'Welcome home, Tates!'
The Tate family returns from a vacation in Costa Rica to their new house courtesy of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published January 15, 2007
TAMPA -- The week that transformed the Tate family's nomadic life ended Sunday much the way it began - with an ABC Extreme Makeover: Home Edition bus parked outside their Davis Islands home.
Only this time, the structure standing on the other side of the motor coach, where their ruined home had stood a week earlier, was sparkling new.
What replaced the remains of their modest, 1950s-style house at 629 E Davis Blvd. is a 3,500 square-foot, two-story home with four bedrooms and a guest suite.
"Thank you so much," eldest sibling and Marine Ryan Tate told subcontractors as he stood in the street and cried.
Cynthia Tate, his mother, blew kisses to the people who took on the sleep-depriving task of building a new home from the ground up within a week.
Her husband, Tom, got out of the Hummer limo that brought the family home Sunday and jumped up and down with both arms stretched high into the air. He made a beeline for his mother then high-fived other relatives standing with her.
The two younger Tate children, Tommy and Loren, smiled and waved to the crowds of young friends screaming their names.
"I think we really poured our heart and soul into building this home," said Tim Oak, Florida west coast regional president of Home Building and project manager for the Tates' new house. "I couldn't have asked for it to go better."
The Tates were chosen from among five Florida finalists by ABC producers, who sent the Extreme Makeover team to surprise them on Jan. 7. The family spent a week in Costa Rica while Bonita Springs-based contractor WCI pulled together the team that built the house.
Hillsborough resident Eric Wiese, a freelance photographer, spent the week with the Tates in Costa Rica. He said they explored the rain forest and went white water rafting.
Wiese has filmed the vacations of more than 40 Extreme Makeover families in his two years working with the show and the happy endings always choke him up. But this one is different. It's close to home; he lives 4 miles from the Tates.
"This is the first time I've gotten to see a reveal," said Wiese. "It's always one of those things when I'm watching the show I tear up. So I know today I'm going to be bawling like a little girl."
The Tates lost their home June 12, when a twin-engine plane careened off the runway at the nearby Peter O. Knight Airport and slammed into their living room. Pilot Steve Huisman of Bradenton died. Co-pilot Sean Launder survived with critical injuries.
Mrs. Tate was home alone with the family pets at the time.
Makeover executive producer Denise Cramsey said the Tates were chosen because of the dramatic way their lives changed. They had no homeowner's insurance when the accident happened, Cramsey said, because of a mistake in the paperwork during a recent refinancing. She said earlier this week that it would take 3,000 people to make the Tates' new home happen. The family will pay the same mortgage they paid on their demolished house, she said.
Legions of spectators and volunteers spent the week marvelling at just how fast the home was built. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and other officials regularly stopped by to see the progress.
The destroyed home was completely leveled on Monday, and crews worked into the night to remove tainted soil that had been soaked by jet fuel. Construction officially began on Tuesday, with the pouring of the foundation and framing of the first and second floors.
By Wednesday morning, there was a roof. The stucco went on and the drywall went in on Thursday. Finish carpentry and cabinets were added Friday. Appliances were installed on Saturday.
Between 200 and 300 subcontractors and volunteers were working on the house at any given time, swarming over the site wearing blue Extreme Makeover T-shirts and white hardhats.
Sunday, as more than 2,000 onlookers cheered "Welcome home, Tates!" the family made its way to the front door with show design team leader Ty Pennington at their side.
Mrs. Tate and her children excitedly rushed right up to the edge of the house.
Mr. Tate started to do the same, then he paused. He stepped back off the newly planted sod and walked around, using the driveway.
Kevin Graham can be reached at 813 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com
Fast Facts:
Where Mediterranean, military and movie star motifs meet
The home's design is inspired by the Spanish eclectic architecture of early Davis Islands' homes. Dave Davis, the developer of the island in the 1920s, had a vision for a community themed around a Mediterranean motif, as displayed in the original homes remaining on the north and west side of Davis Islands. Stucco, sculpted parapets and rough-sawed wood columns and beams, tile roofing, decorative metal railings, balconies and grills characterize this popular style on the island. The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house incorporates these elements in addition to providing outdoor living spaces with a generous wrap-around front porch, detached garage with guest suite, arched loggia with a water view, and an intimate courtyard with an inviting plunge pool.
The bedrooms: Tom and Cynthia Tate's bedroom is painted in shades of chocolate. Because the home sits across the street from the airport, height restrictions limited the architectural design. The only room on the second floor is Mr. and Mrs. Tate's bedroom. They have a balcony that gives them a view of ships passing in nearby Seddon Channel.
- Ryan's room was designed by Ty Pennington. Because Ryan recently returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq as a Marine, his room is designed with a camouflage color scheme. He has a separate living space that includes a kitchenette. Because he's a Florida Gators fan, designers also painted gators in a military motif in the room.
- Tommy's room was designed by Paige Hemmis. She outfitted it with dozens of real skateboards that hang from the ceiling. Tommy told designers that his skateboarding friends often spend the night at his place after hanging out, and Hemmis said she wanted to make sure they had enough room for sleepovers. He has three twin beds in his room. Under each is a locker decorated with his friends' graffiti. The primary colors of his room are silver and black.
- Loren's room was described by volunteers who helped paint it as the most colorful. She has one wall that's completely red, and the others are accented with stripes of pink, orange and blue. There's a giant makeup mirror in her room, like the kind a movie star would use. She's a fan of karaoke, so her room has been outfitted with a drop-down projector screen for her to perform.
Other features: Conover, North Carolina-based Boyles Distinctive Furniture donated interior furnishings valued at $90,000. The family's kitchen has been outfitted with stainless steel appliances and black granite countertops. A food preparation room sits to the side of the kitchen. Archways are throughout the home, including over some of the windows.
Air date: The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episode featuring the Tate family is expected to air sometime in late March.
To learn more: For more information on the build or the family, visit www.wciextremehome.com .