Wirth Construction Group

Buying New Construction: Open Concept Floor Plans? Satinless Steel & Granite?

2013-07-08T06:40:00.002-07:00

Dining Out: Outdoor Kitchens Have Everything - Including the Kitchen Sink

2013-07-08T06:39:00.003-07:00

Using Your VA Loan to Advantage

2013-05-28T10:55:00.001-07:00

Streamlining the Mortgage Process

2013-05-28T10:48:00.001-07:00

Walkthroughs&Warranties

2013-05-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

New Lifestyle Options for Active Adults

2013-05-28T07:57:00.001-07:00

For Comfort & Energy Savings, Think Green

2013-02-28T07:58:00.002-08:00

LIVING AT THE WATER'S EDGE

2013-02-26T06:31:00.001-08:00

Top 10 new homes sales site - LAKES OF JOLLIFF

2013-02-12T08:53:00.001-08:00

CONGRATULATIONS to Fran Spence and Janice Irwin!!

For helping make Lakes of Jolliff / Wirth Development one of the top 10 new homes sales site for 2012.

REDUCED MODEL CLOSE-OUT PRICE!!!!!!!

2012-12-11T10:19:00.003-08:00

BUYING AT THE HIGH END ----- Choices and more choices

2012-10-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Well-Stocked Tool Chest

2012-09-05T06:40:00.002-07:00

Choosing a Home That Fits Your Lifestyle...

2012-09-04T08:33:00.002-07:00

Hampton Roads churches help Haitian orphanage thrive

2012-06-14T07:45:00.003-07:00

For 12 years, Lefort Jean-Louis has worked to keep poor children off the streets of Haiti.

With the help of several Catholic churches in Hampton Roads, he’s grown a small orphanage about 70 miles north of Port-au-Prince into one of the region’s largest private employers.

About 250 children now live at Maison Fortuné Orphanage in Hinche. Another 150 kids from the surrounding community attend school there, he said.

But just keeping children safe for a few years is not enough for Jean-Louis.

The kids are getting older. One has already graduated from high school. Many more are almost there. Where will they go when they leave the orphanage?

“If they don’t have a skill, they will just end up back on the street,” Jean-Louis said in a telephone interview. “It’s like building a bridge to nowhere.”

Jean-Louis, a Chesapeake developer, and a foundation from Illinois are teaming up to build a technical school near the orphanage to help some of the kids learn a trade. Among other things, students at the school will learn about tropical agriculture and how to run a business.

“There is no way we can afford to send them all to college,” said Gilbert “Chip” Wirth, the president of a local real estate development company.

Jean-Louis said the school – which will be called Sant Teknik McKenna in honor of one of its largest benefactors, The McKenna Foundation – should open in fall 2013.

“If we turn these kids out” without a skill, “we’ve almost done a disservice,” said Wirth, who also serves as the president of the Maison Fortuné Orphanage Foundation – a nonprofit founded 10 years ago in Virginia to help fund the orphanage.

When Jean-Louis started the orphanage in 2000, he wasn’t thinking long-term. The orphanage was little more than a personal mission to save a handful of kids.

The son of a poor farmer, he was able to finish high school and attend Virginia Tech only with the help of others. In his case, it was the Xaverian Brothers, an order of Catholic laymen.

After graduating in 1994 with an associate’s degree, Jean-Louis returned to Haiti and started to work as a translator for the United Nations. Unfulfilled by that work, he decided to open an orphanage in a house owned by the Catholic bishop of Hinche. The number of children grew quickly.

“I started with four, and two years later, it had grown to 25,” Jean-Louis said.

Enter the Diocese of Richmond, which had previously worked with the Diocese of Hinche.

In 2002, representatives from four Catholic churches in Hampton Roads formed the Maison Fortuné Orphanage Foundation. They traveled to Hinche and helped Jean-Louis purchase a 4-acre campus, fix up the property’s run-down buildings and start an elementary school.

“I couldn’t do this without the help of the people from Chesapeake,” said Jean-Louis. “Without them, there is no way we could afford all of this. We rely on them for everything.”

