Done in Record Time: American Heartland Homebuilder and Lombardo Homes Complete 'Extreme Dream' Home Two Days Ahead of Schedule

Done in Record Time: American Heartland Homebuilder and Lombardo Homes Complete 'Extreme Dream' Home Two Days Ahead of Schedule

Armada Twp., Mich. Build Sets a New 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' Record

ARMADA TOWNSHIP, Mich., Aug. 11, 6:47 p.m. ET /PRNewswire/ -- Teamwork. That's how Rick Merlini, chief executive officer of American Heartland Homebuilder, and Anthony Lombardo, president of Lombardo Homes, explain their record-breaking 53-hour homebuild. The duo, with the help of ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team and approximately 3,000 workers, subcontractors, trades and volunteers, successfully tore down the Gilliam family's old house and rebuilt a new home in just over 50 hours -- a new record for the reality TV show.

"It's just amazing; we built this home in half the time we were allotted," Merlini said. "Getting done on time wasn't ever a concern for us ... we wanted to be early. We had the best contractors, workers and volunteers and they all came together for the Gilliams. We built this home with passion, but even more importantly, the Gilliams' new home was built with quality. Like all of our homes, this 'Extreme Dream' home will be backed by our award- winning 10-year warranty."

The combined effort of this "extreme team" is obvious in this new home. Complete with landscaping, the seven-member Gilliam family will first see their new home on Monday, Aug. 14.

In addition to the new home, Fifth Third Bank, longtime financial partner of the builders, has stepped up to ensure the family that it will be able to live in their new home debt free. Fifth Third will pay off the existing mortgage on the Gilliam family property, paving the way for the family to truly enjoy their new start.

The Gilliam family received the "Good Morning!" wake up call on August 7 from ABC's Ty Pennington informing them that their home was selected to receive a makeover. On August 9, around-the-clock construction began after the demolition of the 120-year-old farmhouse.

About American Heartland Homebuilder

Macomb, Mich.-based American Heartland LLC, which does business as American Heartland Homebuilder (http://www.americanheartlandhomes.com/), was founded in 1988 by native Detroiter and CEO Richard ("Rick") Merlini. The company focuses on three segments of the new home marketplace: starter homes, traditional suburban homes and active adult communities. American Heartland Homebuilder stays on the cutting-edge of design and innovative techniques to provide homeowners with the latest in technology, quality products, energy efficiency and value.

Committed to quality, the company guarantees its work with an award- winning 10-year warranty and in-house service department. For this once-in-a- lifetime project, American Heartland Homebuilder has teamed up with longtime friend Anthony Lombardo and Lombardo Homes (http://www.lombardohomes.com/) of Washington, Mich. The companies collectively have built more than 9,200 homes in southeastern Michigan.

About ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," entering its 4th season on ABC, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. The series is executive-produced by Denise Cramsey. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.

Source: American Heartland Homebuilder

CONTACT: Rich Donley, +1-248-269-1122, cell: +1-248-379-0689,
rdonley@bianchipr.com, or Jim Bianchi, cell: +1-586-817-1318,
jbianchi@bianchipr.com, both of Bianchi PR, for American Heartland
Homebuilder

Web site: http://www.americanheartlandhomes.com/
http://www.lombardohomes.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: The media are welcome near the site for the duration of the build; press ID is required and advanced scheduling is highly recommended. For onsite assistance, please contact Rich Donley at +1-248-379-0689, rdonley@bianchipr.com or Jim Bianchi at +1-586-817-1318, jbianchi@bianchipr.com. News releases and other media materials about the build will be available via www.prnewswire.com, www.bianchipr.com/extreme, onsite and through the above media contacts. Interviews with the builders can also be arranged through the above media contacts. For more information about the show and designers, contact Mozell Miley, ABC publicist, at +1-212-456-6444 or mozell.i.miley@abc.com

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