by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
In a market where people are hesitating to buy, one developer has created a product that is unique enough to bring in high-end buyers looking for a change.
La Terrazza, a new Mediterranean style community in Baymeadows area of Jacksonville, offers something different.
“What we are not doing is selling homes in here,” said Brent Brown, managing partner of Brownstone Developers. “We are selling a lifestyle that Jacksonville doesn’t have. This is a very unique product and community. We are not trying to be a traditional home. We are not trying to be a condominium. We are trying to be a lifestyle that we feel even the baby boomers and the younger crowds are gravitating towards.
“Instead of the condominium lifestyle or the ‘McMansion’ lifestyle with the big yard, there is a large portion of the community that is going toward a home that is turnkey, but still maintains your privacy. You’ll see these homes in California and South Florida. This is a true Mediterranean coastal village. That’s what we are designed after.”
The development is overseen by Brown and his partners Damon Brush and Kyle Brown.
When people downsize or move into a condominium lifestyle for the turn-key advantage of no lawn maintenance, they also give up their privacy, says Brown.
“Here you have no lawn maintenance, you have an amenity center and it is gated,” he said. “It is different.”
Phase I includes eight terrace homes, four homes in each of the two buildings. Phase II includes 28 single-family brownstone villas.
“They range from two bedrooms all the way up to seven bedrooms,” said Brown. “The homes on the water can go up to over 4,000 square feet.”
Prices range from $390,000 to $830,000. Most of the homes will be in the $500,000’s to low $600,000’s, except waterfront which will be high $600,000’s to low $700,000’s.
They’ve had eight closings in the past eight months.
“We still have some terrace homes available and are doing construction-perm loans with the buyers of the brownstones,” said Brown. “We are paying Realtors their commission at construction closing. We are definitely cooperating with Realtors.”
Brush said they are a semi-custom builder.
“When they do come in, they have floor plans to choose from, but they can semi-custom it to their own tastes,” said Brush. “Each home is unique. They all have a different Mediterranean feel.”
The eight terrace homes are connected to each other, but the brownstones are not.
“What this allows us to do is to customize the house,” said Brown. “We can customize the size of it and the inside. It allows for exterior courtyards with plunge pools and outdoor fireplaces.”
There will be a creekside clubhouse/amenity center with an outdoor living area, kitchen, fitness center and a swimming pool. Lawn care will be maintained through the homeowner’s association. Homeowners will also have a membership to the Epping Forest Yacht Club. They will also provide a limited number of boat slips with lifts.
“We are going to have eight docks with slips that will be sold only to residents who live here,” said Brown. “There will be a dock where boats can dock at and residents can fish at. Docks are $75,000.”
Brown said many of their buyers are coming from golf club communities.
“They are downsizing,” he said. “They want to maintain the high-end lifestyle, so we are a new, high-end gated community, but they don’t need the big yard anymore. They want the high-end appliances and finishes that we offer. Our homes have Travertine tiles and Wolf appliances.”
He said the buyers have been young professional couples and also empty-nesters who want to downsize, but stay in a high-end community.
As an infill project located off of Baymeadows Road, its start was a little tricky.
“We had to buy six different parcels, put it together, put in for a land-use change and a zoning change,” said Brown. “That was all in 2004 to 2005. We began horizontal construction in July 2007. As of next month we will have a total of 12 homes completed out of 36.”
The roads are not completedbecause the finished product will have pavers on them, but they do not want to put pavers down yet until construction is complete.
“It will have a village feel to it,” said Brush. “When you turn into the second phase, all of the street will be pavers. If we do it too soon, the construction trucks will tear it up.”
Brownstone Developers’ experience was mainly in South Florida. This is their first big project in Jacksonville and the only one they are focused on right now.
In the future, you will see more from this builder.
“We want to carry the brownstone villa idea to other parts of the city,” said Brown. “We feel this is the lifestyle that a large group of people will gravitate toward. It is a needed product.”