About the time BBA staff members were thinking of spending the winter holidays with their families, Joe Blount, George Bennett, and Andy Pearce approached them about a new project. BBA had planned to sponsor a family for Christmas; but if we accepted the challenge of Project 523, Christmas would come a bit later for the Silva Family of Warwick, Rhode Island.

Oldport Homes of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, had been contacted by the producers of the ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and were asked to build a home for a deserving Rhode Island family. Oldport’s president, Eric Johnson, invited BBA to design the home and become part of the Extreme Team. Based on a more-than-seven-year professional relationship between the two companies, this would be a perfect fit. Early in January 2008, following two days of intense meetings with the show’s producers, the project was set in motion.

We would be allotted 106 hours for construction of a 3000+ square foot, two-story, shingle-style home! In the weeks to come, Oldport, BBA, and the design production staff worked together to make this seemingly impossible task a reality. Under the cloak of confidentiality, donations of time, talent, materials, and money were solicited and secured.

“Good morning Silva Family”...

The week of the build finally arrived, and the family was awakened by the show’s talent on a rainy Monday morning. That afternoon they were off on a vacation, and our Extreme Makeover project kicked into high gear. The official clock began ticking, following demolition of the home on Wednesday afternoon. The project continued around the clock until the new home was turned over to the producers in an astounding 100 hours – 6 hours ahead of schedule! All that remained was to move in the furniture from Cardi’s and to complete the final interior touches.

“Bus Driver, Move That Bus!”...

The familiar chant echoed through the entire Warwick neighborhood. Everyone in the crowd (estimated at over one thousand) smiled and cheered when the bus finally moved. Ken and Doreen Silva literally fell to their knees. The joy on the Silva Family’s faces was all the thanks the Extreme Team needed, and certainly made this exhausting project truly worthwhile! A wonderful Rhode Island family was given a wonderful new home.

The scheduled air date for this Rhode Island build is Sunday, May 4th on ABC (8pm/7c).

For additional information about this project, and to learn more about the Silva Family and see a list of all the local businesses that made this possible, check out OldportExtreme.com