Web Site Showcases 65 Projects

Purcell Inc., a design/ build remodeling and custom-home building firm in Stillwater, Minn., restored the 1874 Victorian home pictured and expanded it to more than 7,000 square feet. Additions included the conservatory as well as two towers, one of which houses an elevator and connects to an underground garage. Using photographs from a local historical society, Purcell replicated the home's original wraparound porch.

The project is part of the 15th annual Parade of Homes Remodelors Showcase presented by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities this October. The event showcased 65 remodeled homes in 26 communities across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

In addition to producing a 50-page brochure featuring the projects, a directory of remodelers and articles to help homeowners, the association gives each participant a page on the parade Web site (www.paradeofhomes.org), which allows homeowners to search the projects by type, remodeler and location. The site includes photographs, project scopes and links to the remodelers' Web sites.

According to Doug Nelson, CGR, CR, president of New Spaces in Burnsville, Minn., and chair of the Showcase committee, up to 5,000 attendees passed through one project last year.