[+] Jeff Benton Homes Achieves National Ranking(5/01/08)

[-] Jeff Benton Homes Achieves National Ranking
Huntsville, Alabama – May 5, 2008

Jeff Benton Homes, Incorporated, has been recognized by Professional Builder Magazine as one of America’s Giant 400 Homebuilders.

Professional Builder, a magazine for professionals within the residential building industry, based its ranking on operating results reported in 2007. It first identified the 400 largest builders by the number of housing units closed, and then sorted those 400 builders by housing revenues. Based on these criteria, Jeff Benton Homes appears in position 299 on the magazine’s 2008 Giant 400 Homebuilders list.

“While size alone has never been a goal for us,” says JBH President Jeff Benton, “being recognized as one of Professional Builder Magazine’s Giant 400 is certainly exciting. More than anything else, though, this ranking tells us our long term commitment to this area and our customers is paying off.”

Jeff Benton Homes
Jeff Benton Homes started building new homes in the Huntsville / Madison County area in 1987. Now a nationally-ranked homebuilding company, Jeff Benton Homes still adheres to its original philosophy of treating people with the care and respect they deserve while providing them quality homes in great communities at very competitive prices. Jeff Benton Homes range in size from 2000 to 4250 square feet. For more information please visit www.jeffbentonhomes.com, call us at (256) 430-4301, or visit our New Home Center at 2404 Commerce Court in Huntsville, Alabama.

Jeff Benton Homes (256) 489-0376; Email: Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com or Wendy Lee at wendy@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Jeff Benton Homes Builds New Headquarters(5/01/08)

[-] Jeff Benton Homes Builds New Headquarters
Huntsville, Alabama – May 1, 2008

Jeff Benton Homes is building a larger headquarters to accommodate the needs of its new home buyers. The builder has announced plans for a 5 million dollar office development project. Construction will start in May on a two-story, 52,000-square-foot office building.

The project involves the partial demolition and redevelopment of the former Huntsville Lumber Co. site on Shoney Drive between South Memorial Parkway and L & N Drive. The homebuilder will use 13,000 square feet of the new building for its headquarters, including a 4,000 sq feet Home Design Studio.

"We are thrilled to be growing in this economy", said Jeff Benton "we have been building homes in the Madison, Huntsville area for more than 20 years and are eager to make this move, our 5th in 10 years."

The redevelopment of the former Huntsville Lumber Co site will put a welcome new face on a former industrial area. The high visibility site offers easy access for new home buyers from Memorial Parkway and Drake and the development adds to the recent upswing in development in the area including Parkway Place Mall and the updated Redstone Federal Credit Union building.

Benton is leasing portions of the repurposed building for office and retail use. Construction is expected to take about nine months, and Benton anticipates the building to be about half-leased when work begins. "A building on the north side of Shoney Drive is also available. We hope that structure will be redeveloped along similar lines," Benton said.

Jeff Benton Homes has been building new homes in the Madison / Huntsville Alabama area since 1987. One of north Alabama’s largest homebuilders, Jeff Benton Homes has grown by adhering to its philosophy of treating people with care and respect.

Jeff Benton Homes (256) 489-0376; Email: Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com or Wendy Lee at wendy@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Jeff Benton Home Teams Attend International Builders' Show(3/07/08)

[-] Jeff Benton Homes Teams Attend International Builders’ Show
HUNTSVILLE, AL, March 7, 2008

Jeff Benton Homes’ management and sales teams recently traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend the 2008 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida. The show featured nearly 2,000 exhibitors and covered more than one million square feet of exhibit space in the Orange County Convention Center.

“We’re focused on keeping Jeff Benton Homes on the homebuilding leading edge”, said President Jeff Benton. “The International Builders Show gave our management and sales teams a terrific opportunity to see the very latest in building products, services and technologies”.

