Dispatch Tribune – 4/05

Northland Homebuilder put KC on Map
Extreme makeover done on time, down to last detail, by Kevin Green

The Northland – and more particularly Parkville – will gain at least a share in the national spotlight next month, thanks to homebuilder Kevin Green, who was chosen as the builder for an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” filmed in Kansas City. The episode is expected to be broadcast on ABC in about a month.

Green was selected by the show’s producer to demolish Stephen Johnson’s home near Raytown and build a new house in just more than five days.

He did it in grand style, building a 4,300-square-foot dream home for Johnson and his children as thousands of Kansas Citians monitored his progress daily through intense media coverage.

It was a busy yet emotional time for the family, the volunteers who worked and on the project and, most important, for Kevin Green, who took on the project as a challenge and as a labor of love.

“I am so happy, you cannot imagine it,” Green said as he watched the Johnson family react at the sight of their new home.

The quality of the Johnson home matched or exceeded the quality of a similar home that would take seven or eight months to build.

Green is no stranger to the Northland. His creative home designs have graced a number of residential communities, including Shoal Creek, The National, Staley Farms and Lake Pointe Centre. His sudden elevation to the national scene will certainly gain him unprecedented notoriety as a professional and as a person.

He already has won numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 Spring home Tour Pick of the Parade Grand Award and American Dream Grand Award Winner.

Green also is involved in charitable works. He initiated the Coats for Kids program to provide winter coats, gloves and hats for Children at English Landing Elementary School in the Park Hill School District whose families could not afford winter coats.

But “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was truly a work of another dimension. It presented a challenge that only a few can meet. The fact that Green was solicited to a accept the challenge and build the home in such a short time, while still paying attention to every detail, is a solid testimonial to his professionalism, creativety and reputation in the community.