2022 HomeShowExpo planned in new Ankeny development

Kimberley Estates will feature several high-end houses

by kathy a. bolten

Bill Kimberley remembers when he would get anxious about whether he’d be able to sell a $500,000 speculative house his company built.

Now it’s not uncommon for Ankeny-based Kimberley Development Corp. to annually build and sell several houses priced at $1 million or more. 

“We can’t build them fast enough,” said Kimberley, whose company is hosting the 2022 HomeShowExpo at its Kimberley Estates, a new executive-home development in northeast Ankeny. “The [Des Moines metro area] has so many million-dollar-plus houses going up right now, it’s just kind of unfathomable.” 

Kimberley has been building houses and developing residential plats in the Des Moines area since 1978. His company has built more than 2,500 houses during the 44-year period and has had houses in 11 HomeShowExpos, sponsored annually by the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines. 

The 2022 HomeShowExpo, which is scheduled for three weekends in July, will be the third time Kimberley Development has hosted a home show in one of its developments. The company also hosted home shows in 2007 and 2010. The 2022 expo will feature seven builders and nine houses ranging in price from about $800,000 to nearly $2 million.

“Developers like to host a home show in their development because it draws so much attention,” Kimberley said. “The advertising that goes on for a show, the people who attend it and then talk about it, all of that puts your development in the forefront of people’s mind.”

Kimberley Estates backs up to Fourmile Creek. The creek is surrounded by a meadowlike area that includes a walking trail available to community members. The development features 100-foot-wide lots that Kimberley described as “abnormally large.”

When completed, the development will include 46 homes, many of which will sell for more than $1 million, Kimberley said. 

The development’s covenants include requirements that houses have a minimum of three-car garages, at least four trees be planted on each lot, and houses range in size from 1,800 square feet for a ranch to 2,400 square feet for a two-story home, according to information online about the development. In addition, vinyl or steel siding cannot be used on the exterior of the houses and fencing material must be black-coated chain link, wrought iron or black-painted aluminum. 

“If someone is going to invest in building an expensive house, they are going to want those same types of homes all around them,” Kimberley said. 

Past home shows

The homebuilders’ association began hosting home shows in 1976, when the expo was held in Karp Plaza in Clive. That year’s home show featured 13 builders who constructed houses that ranged in price from $65,000 to $100,000, according to information provided by the association. About 10,000 people attended the event; in 1979, the show’s attendance swelled to 26,000, the most ever for an expo. 

The home shows are important for fundraising, said Dan Knoup, the group’s executive officer.

“The expos help the association pay for lobbying and advocacy services for our members,” Knoup said. “Without the show, we would dramatically change how we operate.”

The home show provides homebuilders an opportunity to showcase their expertise, Jenna Kimberley, vice president of Kimberley Development and the association’s 2022 president, said. 

For instance, over the years Kimberley Development has become known for its use of woodwork in its new home construction as well as top-notch craftsmanship, she said. “Those are great things to be known for. Lately, we’ve had more people who want a more modern home, a transitional home, a modern farmhouse-style home. All of those styles have become popular in the past five to 10 years. 

More about Bill Kimberley

Bill Kimberley has been a homebuilder since 1978. In those 44 years, his company has constructed more than 2,500 houses. The company has developments in more than 20 Des Moines-area communities.

In 2021, Kimberley was presented with the Lloyd E. Clark Lifetime Achievement Award by the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines and inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Kimberley was voted Ankeny’s Best Builder 11 times and has won numerous awards at the association’s HomeShowExpo, including Favorite Home Award (four times), Best of Show (2007), People’s Choice Award (2010) and the Builder of the Year (2010). 

“The home show is allowing us to do both a traditional craftsman home, but we’ll also be able to showcase a modern [speculative] house so that people can see that we’re not boxed into what we’ve traditionally been good at,” Jenna Kimberley said.

Home shows also allow builders to reach new – and younger – audiences, she said.

“It’s not about buying that exact house you see built in a home show, it’s about building relationships so that builder can one day build that house people are dreaming about and can afford to live in,” Jenna Kimberley said.

Technology and home shows

When Bill Kimberley began featuring houses in home shows, attendance at the events was higher than it has been in recent years. 

Nowadays, people interested in a particular homebuilder or style of house can virtually tour a house, thanks to technology that enables 360-degree views of rooms, both furnished and unfurnished. In addition, more model houses are available for potential homebuyers to tour in person.

“Twenty to 30 years ago, it was kind of unheard of in the Des Moines market to have a model home that was furnished and decorated,” Bill Kimberley said. “It wasn’t as feasible for builders to be putting up model homes and furnishing and decorating them. Now you can go online and see the virtual tours or go visit the [model] houses.”

Technology will also be on display at houses featured in the 2022 home show.

“Everything these days is operated by Wi-Fi,” Bill Kimberley said. “We’re putting in a really nice swimming pool with an outdoor cooking and entertainment area. The whole pool can be controlled by an app on your phone: the lights, the pumps, the heating. Technology is exploding everywhere.”

Most of the houses in the home show will feature security systems, which Kimberley acknowledged isn’t new. What is new are the smaller cameras that can be installed in various areas of a house and controlled by apps on a cellphone, he said.

“If I’m out of town, I can see what is going on inside my house,” he said.

Some of the houses will also feature indoor LED lighting systems that eliminate the need for conventional on/off wall switches and can instead be controlled by smartphones. Smart faucets, which help conserve water and energy, will also be on display.

In addition, Kimberley-built houses will include Apple iPads that will be programmed to control several things in the house, including sound systems, blinds and security systems, Jenna Kimberley said.

“We’re also trying out leak-monitoring technology that will flag you if you have any abnormal water usage in your irrigation or in your house,” she said. 

Building a house for a home show is typically stressful for homebuilders, Jenna Kimberley said. This year, with concerns about the availability of products and supplies, the show will be even more stressful, she said.

“You’re under the gun until the last minute when you’re building in a home show,” she said. “With the supply-chain issues, everyone is going to be a little more stressed than normal.”

Still, Jenna Kimberley said, “The homebuilders understand that the visibility you get with a home show is second to none. There’s nothing else in our metro area that provides this much visibility. 

“They will get the houses done even if it means putting some other things on the back burner for a bit.”