“We were also excited to be there for the official launch of the NAHB National Green Building Program and its Certified Green Professional designation. Jeff Benton Homes has long been committed to protecting the environment. In fact, Huntsville’s Flint River Conservation Association honored us with its first-ever River Guardian Award. It’s very gratifying to be a part of an organization that takes its responsibilities to the environment so seriously.”  

Jeff Benton Homes started building new homes in the Huntsville / Madison County area in 1987. Now one of north Alabama’s largest homebuilders, Jeff Benton Homes still adheres to its original philosophy of treating people with the care and respect they deserve while providing them quality homes in great communities at very competitive prices.

Jeff Benton Homes (256) 489-0376; Email: Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com or Wendy Lee at wendy@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Jeff Benton Home Builder Wins River Guardian Award (2/22/08)

[-] Jeff Benton Home Builder Wins River Guardian Award
HUNTSVILLE, AL, JANUARY 23, 2008: Home Builder Jeff Benton was awarded the Flint River Conservation Association's first-ever River Guardian Award.

Jeff Benton Homes (JBH), one of the area's largest subdivision developers, was honored for its work in the Liberty Park neighborhood off Taylor Road. The Liberty Park sub-division is adjacent to the Goldsmith-Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary. Combined, the Hays Nature Preserve and Goldsmith Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary form Huntsville's largest and most undeveloped parklands.

During construction JBH erected fences to control runoff, keeping Silt and mud out of the adjacent sanctuary waters. Huntsville City Ecologist Soos Weber, who manages Hays Nature Preserve in Hampton Cove, said "They have a good conservation ethic and have done a good job of trying to avoid wetlands rather than fill them in."

In addition, the Huntsville home builder donated approximately 10 acres to the preserve creating a natural buffer zone between wetlands and the Liberty Park neighborhood.

Jeff Benton of Jeff Benton Homes said "We feel it is important to manage our natural resources. We strive to build neighborhoods in ways that minimize the impact to the environment and preserve the beauty of the area. We are pleased to be acknowledged for our efforts in this area."

The Flint River Conservation Association is a group of concerned residents, landowners and recreational users who are working to conserve and improve the water quality, natural resources and scenic beauty of Madison County's Flint River Watershed.

Jeff Benton Homes builds new homes in Huntsville, Alabama. Our philosophy is to provide quality family homes at an affordable price. JBH has been building new homes in the Huntsville/Madison County area since 1987.

Jeff Benton Homes (256) 489-0376; Email: Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Jeff Benton Homes Selected for Inclusion in Elite Builder® Program(2/01/08)

[-] Jeff Benton Homes Selected for Inclusion in Elite Builder® Program
Home Buyers Warranty Corporation (HBW) has selected Jeff Benton Homes for inclusion in its prestigious Elite Builder® program. This program recognizes and supports a small group of homebuilders nationwide who are able to meet precise criteria. To be selected for this program the home builder must:

• Have a minimum of five years experience in the custom or luxury home markets
• Meet strict standards of demonstrated excellence in customer service
• Employ stringent financial screening of potential home buyers
• Have an excellent reputation in both the business and personal arenas
• Have a solid history of excellent financial stability and practices
• Meet 2-10 HBW’s quality construction standards
• Enroll 100% of its homes in the 2-10 HBW program

The Elite Builder program is a mark of quality that sets the selected builder apart. This special designation places Jeff Benton Homes in an elite group of only five other builders in Alabama, and only 216 other homebuilders nationwide. About Home Buyers Warranty Corporation

Since 1980 the Home Buyers Warranty Corporation has provided warranties on over 3,000,000 American homes. Today more than 15,000 home builders and 62,000 real estate professionals use its products. Its 10-year, insurance-backed new construction structural warranty is the most popular and widely-recognized warranty in the home building business. HBW is a member of the National Association of Home Builders. For more information on the Elite Builder program please visit www.2-10.com.

About Jeff Benton Homes

Jeff Benton Homes has been building new homes in the Huntsville / Madison Alabama area since 1987. One of north Alabama’s largest homebuilders, Jeff Benton Homes has grown by adhering to its philosophy of treating people with care and respect. For more information please visit www.jeffbentonhomes.com, call us at 256-430-4301, or visit our New Home Center at 2404 Commerce Court in Huntsville, Alabama.

