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Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct a spelling error.
On April 11, Chesmar Homes broke ground on a Georgetown home with a deeper meaning.
Called the Benefit Home in master-planned community Nolina, proceeds of the home sale will go toward the Home Builder’s Association of Greater Austin, HomeAid Austin and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, according to a news release.
Breaking it down
A Benefit Home is an annual project of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, or HBA. The home is built mostly from HBA members’ donations of materials, labor, supplies and more, per the release.
Johnson Land Ventures, the developer of Nolina and a division of Johnson Development Corp., donated the lot for the Benefit Home and Chesmar Homes was chosen to build it. Both Johnson Land Ventures and Chesmar Homes have selected MD Anderson Cancer Center to honor those fighting cancer, including Kandis Rushing, Johnson Development Corp. director of marketing, per the release.
“We are thrilled to support this important initiative for the HBA and have selected a beneficiary that hits close to home for the Nolina team,” President of Johnson Land Ventures Michael Cox said in the release.
Proceeds from the sale could range from $150,000-$200,000 once split equally between the charities, per the release.
The inspiration
At a May 7 kickoff event at Nolina, officials gathered to celebrate the beginning of a separate but connected Summer of Hope Project. The summer initiative allows a portion of every Nolina home sold from June-August to also go toward MD Anderson, Rushing said.
“Cancer strikes far too many people, and even for those not directly with the disease, the impact is devastating,” Austin Division President of Chesmar Homes Adam Stockton said in the release. “The people at MD Anderson are miracle workers, and we want to support their efforts to help those facing this gut-wrenching disease.”
At the kickoff event, attendees were invited to enter the Benefit Home and write down the name of a loved one who has been affected by cancer on the wooden beams inside the home.
About the project
The Benefit Home will be two stories with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The base price is $474,990, and it will take roughly five months to build, per the release.
Nolina opened for home sales in early 2024 and includes homes from developers like Chesmar Homes, Perry Homes, Taylor Morrison and Westin Homes.
Nolina will have six phases of development, and officials will likely start Phase 3 in 2025, Rushing said. At total build-out—which could go into 2035—the 524-acre community will have 1,341 homes. As of early May, Rushing said there are:
The HBA works in seven counties around Central Texas and started the Benefit Home project in 1991. To date, the HBA has raised over $3 million for charity, per the release.
