By Michele Gillis, Staff Writer
First, the 6.5-acre site behind Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club was going to become a townhome community.
But that didn’t happen.
Next it was going to be home to medical offices.
That didn’t take off, either.
Then it went into foreclosure for a few years.
Now, Urban Partners is developing the site as Portofino, a luxury townhome community off Joeandy Road and Hodges Boulevard.
To help ensure the project would be a success, Urban Partners had discussions with brokers and Realtors who specialize in selling townhomes.
Edmundo Gonzales, managing member of Urban Partners, said the changes that resulted from the meetings were small but they added up to a lot in the aggregate.
He said most of the changes had to do with the placement of doors and windows due to likely furniture placement and circulation; size of laundry areas; storage areas; and considerations with regard to sliding glass doors vs. French doors. (Sliding glass doors were preferred because they let in more light.)
There were also discussions on appliance packages, window treatments and fixtures.
Those suggestions will be incorporated into 23 two-story townhomes, ranging in size from 1,865-2,250 square feet. The prices are mid-$200,000s to mid-$300,000s. Three buildings will have five units and two buildings will have four units.
The building designs will have concrete block construction with a Mediterranean theme including barrel tile roofs and paver driveways.
Features in the lake community include gated entry with access control, resident pool and fire pit, 60-inch built-in stainless steel refrigerator, European cabinetry with 42-inch upper cabinets, two-car garage and granite counter tops.
Buyers will also get a free social membership to Queens Harbour Yacht and Country Club.
The townhomes will have several high-tech amenities, including being Bluetooth enabled and having smart device-controlled LED recessed lighting, high efficiency HVAC system with nest thermostat, front door, garage door and select outlets.
Gonzalez said he feels the buyers will be downsizers, young professionals and young families.
Once the property is rezoned, sales should begin in mid-March. The property will be marketed by Re/Max WaterMarke in an on-site sales center open seven days a week.
Urban Partners anticipates a 14- to 16-month build-out with the anticipation of a sales rate of five units per month.
The property was previously developed with roads and infrastructure. Gonzalez said there were a few tweaks to make to the property first. For example, he said the company is putting in a retaining wall along a portion of the lake and extending the road near the lake bank to allow for more townhomes.
The project is the first development Urban Partners has undertaken since 2007. The company started as a development company in 2002, but when the recession came and the real estate market bottomed out, Urban Partners became general contractors.
Now the two types of expertise work well together. “Since we are now general contractors, we can develop and build our own projects,” said Gonzalez, whose partner is Ronnie Leinwohl.
“We have the internal infrastructure and staff to do all the construction ourselves and we can control costs better. It was a blessing in disguise.”
Urban Partners does residential and commercial projects and is licensed in 14 states.
The company has been involved in more than 60 projects in Jacksonville, developed three communities (Pine Eagle Estates, Oakwood Plantation and Covenant Cove) and countless other projects around the country.
Visit urbanpartnersgroup.com for more information.