Jeff Benton Homes (256) 489-0376; Email: Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Jeff Benton Homes Receives Guildmaster® Designation (2/01/08)

[-] Jeff Benton Homes Receives Guildmaster® Designation

GuildQuality® Incorporated, producer of customer satisfaction survey software for real estate and building professionals nationwide, has recognized Jeff Benton Homes as a Guildmaster Homebuilder. To earn the Guildmaster designation at least 70% of a homebuilder’s customer base must complete a GuildQuality satisfaction survey, and at least 90% of those who respond must indicate that they would recommend their builder to others. Award winners have thus demonstrated their ability to consistently deliver an exceptional customer experience.

"While we're certainly happy and honored to receive this recognition from GuildQuality", says Jeff Benton, CEO, "we're even more excited by what this means for our current and future customers.”

“You see, the Jeff Benton Homes team takes the GuildQuality satisfaction survey results very seriously. We encourage our customers to complete one survey at the midpoint of the building process, and another one long after they’ve moved into their new home. Each member of our management team is responsible for reviewing every survey. We carefully consider our customers’ comments and suggestions, and we’re committed to resolving any issues they might have.”

“We’re very happy to receive the Guildmaster designation. It tells us that we’re not only succeeding in our mission to build quality homes, but that our customers are also enjoying their homebuilding experience with us. I don’t think it gets much better than that.” 

GuildQuality, Inc.
Hundreds of quality-minded builders, remodelers and real estate developers around the country rely on GuildQuality to help them monitor the quality of service their customers receive. www.GuildQuality.com

Jeff Benton Homes
Jeff Benton Homes started building new homes in the Huntsville / Madison County area in 1987. Now one of north Alabama’s largest homebuilders, Jeff Benton Homes still adheres to its original philosophy of treating people with the care and respect they deserve while providing them quality homes in great communities at very competitive prices. For more information please visit www.jeffbentonhomes.com, call us at (256) 430-4301, or visit our New Home Center at 2404 Commerce Court in Huntsville, Alabama.

Contact
Wendy Lee
256-489-0375
wendy@jeffbentonhomes.com

Ashley Crick
256-489-0376
Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Jeff Benton Homes continues to introduce new and exciting ways to make your dream home a reality.  Inspiration Pointe (11/07)

[-] Who's Who In Huntsville Magazine, Nov/Dec 2007 - Jeff Benton Homes continues to introduce new and exciting ways to make your dream home a reality. Inspiration Pointe, Jeff Benton Homes newest community is located in Meridianville, Al off 231/431 N, offering home sites measuring .40 of an acre to .81 acre. Amenities include a community clubhouse and swimming pool. Escape the rush of the city for tranquil peace and quiet of the country. Inspiration Pointe offers under-ground utilities, curbs and gutters, and natural gas. We invite you to come visit Inspiration Point and experience the simple hassle free life of owning a Jeff Benton Home. Jeff Benton Homes (256) 489-0376; Email: Acrick@jeffbentonhomes.com

[+] Lumber yard, SCI building undergoing redevelopment. Developers Benton, Wisda working together again on 2 big projects

[-] Lumber yard, SCI building undergoing redevelopment. Developers Benton, Wisda working together again on 2 big projects
 
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer
marian.accardi@htimes.com
 
