Take Note

CLAY COUNTY
Ark Remodeling & Construction and J.A. Long Design Builders will join ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for a build in Clay County in January. Ark and J.A. Long were chosen by the popular television program to oversee and implement an intense, one-week homebuilding project that will change the life of a deserving Clay County family. The program will air later this year on ABC.

DUVAL COUNTY
Condo Capital Solutions, a nationally-focused investment company based in Colorado, has acquired Old San Jose on the River, a residential riverfront community near the historic San Marco district and downtown. The original developer, Jay McGarvey of McGarvey Residential Communities, will serve as development manager. Condo Capital Solutions and McGarvey Residential Communities have repositioned the community and plan a sales launch, construction of amenities and pricing information in the first quarter of 2011. Old San Jose on the River already has three completed buildings, including a five-story, 18-unit condominium building on the St. Johns River.

Breaking Ground Education Services, a division of Breaking Ground Contracting, has launched a brand-new website — www.breakinggroundeducation.com – to promote products and services related to green and sustainable building and living. On the site are educational workshops, training sessions, presentations, consulting services and a variety of LED building classes. Visitors also can purchase Me and Green, an award-winning kids’ book created by the company to teach about the sustainable lifestyle.

GreenPointe Holdings LLC is launching a home-building division at what President and CEO Ed Burr called an “opportune time.” Burr, a veteran Northeast Florida developer, announced the debut of GreenPointe Homes last December. His company has spent the past year acquiring almost 7,000 homesites in six-master planned communities, 75 acres of commercial land and two championship golf courses throughout Florida for about $29 million. The new division will offer its first homes for sale at Cedar Bay, a St. Johns County community of 153 single-family homes priced from $160,000.

Ocean’s Edge, a coastal community in south Jacksonville Beach, is seeing a new market emerge. Many buyers are snapping up units to serve as multi-generational vacation homes. This allows several buyers to pool their financial resources to buy a home that might not otherwise be an affordable option. The community offers one-, two- and three-bedroom coastal homes priced from $161,000. Amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, pool and lagoon, and private putting green. Jacksonville ranks 24th among the most popular and desired cities for retirement, according to www.portfolio.com. The study used a six-part formula to rank 157 metro areas.

FLAGLER COUNTY
SeaGate Homes has debuted several new floorplans with more space and flexibility for customization. The 3,143-square-foot, two-story Cypress model – which was designed as a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home – can be altered to include as many as six bedrooms and five bathrooms. It’s priced from $189,990. The 1,935-square-foot Palm II model, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, can be enlarged to encompass four bedrooms and three bathrooms with prices starting at $149,990. The 1,800-square-foot Captiva model offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a great room with prices starting at $135,990 while the three-bedroom Carmel model is a 2,200-square-foot plan with formal dining and living areas priced starting at $167,990.

Bellagio Custom Homes is finalizing plans to build a 3,490- square-foot model in the Wild Oaks area of Grand Haven, a master-planned community with neighborhoods that border a 4,000- acre nature preserve, walking and
biking trails and the Intracoastal Waterway. T he new four-bedroom, four-bathroom home will pair new world designs with old-world craftsmanship.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY
BourrŽ Construction Group plans to build in River Plantation, an equestrian community with five-acre homesites in Colee Cove. Eight waterfront and cul-de-sac homesites – offered by Ted Tyndall of Davidson Realty – are available in the community, which encompasses a total of 20 homesites including three completed homes and one under construction. Bourré offers a variety of floorplans and designs but also will help buyers create custom homes. Homesites at River Plantation start at $189,000.

The PARC Group, developer of Nocatee, has announced the opening of the final segment of Nocatee Parkway, a limited-access, divided highway stretching from the Intracoastal Waterway to U.S. 1 at Racetrack Road. The completed Parkway includes multiple-grade separated interchanges allowing for uninterrupted traffic flow from the east and west, several overpasses, on- and off-ramps at U.S. 1 and Racetrack Road and a new highspeed flyover for southbound U.S. 1 traffic. The completed thoroughfare will allow easy access by Nocatee residents to Jacksonville, I-95 and the new S.R. 9B. The Parkway also will serve as a critical hurricane evacuation route for beach residents.

Toll Brothers continues to introduce new floorplans at Coastal Oaks at Nocatee in Ponte Vedra. The company’s five latest offerings are: The 3,040-square-foot Bay Harbor, priced from the $500s; the 3,209-square-foot Woodlake, also priced from the $500s; the 3,003 square-foot Cassia, priced from the mid-$400s; the 2,215-square-foot Mandigo, priced from the mid-$300s; and 1,775-square-foot Danbury, priced from the upper $200s.

David Weekley Homes has purchased homesites at the St. Joe Company community of RiverTown and has begun construction on new homes created specifically to fit within the community’s architectural guidelines. The onestory, 2,285-square-foot Winfrey model boasts an Arts and Crafts style, with an oversized front porch and decorative brick columns. Also new are the 2,435-square-foot Flagship model, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the two-story Hannagan model, with four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms in about 2,734 square feet. The builder’s RiverTown homes are priced from the $290s.

ICI Homes has opened the Egret II model at St. Johns Forest. The Egret II offers 2,910 square feet on the ground floor with an optional 543-square-foot second story to accommodate a bonus room, a fifth bedroom and a bathroom. Features include a large gathering room with a 36-inch gas fireplace, a formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen with granite countertops, a walk-in pantry and an island. The model is base-priced at $393,900.

New construction, developer transactions and an increase in closings are creating buzz in St. Augustine’s World Golf Village. From new construction in Cascades, World Golf Village’s active adult retirement community, to expansion of Laterra Links, an upscale villa neighborhood, there’s new activity throughout the 6,300-acre project. Says Sherry Davidson, president of Davidson Realty, the original developer of World Golf Village and its biggest lister of homes for sale: “We’ve seen an increase in closings of more than 20 percent in the northern St. Johns County area in the first nine months of 2009 versus last year.”

Durbin Crossing continues to expand with the addition of four new preferred builders. Drees Homes, Dream Finders Homes, Dennis Homes and Advantage Home Builders have joined the community’s eight other premier builders, which include D.S. Ware Homes, Holder Johnson Homes, Mercedes Homes, Mattamy Homes, Ryland Homes, Providence Homes, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers.

PROGRESSIONS
Mori Hosseini, chairman and chief executive officer at Daytona-based ICI Homes, was named winner of the 12th annual Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian award along with Robert McLeod, chairman and chief executive officer of California-based developer Newland Communities. To support their continued philanthropic efforts, the Hearthstone Builder Award Foundation will make cash contributions of $100,000 to charities designated by Hosseini and McLeod.

Prudential Network Realty has been selected as one of just 50 companies to join RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network (RREIN). RISMedia is the leading industry source of real estate news and business-development strategies. Northeast Florida consumers will be able to link directly to RREIN’s news and information from Prudential Network Realty’s Web site.

Sylvia Mickler-Stone and Carol vonRabenstein have joined Deltona Realty as sales agents. As past president of The Junior Service League, Mickler-Stone was involved with the historical renovation of the Lightkeeper’s House in St. Augustine and other local charities. Von Rabenstein has received the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation from the National Association of Realtors and has substantial experience in handling short sales throughout Northeast Florida.

ABD Development Company has just opened its new Portofino ready-to-move-in luxury home at Toscana, located off Old Kings Road in Palm Coast. The Portofino model offers four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a two car garage. It boasts 2,600 square feet of living space with special features such as minimum 10-foot ceilings throughout, a covered lanai and a courtyard drive.