The Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors has revived a program designed to honor property owners who rehabilitate their homes and business in addition to forging relationships with related industry professionals such as builders and contractors.

For the past several weeks, the association has been honoring nominees from different parts of the Cape and islands for the American Home Week awards at the Chatham Bars Inn in Chatham. This year’s series of recognition events concluded May 3.

American Home Week is a Realtor program designed to recognize people we have worked with over the past year who have invested in their community, whether it be through a residential property that they live in, or a commercial property that supports their livelihood, said Henry J. DiGiacomo, executive vice president of the CCIAR.

DiGiacomo said the awards used to be an annual tradition at the association, but the event fell by the wayside for a number of years until being revived this year by Richard Martin, the association’s 2000 president.

This is something that has been around for a while, said Keith Bradley of Coldwell Banker Atlantic Realty in Chatham, the chair of Chatham’s American Home Week Committee. This simply allows us to share our enthusiasm for houses in the area and work with the builders that renovate them.

American Home Week honorees are nominated by Realtors who think a particular project should be recognized for its impact on both the property and the community, Bradley said. While many of the renovation projects this year involved a complete upgrade of a building, Bradley said the awards are given based on exterior improvements alone.

On the Cape, Realtors focus their American Home Week activities primarily on recognizing restoration, but the National Association of Realtors touts American Home Week as a time for affirmation of private property rights and a celebration of the privilege of home ownership. While the Cape’s festivities honoring home owners ran for about a month, the official week was actually April 9 through April 15.

On the national level, the weeklong observance is aimed at reminding individuals, businesses and industries of their rights and responsibilities as citizens and property owners in an effort to bring people together for the betterment of the community, according to a statement on the NAR Web site.

[The American Home Week award] is a popular award that the home owner can really appreciate and enjoy, Bradley said.

That sentiment was echoed by Carol Blair of Coastal Properties in Chatham, who nominated Robert and Betty Betzing for their work reviving a distressed property at 161 Cross St. near the center of Chatham and turned it into a place they felt comfortable calling home.

Because of the dearth of homes for sale on the Cape, Blair said the owners settled for this sort of run-down house. However, representatives from Gable Construction, which works with Coastal Properties, told the Betzings the home had a lot of potential for renovation.

They said ‘We could never do this,’ Blair said of their reaction to the transformation of the home, but they gutted it, and put it back together and now they have a very modern little house.

When they realized what they had, they were delighted, she said. Blair said the owners were excited when they learned they were being honored for their decision to renovate.

They thought it was really exciting to have people notice what they had done, she said. It came out really nicely, and the owners are really excited about it.

In addition to making the property owner feel good about their investment, Bradley said the award has other benefits. It’s always interesting when we do a listing for a home that has won the award, he said, it’s the first thing the owners mention when describing the house. It adds value.

While adding value to the award-winning home, Realtors say the building improvements spark similar activity on neighboring parcels, resulting in an overall upgrade of the area.

It’s part of the downtown area that is getting a little run down, which is natural because the homes around there are just so old, Blair said of the 161 Cross St. property. But doing something like this really enhances the neighborhood, most people do [renovations] in a tasteful manner.

It interests other people into rehabilitating their houses instead of just tearing them down, she continued. Once someone moves in, they want to adopt the town fast and be proud of it, and being honored with an American Home Week award gets that process moving along. It’s really good for the town.

It’s a thrill to be honored, said Missy Hoyda Smith as she received her award earlier this month for improvements to her house at 714 Old Harbor Road. It’s been a fun project to work on.

In addition to residential projects, commercial and mixed-use projects are also recognized, including improvements made to the building at 17 Post Office Lane in Chatham by Freeman and Suzanne Wheeler. The Wheelers purchased and renovated the building, which housed three storefronts. In addition to upgrading the retail space, the Wheelers added residential rental units on the second floor, which had been vacant for about half a century.

It was a great upgrade of the building, said Susan Gutierrez of American Heritage Realty. It was a big project, and it was good for the community. The property is now home to a picture framing store, toy store and a small cafe.

Bradley said the awards are also designed to recognize builders and architects for their work on area homes. Realtors don’t always interact with architects and builders, although their industries are closely linked, he said. This helps us remain a part of the project, in addition to keeping in touch with the home owner, he said.

I think [the award] is something that interests other people in rehabilitating their homes instead of just tearing down and rebuilding, Blair said.

Because of the enthusiastic response Bradley said he received from Realtors and award recipients alike, the CCIAR is planning on reviving the American Home Week celebration as an annual event again. In the future, he added, both the award and rehabilitation in general should gain in importance.

I think you’re going to see more and more of this on the Cape, he said about notable rehabilitation projects. In a couple of years, when we reach total build-out on the Cape, this award is going to become even more significant.