Tucker Hill, a Southern Land Company community, will host the 2008 Parade of Homes™ beginning May 17, 2008 and continuing through June 8, 2008. Tucker Hill is a traditional neighborhood now under development on Highway 380 in McKinney.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas – an organization that helps children with life-threatening medical conditions experience their greatest wish – and HomeAid/Home Builders Care – a non-profit created by the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas dedicated to fighting homelessness – are again the charitable beneficiaries of this year’s Parade.

Multiple homes in various stages of construction dot the more than 700 acres Southern Land Company -- a company that has completed or is in the process of developing 17 communities with a total investment value of $1.7 billion -- has procured on Hwy 380 just east of Stonebridge Dr. SLC calls the development Tucker Hill and come Saturday, several homes will be open for public viewing.

Tucker Hill, McKinney’s newest traditional neighborhood, will be giving Greater Goodies – chocolate truffles hand made by residents of the inn – to prospective home owners in an effort to support the Samaritan Inn, Collin County’s only homeless shelter.

Southern Land Company, the developer of Tucker Hill, has partnered with the Samaritan as part of a larger initiative to raise awareness of issues surrounding homelessness in Collin County. Tucker Hill purchases the chocolate from the Samaritan Inn and sends it to people who tour the models. The money made helps support the vocational training program at the Samaritan Inn, which teaches job skills to residents of the shelter.

In this edition of the NAI Nashville Market Report podcast, I spoke with Timothy Downey the President and CEO of the Southern Land Company about their new mixed-use development in the Cool Springs area called McEwen.

Local builder Bruce Hancock has always been interested in using energy-efficient technology in the homes he builds. When he started drawing up plans for his own home, he met with a heating and cooling engineer who mentioned a word he hadn't heard before: geothermal. When the engineer used the phrase "save over 50 percent in electricity costs," Hancock had heard enough. He was in.

As often happens, Vince Gill and Amy Grant's day jobs merged with their passion for charity on Friday night as they marked their second year as co-chairs of the 2008 St. Jude Dream Home giveaway.

On February 4, Southern Exposure Magazine and Franklinis.com held a banquet for all of the 2007 Sizzle Award finalists. Southern Land Company was voted Best Builder/Developer in Williamson County for the second year in a row. With the amount of growth and development in this county, it is a huge honor to be named the best.

Video of the Tucker Hill Fountain assembly - one of the largest wrought iron fountains in the U.S.

When planning for Westhaven was under way, Southern Land Co. spokesman Jim Cheney was tasked with coming up with unique street names for the community. He drew his inspiration from his personal interest: literature. Soon, streets with names such as Kerouac, Tennyson and Yeats will be home to Westhaven residents.

One of the signature amenities at Tucker Hill – a Southern Land Company traditional neighborhood development now underway in McKinney, Texas – will be installed in mid-December, just in time for the community’s official 2008 launch.