The foundation, which is formally owned by the bishop of the Diocese of Richmond, has raised about $3 million for the orphanage over the past 10 years, according to Wirth.

The foundation was created by members of three Chesapeake Catholic churches – Prince of Peace; St. Stephen, Martyr; and Church of St. Thérèse – and St. Mark’s in Virginia Beach.

In 2008, Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia Beach also became a so-called “founding member.”
Wirth attributes the orphanage’s explosive growth to Haiti’s weak economy, the earthquake that devastated the country in 2010, and Jean-Louis’ big heart.

“Lefort and his wife don’t know how to say no,” said Wirth, a member of Prince of Peace in Chesapeake. “We used to get into huge arguments with Lefort. We’d cap it at 50 and, all of the sudden, there would be 52.”

After the earthquake, the orphanage’s population boomed. Additional space was rented, and the number of residents went from 150 to 250 almost overnight.

“Kids would just hop on buses and end up in Hinche,” said Wirth.

So far, one resident of Maison Fortuné has graduated from high school. Five more are expected to finish this summer.

Thanks to the help of private donors, the orphanage’s first graduate now attends Old Dominion University.
When not studying business administration and English, Jean-Rene Clerveaux regularly volunteers at an area soup kitchen and dines with the foundation’s executive director, Art Mowbray.

“If the orphanage didn’t exist, I don’t know where my life would be,” said Clerveaux, who almost dropped out of school nine years ago before he met Jean-Louis.

For some old friends in Haiti, the situation is much different.

“They are not doing anything,” he said. “They don’t have any money. … They are just sitting there. Walking around on the streets. Doing nothing.”

Growing up, Clerveaux, 29, never envisioned attending school in the United States. Just being able to go to college in Haiti is a long shot for most Haitians, he said.

While he is enjoying his time at Old Dominion, Clerveaux said, he has no desire to stay in Virginia.

“Without question, I’m going back to the orphanage,” said Clerveaux, who plans to work with Jean-Louis to keep expanding it.

“I can’t stay here. My country needs me,” he said. “My country needs more well-educated people.”
Scott Daugherty, 757-222-5221, scott.daugherty@pilotonline.com

3&4 Bedroom Craftsman-Style Homes

2012-03-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

When Buying New Construction Makes Sense

2012-03-01T06:55:00.002-08:00

Real Notes

2012-03-01T06:50:00.002-08:00

RENOVATIONS / ALTERATIONS / REPAIRS

2012-02-24T11:38:00.003-08:00

Wirth Development Corporation, a full service residential and commercial construction company has been in business for over 20 years, building quality and style. Let us help you make your home feel new again. Our team of experts will make your dream house become a reality at a reasonable cost by offering the following services:

Room Additions
Renovations
Kitchen & Baths
Detached Garages and Sheds
Roofing, Siding and Replacement Windows
Pool houses

Please call today for an appointment and a free estimate
(757) 488-4400
customerservice@wdc.hrcoxmail.com

Contributions to The Rose & Womble Foundation

2012-02-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

We gladly announce that Wirth contributed $100 from each home sold in 2011 to The Rose & Womble Foundation. These donations provide the financial support needed to continue their mission of raising funds to assist families and individuals in need awarding scholarship to students pursuing higher education and help other non-profit organizations.

Our support has allowed us to help change so many lives for the better. In particular, this year:

The Turkey Brigade enjoyed great success. They met their target of delivering Thanksgiving meals, with all the trimmings, to 750 families who would have gone without this season.
Three rooms at the YMCA Women in Crisis Domestic Violence Shelter were transformed to a warm and nurturing environment.
Four young adults shared $10,000 in scholarships to pursue their education
A donation was made in honor of a fallen Navy Seal
Over 800 pounds of food were donated to our local food bank
Tidewater Youth Services & The Children's Center received school supplies

We are glad to offer our support and take The Rose & Womble Foundation's mission to heart!

