved. Warranty. Home 2018 StrucSure Copyright PROTECT THEIR BUYERS GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION – BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE | HOUSTON BUILDER | AUGUST 2018 7 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE ACTION ALERT: Vote for Proposition A question after seeing history repeat substantial federal dollars that will be itself so quickly, is what do we do used exclusively for major flood proj- next? What can we do to help stop—or ects. Congress allocated $141 billion at a minimum alleviate—our flood- for recovery from the major disasters ing problem? How do we protect in 2017, but those dollars are first come our residents and make Houston first serve and require local matching more resilient? dollars. The obvious and the most politically The passage of this bond package is expedient answer is to increase and vital for our industry and our region to strengthen regulations. Following di- continue to grow. Increased regula- sasters like these, we expect that. While tions are not going to protect property this may help save some homeowners values and ensure a strong economy, who buy a new house in the future, but flood mitigation can. it does nothing to help those on the ground today. Our business relies on families and companies making the choice to move In order to truly address our flooding here. Houston is perceived to be a city By GHBA President DON KLEIN, issues and increase our resiliency, we that floods. If we continue to ignore Chesmar Homes must adequately invest in major flood and neglect flood control and drainage control projects and infrastructure. infrastructure, we will see people Those investments are what will actu- choosing not to make that move. t’s hard to believe we are almost a ally result in greater protection of life year removed from having endured and property, but they cost money. A We encourage everyone who lives what we would learn was the single lot of money. in Harris County to go out and vote. Ilargest rain event in the history of our Please call, text and email your cowork- country. It was the final blow in a three The Harris County Commissioners ers, your family and friends, anyone year span that saw us experience three Court, led by County Judge Ed Emmett, you know who lives in Harris County, 500+ year storms, with Memorial Day decided that now is the time to take and let them know how important this in 2015, Tax Day in 2016 and ultimately meaningful action to address projects vote is for the homebuilding industry. ending with Hurricane Harvey in 2017. that have been shelved for decades due to lack of funding. They have set a This will be a very low turnout election, Through these, the Houston region $2.5 billion Harris County Flood Control so we need everyone who is eligible to experienced repeated and unprece- District Bond Election for August 25. go vote. We cannot risk this not passing dented devastation and loss. There because people assumed it would were thousands of families flooded There is only one thing on the ballot, easily pass and that their vote would during each of those storms. There Proposition A. If Prop A passes, it will not matter. Every vote matters. are still thousands of families and give Flood Control the money it needs Election Day is August 25; early voting people who remain displaced from to immediately start on resiliency proj- starts on August 8.