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Extreme Makeover Moves Into Dolan's Neighborhood
The Seminole Beacon
March 15, 2005

BAY PINES – On Monday, the television crew and builder trucks rolled in, clogging up the roadways.

Builders began staging material and mapping out a strategy to get the daunting job done in less than one week. Spectators clicked cameras to capture the inspiring event while the media wanted immediate access.

And so began the preparation for the extraordinary work to be aired on the ABC hit television show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Sunday morning, Ty Pennington, the show's host, along with other crew members, knocked on the front door of the Dolan home to give the good news: The Dolans had been selected for a new home courtesy of "Extreme Makeover."

And, not just any home.

"It's going to be an elaborate structure," said Craig Gallagher, president of Lexington Homes Inc. "The executives at ABC set up the parameters. For example, each child must have his or her own bedroom."

The home will be constructed to place three children and four adults in the lap of luxury. It will be more than 5,000 square feet compared to its current area of less than 2,000 square feet.

"We are going to need every bit of that building space," Gallagher said with a laugh.

The home will have two master suites, three bathrooms, hardwood floors and granite counter tops. But even though that's cool, the best part is that the house will be outfitted to meet James' special needs.

"We will install voice recognition technology for the blind and other specifics," said Gallagher. "It will be a castle on the street."

A comparable house would sell for more than $400,000.

But, then again, the Dolan family is not just any family. James Dolan was blinded last November when a man with a gun walked into the Gateway Radio Shack where James was working. Joana Cruz, a store employee, and Kenneth Powell, a customer, were killed. The gunshot James received in the head left him permanently blind. He and his wife, Chrissy, have three children, ages 12, 6 and 3. Chrissy's brother and sister-in-law will live with the family.

This week, the family is vacationing in Puerto Rico, waiting for their new digs.

"They were just thrilled," said John Riddle, Bennett & Company Marketing on behalf of Lexington Homes Inc.

Building a home and filming a wide-scale television segment at the same time is no easy task. Lexington Homes Inc. was selected for the construction part, and this is its first full-scale project for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." But this is the second such community project in four months that Lexington Homes has built. The company worked with vendors and trade partners to build a home with proceeds of the sale donated to a 7-year-old boy battling a severe lung disease in Hernando County. They raised $120,000 to provide a lung transplant.

"We are definitely community oriented," said Craig Fiebe, chief executive officer.

Gallagher, a builder serving the west and central areas of Florida, said, "We are pleased and proud to have been selected for this project."

He praised Robert Nagin of Pinellas County for working closely to make this happen. County inspectors are making themselves available daily, if necessary, to oversee the project.

James Dolan and his family are remarkable, Gallagher said.

"I told Jimmy I was sorry for what had happened," said Gallagher, "but also I told him that it is obvious that he and his family are really loved in this community."

The Dolan home demolition was scheduled to start about noon on Tuesday with what Riddle calls, "the Braveheart scene." The construction will begin immediately with a Sunday completion planned.

The show will be aired this season, but the date was not available.

Lexington Homes was selected as the builder by Adam Helfman, construction consultant for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and Fairway Master Builders in Michigan.

"For two weeks a month, I work with the crew to move the construction along," said Helfman. "I don't usually like reality shows with people eating bugs and jumping off buildings."

But, he said, this show is different.

"It's all about the family," said Helfman.

Working with the project has inspired him.

"We can't give James his sight back," said Helfman, "but we certainly can give him a better life after such a tragedy."

"This is a really special project," said Riddle. "The whole neighborhood has been outstanding."

Fifteen homes around the Dolan's house have been impacted by the project's huge tasks of staging equipment, tents, trucks and loads of people tramping around.

By Kathy Ferguson

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 03/15/2005 Publication: The Seminole Beacon Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: national News Category: Entertainment

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