{"id":377218,"date":"2026-08-21T05:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T05:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/377218\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T05:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T05:38:09","slug":"effort-underway-to-build-a-st-jude-dream-home-showplace-in-cape-coral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/377218\/","title":{"rendered":"Effort underway to build a St. Jude Dream Home Showplace in Cape Coral"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A sign and a rendering of what the St. Jude Dream Home Showplace, to be built at 4848 SW 24th Ave., will look like. CHUCK BALLARO<\/p>\n

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CHUCK BALLARO<\/p>\n

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CHUCK BALLARO<\/p>\n

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Cape Coral will soon be home to the first St. Jude Dream Home Showplace in the state of Florida.<\/p>\n

Organizers are hoping to raise $1 million for St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital through the effort with the help of local builders, contractors, vendors and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building the home from ground zero with the support of sponsors, the community and the city,\u201d said Ava Bahnam of Bahnam Builders at a \u201cLot Pop\u201d ceremony held Thursday. \u201cIt will be something spectacular. We are excited. There will be a lot of people interested in the home once it\u2019s built.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bahnam Builders announced its official partnership with St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital to a St. Jude Dream Home Showplace through a concerted community-driven homebuilding effort.<\/p>\n

The \u201cLot Pop\u201d champagne celebration was held on the site at 4848 S.W. 24th Ave., bringing out city dignitaries, as well as local trade partners, vendors, businesses and national sponsors who will contribute their time, expertise, labor and materials toward the home\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n

Bahnam said one of her sales reps helped put the project together by contacting St. Jude. This will be a huge undertaking., she added with the goal being to build entirely through donations.<\/p>\n

Building representative Queen Ellis said the event was a historic moment for the city and that for a long time, the state would not allow such a home to be built.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer in the beginning was no. However, after a small work-around and vetting Bahnam Builders and visiting Cape Coral in person, they explored a way to make an impossibility possible,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Jonathan Martin said St. Jude represents the best of humanity when the most innocent among us need help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t just give children hope, they give us hope. Hope for recovery, hope for a medical miracle and hope for humanity,\u201d Martin said. \u201cSeeing us come together to do something so good and us come together after horrible tragedy. We can see this building not just as a metaphor, but something tangible. We can see hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sheri Harris, of the Integrity First Group and leader of the Bahnam sales team, the project is personal following the challenges her 5-month-old grandson underwent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe spent a month in the NICU. The first three days, his parents couldn\u2019t hold him. It was heartbreaking,\u201d Harris said. \u201cHe\u2019s had two operations and two hospital stays in his short life. We saw so many families go through similar things and wonder how they were going to pay for this. What happened solidified what we\u2019re doing here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 100 trade partners and vendors will be needed to help bring the home to life. Bahnam Builders is inviting local contractors, skilled tradespeople, vendors and businesses to become part of this historic project by donating their time, talents, materials, services or expertise.<\/p>\n

The home will be around 3,000 square feet with four bedrooms and three baths and a three-car garage, spacious backyard, outdoor kitchen, Bahnam said.<\/p>\n

Upon completion sometime late next year, the public will tour the home during a series of open-house events. It will be featured during the 2028 Builder\u2019s Showcase and the Parade of Homes. The house is expected to cost more than $1 million at sale.<\/p>\n

The net proceeds from the sale of the St. Jude Dream Home Showplace will benefit St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital.<\/p>\n

Danny Thomas started St. Jude\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital in 1962. At the time, the chance of childhood cancer survival was 20 percent. It is now 80 percent. <\/p>\n

Its goal is that no child dies of cancer with families not having the pay.<\/p>\n


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