INDUSTRY NEWS


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  • | 12:00 p.m. March 9, 2004
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For the second year in a row, Grand Haven led the way to record-breaking sales for LandMar communities in 2003.

The sales team at Grand Haven in Flagler County recorded sales of 189 home sites and 187 homes with gross revenues in excess of $77 million, pushing LandMar’s totals for 2003 to an all-time record for sales volume in its communities.

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The builders at St. Johns Forest, Taylor Woodrow’s gated community at County Road 210 and I-95 in St. Johns County, will begin construction of four model homes and 16 spec homes in May.

Tom Spence, senior land development manager at Taylor Woodrow, said the new homes will be priced from the mid-$200s to over $500,000.

Four homebuilders are participating at St. Johns Forest, Spence said. ICI Homes and Richard R. Dostie - A Toll Brothers Company, will build homes on 80-foot home sites; David Weekley Homes will build on 70-foot lots and Morrison Homes on 60-foot home sites. Each of the builders is expected to start a model home and four specs, according to Spence.

Altogether, Spence said, 153 home sites are planned in the first phase of the community.

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Ryland Homes will begin construction of 130 town homes in the first phase at Biscayne Bay, located off Biscayne Blvd. south of Jacksonville International Airport in north Duval County.

Jeff Agar, president of Ryland Homes in Jacksonville, said two and three bedroom town homes will range from 1,200 to 1,600 square feet and prices, including a one-car garage, will start from the low $100s.

Four model homes are planned at Biscayne Bay.

Ryland also has started construction of two new model homes at Oakleaf Plantation. The homebuilder committed to purchase 250 home sites at the development and new homes are priced from the $140s to the $300s.

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Modern Properties, a St. Augustine-based commercial and residential developer with a growing portfolio of properties within the nation’s oldest city, recently announced plans for Belle Haven. The gated condominium community will be inside the existing Southwood single-family neighborhood, just off of U.S. 1, south four miles from SR 312.

120 condominium homes will be constructed in the form of nine two-story buildings, along with a community clubhouse and pool.

There will be three floor plans at Belle Haven ranging in size from 1,250 to over 1,500 square feet, all with screened balconies. The designs will include two bedroom, two bedroom plus den and three bedroom homes and residents may choose to purchase an attached garage with remote entry. Homes will start in the $150’s.

Belle Haven is currently under development and is scheduled to break ground soon.

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David Weekley Homes broke ground on a new model home in the Canterra neighborhood at Palencia last month. Weekley, Palencia’s newest builder, will offer six floor plans and plans to open its first model in fall.

Homes will range from approximately 3,200 square feet to more than 4,100 square feet, Weekley’s home products in Canterra will complement Palencia s current array of estate home options.

The model home, the Kaylee, will be two stories with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a three-car side entrance garage, sun room, covered lanai, bonus room and second story balcony.

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Development is currently underway on the fourth and final phase of Stokes & Company’s waterfront community, Amelia View in North Jacksonville.

Ninety of the 94 lots in Phase I have closed and 28 of 32 lots are remaining in Phase II.

Of the 65 homesites in Amelia View’s third phase, only 16 are still available and all 80 lots in the fourth phase are currently under contract to two builders.

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Beazer Homes has opened an additional new home information center at StoneHurst Plantation located in St. Johns County.

Beazer Homes’ two models, located near the entry of StoneHurst Plantation, are both serving as information centers for new Beazer homes in the community. The models showcase the two varieties of homes Beazer Homes is offering in StoneHurst Plantation: Executive homes and Presidential homes.

Many of the new Presidential Series homes will be located on 78x110 homesites with lake and preserve views and offering 20 homesites will be offered in its first release.

Prices start in the low $200s.

The Executive homes in StoneHurst Plantation range from 1,497 to 2,133 square feet with prices starting in the $160s. These homes also feature one and two-story floor plans with views of the surrounding preserve and lakes.

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Sisler-Williams Interior Design has completed the installation at Village Walk, a mixed-use development with 240 luxury apartment homes, corporate offices and a neighborhood retail center, located on Gate Parkway.

The design team, led by Judith Sisler Johnston, designed and merchandised the clubhouse and two apartment home models for the community built by The Development Group. In addition to providing interior design services for Village Walk, Sisler-Williams has worked with The Development Group for over 20 years. The company was Sisler-Williams’ first client.

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Atlantic Builders is now selling in Nature’s Hammock, a neighborhood in OakLeaf Plantation.

Atlantic has 77 home sites in Nature’s Hammock with 10 designs ranging in size from 1,402 to over 3,000 square feet. Home and home site packages in Nature’s Hammock are priced starting in the $160s.

The company is building a new model home in Nature’s Hammock. The Carlyle with Bonus room is a popular plan offering over 2,600 square feet. Atlantic Builders also has several homes under construction for early delivery.

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Harmony Homes of North Florida, Inc. has opened its first model home in Whisper Glen in West Jacksonville.

The model - The Westfield - is a 2,656-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom Lowcountry-styled home priced starting at $189,600.

Prices in Whisper Glen range from the low-$130’s to mid-$190’s. There are 16 floor plan choices available, ranging in size from 1,458 to 2,700 square feet. Buyers may choose from three and four bedroom plans with front porches, formal living and dining rooms, and bonus rooms for additional space on several of the plans.

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CornerStone Homes has acquired several homesites in The Preserve at St. Johns Landing Estates, a boating neighborhood in Arlington/Fort Caroline area with direct access to the St. Johns River.

Starting in the $250s, CornerStone Homes will offer 10 floorplans ranging from 2,144 to 3,535 square feet for construction on the homebuilder’s cul-de-sac, wooded, or corner homesites.

Construction will begin soon on two model homes - the 2,144 square-foot, 3.bedroom, 2 bath Atlantis and the two-story, 3,216-square-foot, 5-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom Castille.

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One of northeast Florida’s leading architectural and planning firms, Powers & Merritt, Inc., has changed its name to Powers Design - Powers Mackey Reidenbach & Lanehart, Inc. The new name reflects the company’s recent focus on high design projects, along with architectural theming and planning. The name also credits the company’s key associates.

Powers Design will continue to provide traditional architectural services and construction documents, along with landscape architecture. However, the emphasis will transition to company president John Powers’s vision of expanding into the new high design trend in architectural planning.

“We discovered that there is quite a niche for architectural theming experts for resorts, attractions and major amenities from $1 billion theme parks to smaller projects such as neighborhood shopping centers,” said Powers. “Projects of all scales often need high profile, imaginative designs to help their bottom line.”

In recent years, the company has hired a number of experienced and specialized associates including Tom Reidenbach, director of architectural theming. The architect has provided design services for a number of resort and entertainment venues, including Disney Studios, Silver Dollar City, Rosie O’Grady’s Good Time Emporium, The Mirage Hotel and Casino and Shanghai Number One department store.

Reidenbach, along with Steve Mackey, Powers Design’s vice president/architecture and design visualization, worked on the Jaws attraction at Universal Studios Florida. Mackey, who has a master’s degree in architecture from Clemson University and who studied at the Daniel Center for Urban Design and Building Studies in Italy, developed and directs the company’s Design Visualization Studio, which utilized advanced digital imaging hardware and software systems for the creation of photorealistic renderings and illustrations.

 

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