For Immediate Release
February 26, 2009
Contact:
Katie Blint, CT Convention Center Communications, 860-819-2757
State’s Largest Home Show Highlights National Economic Stimulus Package
Home Builders Association Partners With Local Banks to Offer Financing Options. Show Also Features Custom-Built 4,000 Square Foot “Dreamscape” With a 12-Foot Waterfall.
HARTFORD, CT –The Home Builders Association of Hartford County has found a convenient way to help CT homebuyers take advantage of the national economic stimulus package: offer builders, banks and new home buyers “one-stop shopping” at the CT Home and Remodeling Show this weekend.
From Feb. 27 through March 1, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, members of the Home Builders Association will be showcasing their building products and homes for sale, while lending officials from three local banks offer financing options for first time homebuyers.
“We’ve created an area called ‘Builders spotlight’ to highlight the opportunities afforded by the new economic stimulus plan,” said Eric Person, the association’s executive officer. “We’re offering face-to-face access to association members who have tax credit options through the recently passed federal economic stimulus package, and to community banks that are actively lending.”
Mortgage rates are at an historic low, Mr. Person said, and the government’s stimulus package gives an $8,000 tax credit to new homebuyers, or people who wish to purchase a home and who haven’t lived in a primary residence for three years.
The Home Builders Association has partnered with three community banks to offer financing options at the show. They include: Rockville Bank, Farmington Savings Bank and Liberty Bank.
The 62nd annual CT Home & Remodeling show is the state’s largest home show, filling 140,000 square feet of space with 300 exhibitors and more than 600 display booths.
Midsummer Night’s DreamScape
A spectacular 4,000-square-foot display, featuring the ultimate in outdoor living, has been custom-built by Association members in the center of the show. The DreamScape features multiple outdoor lighting displays, a 12-foot waterfall surrounded by giant boulders, the ultimate backyard kitchen, a gazebo and a deck with sliding glass doors. To demonstrate the effects of outdoor lighting inside a building, a 2600-square-foot, walk-through structure has been painted black inside, Mr. Person explained.
“We’re able to showcase the ultimate dream yard at the convention center,” he said. “We couldn’t do this in any other space in the Hartford area because no other venue is large enough.”
The Home Builders Association of Hartford County will also sponsor a Youth Design Competition and Scholarship Program as part of the show this weekend. Every CT high school student enrolled in an engineering, trade or design course has been invited to build a model home display for a panel of association members to evaluate. Winners will receive $1,000 in cash and $1500 toward continuing education in the home building industry. Each year, students receive a total of $5000. During the past 60 years, the association has distributed more than $100,000 in student scholarships, organizers said.
Show Hours are:
Friday, Feb. 27, 4 to 9 PM
Saturday, Feb. 28, 10 AM to 9 PM
Sunday, March 1, 10 AM to 6 PM
Admission is $10
For more information on the CT Home & Remodeling Show, visit www.cthomeshow.com.
The Connecticut Convention Center, located at 100 Columbus Boulevard in Hartford, CT, is conveniently located off Interstate 91 at Exit 29-A (North and South). On-site parking is available. For more information, visit www.ctconventions.com.