Two local developers who have partnered for the last decade on land development and commercial projects are working together again, redeveloping two high-profile properties in Huntsville.
Jeff Benton, president of Jeff Benton Homes, and Dr. John Wisda, principal of Wiz Kidz LLC, plan to start construction within two months on a two-story, 52,000-square-foot office building at the former Huntsville Lumber Co. site on Shoney Drive between South Memorial Parkway and L&N Drive.
The project, which will be visible from the Parkway, has an estimated price tag of $7.5 million.
Meantime, Wisda said renovation and demolition work should start in the next 30 days at the former SCI building at 8600 South Parkway. That building, vacant for several years, has 190,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.
Benton said the Shoney Drive building will help spur other redevelopment projects in the area.
A building on the north side of Shoney is for sale. "We hope that'll end up being developed along similar lines," he said.
Wendy Lee, the company's vice president of sales and marketing, added: "We think it will help rehab the area."
Good location
Even though numerous office projects are springing up around the city, Benton said, "I feel very confident about our ability to lease this building. The location is too good to pass up."
The home builder will use 13,000 square feet of the new building for Jeff Benton Homes' headquarters and design studio, moving from Commerce Court. The design studio will expand to 4,000 square feet.
"We can mix in some retail (at the new building), but we think the majority of it will be office space," Benton said.
Construction is expected to take about nine months, and Benton expects the building to be about half-leased when work starts.
Second project
At the former SCI site, Wisda said the developers will demolish 60,000 square feet to create better traffic flow through the property and create more parking spaces.
"When we're finished, we'll end up with a 30,000-square-foot, three-story building and a 70,000-square-foot, two-story building and a 40,000-square-foot warehouse," said Wisda, who's medical director of Crestwood Medical Center's emergency department.
The three-story building is ready for occupancy now. The two-story building will get a new exterior, and the interior will be rebuilt to suit tenants, Wisda said.
The project will change the look of the building and provide affordable office options for federal contractors coming to Huntsville as a result of BRAC and for existing businesses, he said.
"Doing urban renewal is good for the city and good for us, because we have an affordable office building."
The architect for the Shoney building is James Lee Caudle at NewSouth Architects, and the architect for the former SCI building is SKT Architects.

[+] 3 developers win River Guardian awards

[-] 3 developers win River Guardian awards
AH: Group recognizes work to protect area's wetlands
By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer
steve.doyle@htimes.com
A Huntsville group that trains people to spot erosion, runoff and other bad construction practices took time out recently to honor the good work of three developers.
Jeff Benton Homes, Kenneth McCrary of Smith Engineering and Cove Storage Center owner Brad White received the Flint River Conservation Association's first-ever River Guardian awards for helping to protect wetlands and other sensitive places.
City ecologist Soos Weber, who manages Hays Nature Preserve in Hampton Cove, said all the honorees put up sturdy silt fences to prevent mud from oozing off construction sites. Most developers use the fences, but Weber said they are often installed wrong and not maintained.
"I hope the ones we gave the awards to will pass their enthusiasm along to others in the development community," Weber said Thursday. "Maybe in the future we can give out some Most Improved awards to the developers who do come around."
Jeff Benton Homes, one of the area's biggest subdivision developers, was honored for its work in the Liberty Park neighborhood off Taylor Road. Silt fences kept mud out of the adjacent Goldsmith-Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary; the company also gave the city about 10 acres to add to the preserve, Weber said.
"They have a good conservation ethic," she said, "and have done a good job of trying to avoid wetlands rather than fill them in."
McCrary, a licensed surveyor with Smith Engineering, was honored for keeping runoff from the Grand Lakes subdivision out of Muddy Cave, one of the last remaining habitats for the endangered Alabama cave shrimp. McCrary is in charge of inspecting the silt fences at Grand Lakes, being built off Green Cove Road in south Huntsville.
"The shrimp can only live in the pure water of these caves," Weber said. "If a great quantity of sediment gets in, it could just smother the population."
Weber also plans to honor the neighborhood's developers, Dick Holloway and Gene Sapp, for eliminating several homesites to help protect the cave. Holloway retired in 2004 as president of Teledyne Brown Engineering; Sapp is the retired chairman and CEO of SCI Systems Inc.
During construction of his storage business on Taylor Lane, White planted grass to keep loose soil from washing into a nearby wetland area, Weber said. He later installed sod to further limit runoff.
"You hardly see any subdivision developers putting in grass seed to stabilize the soil, even though it's the best thing to do," Weber said.