Take Note: New Home Community and Builder News

CLAY COUNTY
CornerStone Homes is offering an additional one percent discount off its Eagle Landing homes to the area’s “Hometown Heros,” including police officers, firefighters, teachers and active and retired military personnel. ?

Taylor Morrison recently put the finishing touches on two new models at Kindlewood, Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County’s first Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). The 1,364-square-foot Berkshire features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage and is priced at $159,990. Also priced at $159,990, the Kent features 1,458 square feet with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and a two-car garage.

D.R. Horton has a new model opening in Azalea Ridge. The 1,741-square-foot Sebring, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, is the first model to debut from the company’s newly revised plan series. It’s priced from the $140s.

Homeowners at Rolling Hills at Lake Asbury now have access to the community’s new two-story residents club. Part of East West Communities’ $5 million amenities package, the facility includes a leisure room with fully-equipped kitchen, Internet center and kids’ club. The building’s first floor connects to a super pool with slide and a splash pool with interactive water feature. Six area builders—CornerStone Homes, Sid Higginbotham Builders, Kingsouth Construction, Rosewood Homes, Ryland Homes and David Weekley Homes—are building in Rolling Hills with prices ranging from the $180s to more than $500,000.

DUVAL COUNTY
Collins Builders is giving homebuyers the opportunity to own a newly built home in just 89 days. The company’s new program, “Contract to Keys in 89 Days,” assures buyers that their new home will be built in 89 days from the date the contract is executed to the day they receive the keys to their new home. ?

Beazer Homes has relocated its Northeast Florida Division headquarters to new offices on Nature Walk Highway in St. Augustine. Beazer, which builds single-family and townhomes priced from the $130s to the $300s in seven local communities, is one of the country’s 10 largest homebuilders with operations in 17 states.

Homebuilding executive Richard J. Dalton has announced the opening of Wellington Homes, a new Jacksonville-based builder. Dalton is launching his new company by signing on as title sponsor to one of Jacksonville’s most well-known charity events— the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Tango by Moonlight.

ICI Homes has launched a scratch-off promotion with more than 3,000 prizes. Rosemary Messina, vice president of sales and marketing for ICI, says everyone who registers at any ICI Homes community in the state will win either ?a seven-day/six-night vacation getaway, a weekend getaway, a beach chair or a gift from the ICI Homes treasure chest. Major scratch-off prizes range from a $5,000 landscaping package to up to $100,000 off the price of a new home in any ICI community.

NASSAU COUNTY
Richmond American Homes has opened its fully furnished Alder model in Woodbridge, a community located in Yulee. ?The four-bedroom, two-bathroom plan ranges in size from 1,658 square feet and is priced starting at $155,590.

Woodside Homes has welcomed 16 new residents so far this yearin Amelia Walk, located in Fernandina Beach. Seven inventory homes are under construction in the community, with two very close to completion and the others set to be completed prior to the November 30 expiration date for the $8,000 federal housing tax credit. Homes in the charming Traditional Neighborhood Development are priced from the $280s.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY
On the heels of receiving Certified Green Professional (CGP) designations from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), the team at Aurora Custom Homes has launched a new green building division. The first project is a custom home currently under construction in Ponte Vedra. The home is being built to receive LEED, Green Built Home of Florida and Energy Star certifications.

Davidson Realty has launched its 2009 Speaker Series, held on the second Thursday of each month at the company’s World Golf Village headquarters. The events, which begin at 7 p.m., include a complimentary wine and cheese social and an opportunity to learn about current issues and trends affecting the real estate industry and homeowners.

Taylor Morrison has introduced a unique program of its kind, offering to refund a homebuyer’s down payment, up to 10 percent of the original purchase price, should the home decrease in value in five years. The program, called “Taylor Morrison Total Assurance,” allows homebuyers to take advantage of today’s competitive pricing, low interest rates and the homebuilder’s award-winning communities across the country.

The PARC Group, master developer of Nocatee, has announced that construction is under way on the second phase of the Greenway Trails, with an opening scheduled for December. The Greenway Trails allow Nocatee residents to enjoy natural green spaces while traveling to and from destinations within the community. Upon the completion of the second phase of the trail system, more than three miles of trails will have been built in the community.

PROGRESSIONS
Alayna Oram, a marketing professional with 15 years industry experience, has formed Relay Marketing, a Jacksonville-based marketing firm. Her client roster includes The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village, Limelight Theatre, Nocatee and The Davidson Companies. Oram is the immediate past chair of the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council and is the current treasurer of the newly-formed local branch of the American Marketing Association.

Three team members of the planning, architecture, landscape architecture and urban design firm of Ervin Lovett Miller recently earned accreditation by the U.S. Green Building Council as LEED Accredited Professionals. The team members include founding partners Russ Ervin and Steve Lovett, and architect Jeni Lassley.?

The Davidson Companies—Davidson Development, Davidson Realty and Davidson Property Management—ranked second in the first statewide listing of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Florida. The complete list is included in the August issue of Florida Trend.

The Hardy Group’s founder and president, Richard Hardy, has earned professional certification from the Design-Build Institute of America. Design-build is an integrated delivery process that ensures full accountability for architecture, engineering and construction on a building project.

Toll Brothers announces the promotion of Jim McDade to vice president of the North Florida division.