Steve Sheffield, developer of the Hidden Oaks housing development in Sandy, didn't invent the Parade of Homes, but he's virtually owned it for the past three years.
To make it happen this year, Sheffield had to develop on his own or as a co-sponsor six of the 10 homes in the show and arrange buyers for two others.Ironically, he hadn't intended to build any homes for this year's parade, but if he had stuck to that, the thousands of people who began lining up Saturday to see "Dream Street" - this year's theme - wouldn't have had anything to see.
"Unintentionally," he says, "this turned out to be a Sheffield Development home show."
The parade is an annual production of the Home Builders Association of Greater Salt Lake, but during much of the '80s and the local housing recession that went with the decade, the association was forced to diverge from its traditional format of 10 or so new houses in a single location.
The alternative, a few homes scattered around the valley and commercial exhibits in the Salt Palace, was less than satisfactory. The show waned.
Then came Sheffield, an attorney who had a strong desire to develop the 50 acres of land adjacent to Hidden Valley Golf Course that his father, the late Ralph A. Sheffield, a lawyer and former Utah legislator, had acquired.
"I was the youngest of five kids, and we all grew up listening to my dad dream about this valley, the wonderful place it is, and what could be done with some properties he had spent a lifetime accumulating," recalls Sheffield.
With his company, Sheffield Development, as general partner and other family members as limited partners, Sheffield set about developing that picturesque parcel at the base of Lone Peak into a planned community of top quality and amenities.
But scenic though it may be, 2000 E. 11700 South is a little out of the way, and Sheffield reasoned that the Parade of Homes and the 100,000 people it draws each year would not be a bad way to share his dream with the populace. It took three years to win the Home Builders Association over to that idea, but he was very determined. In 1986, he got the go-ahead to stage the 1987 Parade of Homes at Hidden Oaks.
It was a new idea, having the parade in a private, planned community. It was even newer to attempt having the homes sold in advance. But past shows, in which houses in the previous year's parade were still unsold when the new parade opened the following year, indicated the wisdom of that thinking. There were already enough bankrupt builders in the Salt Lake Valley.
Sheffield took the lead in '87 and lined up most of the builders himself. For a novice, he didn't do badly, winning the national HBA award for the best Parade of Homes in the United States.
All well and good, but if precedent were to be followed, the 1988 parade would now move on to another site. It didn't happen. Sheffield had proved he could do the show, he had that all-important parking area for the hordes of cars, and he had additional phases planned for Hidden Oaks. "Let's go for it again," he decided and the HBA concurred.
The '88 parade was also a big success, mixing a $600,000 mini-manse dubbed Sheffield Manor that Sheffield built for his own family, with lesser digs such as the Summer Cottage that were still nice but priced below $200,000. (Sheffield recently sold Sheffield Manor and is living in a model home at Hidden Oaks. He intends to build another home for his family there, but "a little smaller" this time.)
For 1989, the same logic pretty much applied. Hidden Oaks had, by tradition, become the Parade of Homes. But, as noted, Sheffield had planned to kick back this year and let others carry the ball while he presided as a sort of benevolent past president, lending his wisdom but not his sweat or money.
It didn't work out that way, but Sheffield isn't too unhappy. The mix of homes this year is more in line with most people's housing budgets - $157,0000 to $250,000 - while still being fun to look at. Best of all, most of them are already sold.
Nevertheless, the 1989 parade is Sheffield's swan song. While the development still has room for another 60 homes (there are now 55), the parking area will soon become the site of an LDS chapel.
Would he do it all again? Probably, he admits. "Even though there was tremendous sacrifice financially, a lot of pressure and a big investment in time, there was also a great thrill in seeing dreams come to reality and in creating a beautiful community."
Has he made any money at it? "Hidden Oaks has been mostly a labor of love because we spent more than we had to in quality. Therefore, it was not as profitable as it could have been. But there's more to enjoying life than profits. The investment we have made in the community will appreciate forever."
Sheffield says the housing market is making a big comeback and he wishes he had 10-15 more homes to sell during and following this year's Parade of Homes. The show helps lot sales, he said, but not as much as people might think.
"People have a fear about building their own home. They think the hassles of building aren't worth it. That's true to a point, but there is a real magic in building your own home as well. That's the heart of the American dream - not just a home, but your home with your own style built into it."