Take Note

EXPANSIONS
Ashton Woods Homes recently acquired 62 oversized homesites at Ridge Crest in the Brandon area. Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes in the Tampa Bay region, said the 65-foot homesites will accommodate new three-, four-, and five-bedroom single-family homes with optional three-car garages priced from the $160s. Construction of new homes at Ridge Crest could begin before summer.

Lennar’s Central Florida Division has opened the final phase at Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club, the landmark active-adult golf community located in Pasco County. Mark Metheny, president of Lennar’s Central Florida Division, says the company is building new three- and four-bedroom homes priced from under $140,000. Plans for a grand opening event are in the works, he added.

MOVE-IN-READY HOMES
Pulte Homes has a total of 15 new move-in-ready homes, including its Pulte, Centex and Del Webb brands, in seven communities in Hillsborough, Manatee and Sumter Counties. Sean Strickler, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulte’s Central Florida Division, says the homes are available at Magnolia Park in Riverview, with single-family homes and townhomes priced from the $90s; Southshore Falls by Del Webb in Apollo Beach, with single-family homes and villas priced from the $130s; Stonebrier in Lutz, with single-family homes priced from the $140s; Ventura Bay in Riverview, with townhomes priced from the $140s;  Starling at FishHawk Ranch in Lithia, with single-family homes priced from the $220s; Harrison Ranch in Parrish, with single-family homes from the $130s and Trillium in Brooksville, with single-family homes priced from the $110s.

Beazer Homes has nine move-in-ready single-family homes at Gulfwinds in Pasco County, according to Kareyann Rhodes, Beazer’s sales manager in the Tampa Bay region. Rhodes says the company has reduced prices on the homes to benefit first-time homebuyers. The homes, which range in size from 1,583 to 2,665 square feet, are priced from $171,990 to $229,990.

PRODUCT UPDATE
James Hardie Building Products has announced that K. Hovnanian Homes, a leading national builder, will use new James Hardie products in its Ballymore at Panther Trace community. The builder will use the HardieZone System of exterior cladding, enhanced with ColorPlus technology, as well as the HardieWrap weather barrier. K. Hovnanian is using the new products as part of its program to build homes that meet Florida Green Building Coalition and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.

NEW MODELS
Ashton Woods Homes has started construction of a new five-bedroom model home priced from $164,900 at Ridge Crest, located in the Brandon area. The model offers three bath-rooms and a two-car garage. The company is building 61 new three-, four- and five-bedroom homes in Ridge Crest, ranging in size from 1,536 to 3,023 square feet.

PARADE OF HOMES
Coinciding with what appears to be the start of a housing-industry recovery, the Tampa Bay Parade of Homes anticipates strong traffic, according to officials of the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA). But just because the parade ends May 2, that doesn’t mean you can’t still visit the models. Virtually all of the 51 homes scattered across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando and Pasco counties will still be open for viewing. All entries are judged by a panel of local Realtors as well as local and out-of-market building-industry professionals, who will consider site plan, curb appeal, design, materials, outdoor living spaces, architectural detailing and workmanship.

This year, there were four showcase homes by David Weekley Homes and Arthur Rutenberg Homes, both in FishHawk Ranch in Lithia; and K. Hovnanian Homes and Cardel Homes, in MiraBay in SouthShore. Both communities are developed by Newland Communities.

Parade winners had not been announced at presstime and will be featured in the next issue of Florida Homebuyer Tampa Bay.