The "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house in Northeast Baltimore is almost ready to be revealed, two days later than initially planned.
The 11,120-square-foot home will be presented to seven girls who are members of Boys Hope Girls Hope — an organization that provides at-risk youth with a group-home-style setting — between 3 and 5 p.m. Sunday, according to Shane Swisher, spokesperson for Excel Homes, a Camp Hill, Pa.-based custom modular manufacturer. Excel will lead construction of the project along with the Maryland Community Builders Foundation.
The three-level home, which is valued at $1 million, was originally supposed to be revealed Friday, but torrential rain storms slowed the usual whirlwind construction schedule.
"They have some more brick and panel to put up," Swisher said Saturday. "They are scheduled to bring the furniture into the house today."
The new home will mix traditional Baltimore elements with a lot of modern style, according to the builders. For example, the front of the home includes brick to represent the historic row homes of Baltimore. The arched roof is inspired by the National Aquarium, Baltimore.
The home features nine bedrooms, a finished basement, a two-story fireplace, a library, and a "Grand Hall," The Baltimore Sun learned Thursday during a tour of the unfinished home.
"The kids that live there are going to love it," said Steven Saffell, director of architectural design and innovation for Excel. "They will have anything they need to be successful."
The structure, which is the largest in the history of the show, will be green certified, and will contain solar panels and other materials that will cut down on energy costs, he said.
The recipients of the new home were surprised last week with the news of the home while filming an interview with a local television station. The group was under the impression that they were being interviewed for the community service they perform as members of Boys Hope Girls Hope. The girls were sent to Los Angeles on vacation — courtesy of the show — while the home was under construction.
The group was one of five finalists in the area for the new home. Producers for the popular feel-good show found out about the girls when the boys of the program wrote a letter on their behalf asking for a home.
Boys Hope Girls Hope has been operating a home for boys in Northeast Baltimore since 2001. That home is located a block away from the lot where the girls' home is being built. The lot — located in the 3800 block of Fleetwood Avenue — was purchased last year by the organization with plans for building a group home for the girls. The lot is the site where a house was torched by a serial arsonist in 2007.
Organizers are asking spectators who want to attend the unveiling to park in the upper lot of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church at 6000 Radecke Ave. Organizers are telling spectators to plan to spend several hours at the site. Spectators should also plan accordingly by bringing plenty of fluids such as water and sports drinks and sunscreen, according to Swisher.
The Baltimore episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will air this fall.
john-john.williams@baltsun.com