NEIGHBORHOOD CLOSEUP

2012-01-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Lakes of Jolliff

By Sandra J. Pennecke

Correspondent
The Nuffs and Samuels came a long way to their new homes in Lakes of Jolliff.
Ralph Nuff and Kenan Samuel are both Navy service members who met their wives, Yoko and Chinatsu, respectively, while stationed in Japan.
They became first-time buyers when purchasing houses in the community built by Wirth Development Corp. in Chesapeake’s Western Branch section.
When complete, the neighborhood, which is west of Interstate 664 and just east of the Suffolk city line, will have 40 Craftsman-style, single-family homes. Six models, ranging from 2,000 to 3,600 square feet are available.
“It’s tucked serenely away amongst a lake and leisure paths, with tall trees, sounds of nature and privacy galore,” Dianne Gordon, general manager for Rose & Womble Realty’s New Home Division, said of Lakes of Jolliff. “It’s a true gem in the midst of Western Branch.”
The Nuffs and Samuels agree that the schools were a huge factor in purchasing.
“The school is the most important thing for us. Our 8-year-old son is enjoying his school,” said Yoko Nuff, 37, “and we love our neighborhood.”
Their home, the Bradford model, features four bedrooms and 2 ½ baths.
Since this is Ralph Nuff’s last tour of duty before he retires next year, Yoko said it was an ideal time for them to buy a home and settle down.
The family moved into their new digs in April.
With four children ages 2 to 7 years, the Samuels looked into several areas before deciding in July 2010. “It’s a nice, quiet community with lots of kids running around in the summertime,” Kenan Samuel said. “We’ve got a huge backyard, which was another attraction for us.”
The Samuels purchased the Myrtle mode, featuring five bedrooms, three baths and 2,600 square feet.
“We’re happy here, and we definitely plan to stay,” Kenan Samuel said.
Sandra J. Pennecke, Pennecke@cox.net

Lakes of Jolliff features six home models, each with 2,000 to 3,600 square feet.

The community
The sales office, at 5428 Royal Tern Court, Chesapeake, is open noon to 5 p.m. daily. Call Betty Furr or Fran Spence at (757) 966-9855.
Nearby schools Chittum Elementary, Jolliff Middle and Western Branch High
Nearby shopping Chesapeake Square Mall and Harbour View Stations Town Center
Nearby recreation Western Branch Park

For sale
At 5428 Royal Tern Court, a four-bedroom, two-bath home with 2,400 square feet lists for $299,900.
At 1308 Oil Bird Lane, a four-bedroom, 2 ½ -bath home with 2,000 square feet lists for $284,900.
At 5516 Willow Lake Road, a four-bedroom, two-bath home with 2,040 square feet lists for $279,900.

Recently sold
At 5445 Royal Tern Court, a four-bedroom, 2 ½-bath home with 2,000 square feet sold for $306,900 in December.
At 5412 Willow Lake Road, a four-bedroom, two-bath home with 2,734 square feet sold for $320,000 in September.

Construction in Hinche, Haiti

2012-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

Wirth Development is proud to announce that it is commencing construction in Hinche Haiti on the McKenna Institute, a Technical School being built across from the Maison Fortune Orphanage to further the career aspirations of the orphanage residents. The school is scheduled to open for the spring semester in 2013. Wirth is donating it’s time and expertise. A site plan of the proposed School designed by the Chesapeake based architectural firm, RRMM is attached. Anyone wishing to learn more about the McKenna Technical School is asked to contact Jackie Chavez at customerservice@wdc.hrcoxmail.com

Congratulations!!!!!!

2011-12-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Wirth Development would like to welcome the 1st Homeowner at The Boulevard!!! Congratulations on your new home purchase!!!

http://www.liveatblvd.com/

Mixed-use development in Western Branch advances

2011-12-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/mixeduse-development-western-branch-advances-0?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

Should Philanthropies Operate Like Businesses?

2011-11-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

How to avoid the price-driven sale

2011-11-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.businessbrief.com/how-to-escape-the-price-driven-sale/

How to avoid the price-driven sale BusinessBrief.com