"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" revitalizes area residence

Holt — Eifert Road has been transformed from a quiet neighborhood street to a loud, crowded construction site — with the addition of floodlights, camera crews and spectators cheering on construction workers to boot.

In just two days, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has revamped the house belonging to the Nickless family at 2376 Eifert Road from an 1860s farmhouse to a pile of rubble to the shell of a luxurious new home. Bob Schroeder, owner of Mayberry Homes, the company building the house, said he’s thrilled at the progress of the project.

“I’m just really proud of our team and our community that we can pull together and do something like this in the time span that we’ve done it,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder said the previous house was destroyed Sunday. The cement foundation for the new home was laid that afternoon and work on the frame of the house began Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, roofers were on top of the frame, laying shingles just an hour after arriving.

The scene on Eifert Road Monday was a chaotic one, with the Ingham County Sheriff’s office blocking off both ends of the block. White-hatted contractors in blue shirts were everywhere — around 300 would work on the site during the day. One boy who lived a few houses down from the construction site was even selling bottles of water for 50 cents.

There also were spectators coming in by the busload throughout the day, watching the construction from across the street in the yard of a vacant house.

“It’s awesome,” said Liz Hund, an MSU alum who was in the crowd. “And MSU is sponsoring it, how awesome is that?”

Hund and friend Melissa Boehm, also an MSU graduate, aren’t regular viewers of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” but said they were definitely excited to be a part of the experience.

Dan Stein, owner of Signature Stone Tops, the company providing counter tops for inside the house, said he was shocked at the quick progress of the builders and couldn’t wait to get working.

“I think it’s great,” Stein said. “It’s great to get the exposure, and as contractors, we’re happy to do it.”