LAKE NONA
Lake Nona is a 7,000-acre, master-planned community within the city limits of Orlando. It’s home to world-class educational and medical facilities as well as a mix of residential options, retail centers, preservation areas and a championship golf course. Lake Nona is being developed by Lake Nona Property Holdings, owned by Tavistock Group, a private investment organization with a broad portfolio of assets around the world. For more information on Lake Nona, visit learnlakenona.com.
Tavistock, founded by British billionaire Joe Lewis, has investments in more than 200 companies across 15 nations. Its portfolio includes everything from life sciences to sports teams. For more information on Tavistiock Group, visit tavistock.com
Lake Nona Lifestyle
Lake Nona Property Holdings has announced its strongest sales in seven years, with more than 440 homes sold in 2012 throughout the community’s active neighborhoods: Laureate Park, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Village Walk and Water’s Edge.
That, coupled with an earlier Metrostudy report showing 360 new-home starts through the second quarter of 2013, confirms that Lake Nona is the most active community in the Orlando market.
“We’re definitely seeing a major uptick in activity this year,” says Rob Adams, Lake Nona’s vice president of marketing. “Lake Nona is a special place, and people continue to recognize the value of living here.”
Adams says he’s especially pleased with the sales pace at Laureate Park, which is located adjacent to Medical City and features streets named for Nobel Prize winners.
While Laureate Park fits the definition of a traditional neighborhood development — alley-loaded garages, front porches and community parks — the architecture is decidedly different. Its homes are neotraditional with a contemporary flair, boasting a whimsical color palette that’s as charming as it is unexpected.
The most talked-about color example so far is what has become known as “The Big Red House,” an Ashton Woods Homes model that appears to be an homage to a picture-postcard Midwestern barn, right down to the bright hue.
“Everybody loves Big Red,” says Mike Roche, Ashton Woods’ vice president of sales and marketing, who says his company gladly agreed to paint its model an unusual color. “It’s gotten rave reviews.”
In addition to Ashton Woods, other exclusive builders in Laureate Park include David Weekley Homes, Taylor Morrison Homes and Minto Communities. Arturo Barcelona Homes and Issa Homes have custom lot-home packages available in Laureate Park as well.
All Laureate Park homes are certified green by a Masco program and are branded with GE Ecomagination. The entire neighborhood is wired with fiber optic cables that allow Internet connections 100 times faster than is typical, Adams says.
The architecture and the technology are far from Laureate Park’s only attractions. Streets curve around lush, green landscaped pathways. Jogging paths and nature trails abound. There’s a community garden where residents can grow their own herbs and vegetables as well as separate dog parks for big and little canine companions.
About 25 percent of Laureate Park’s buyers work in one of the Medical City facilities, says Adams, which means they can easily walk or ride bicycles to work.
Consequently, builders are busy. Ashton Woods debuted four new floorplans with gourmet kitchens and granite countertops, while Minto Communities opened three courtyard models in January and three single-family models in May. Courtyard homes range in size from 1,650 to 1,944 square feet while single-family home sizes range in size from 1,725 to 2,307 square feet.
“Minto has experienced great sales success with the opening of our Lake Nona Laureate Park models,” says William L. Bullock, vice president of Minto Communities West Central Florida. “It’s a testament to the community as being to most innovative and unique place to live in all of Central Florida.”
Sustanability is a Way of Life
At Lake Nona, sustainability isn’t just a word. Achieving the right balance between the environment and those who live, learn, work and play there is key to making certain the development thrives for generations to come.
As part of a Primary Conservation Network, more than 40 percent of Lake Nona has been left as open green space, including conservation areas and enhanced parks with recreational facilities, including 44 miles of paved and unpaved trails.
Homes at Lake Nona’s Laureate Park are designed in conjunction with the Environments For Living program, which helps builders implement energy-efficient construction practices.
And during the evening hours, much of Lake Nona is illuminated with energy-saving LED lighting.
A Neighborhood Just for You
• Laureate Park. Featuring homes with modern transitional architectural styles and an abundance of intelligent, forward-thinking components. Located near Medical City, Laureate Park offers homes by Ashton Woods, David Weekley Homes, K. Hovnanian Homes and Minto Communities. Thirteen showcase homes are open seven days a week.
• Waters Edge. Gated community within NorthLake Park offering single-family homes and townhomes on Lake Nona. Amenities include a lakefront park, boat dock and boat storage areas. Builders are Park Square Homes and Ryland Homes. “This is a unique opportunity to have access to Lake Nona,” says Vishaal Gupta, president of Park Square Homes.
• Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. Private sanctuary of luxurious custom homes surrounded by an array of world-class amenities, including a Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course with a clubhouse and lodge. Home to numerous business executives and professional athletes.
• NorthLake Park. Neotraditional community offering single-family and multifamily homes as well as apartments. Amenities include an outdoor Olympic pool, soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts and a neighborhood dog park. An A-rated elementary school with an adjoining YMCA is on site.
• VillageWalk. Resort-style neighborhood where streets are connected by bridges that form a walkway to the Town Center, with conveniences such as a café, salon, post office, bank, gas station and fitness center with a full-time activities director. Amenities include six miles of lighted walking trails, two swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts and a fitness center.
• Randal Park. The 700-acre community will eventually encompass 815 single-family and 1,400 multifamily homes. More than three miles of bike paths and fitness trails surround a five-acre central park with sports fields. There’s also a community center and eight smaller neighborhood parks and playgrounds throughout the community.
• East Lake Park. Standard Pacific’s affordable gated community offers homes on quarter-acre lots priced starting from the $260s. Home features include tile roofs, paver driveways and walkways and three-car garages.
• North Point. Homes by Home Dynamics feature granite counters and oak or maple cabinetry in kitchens and bathrooms, architectural shingles and stucco exteriors in designer colors. Prices range from the $200s to $290s.
• Fells Landing. Meritage Homes offers stylish and energy-efficient homes priced from $267,990 to $411,900. Homes range in size from 2,581 to a spacious 5,111 square feet.
• Eagle Creek. This Standard Pacific neighborhood offers single-family homes priced from $279,900, estate homes priced from $369,900 and golf villas priced from $220,900. Townhomes will also be available.
Tapestry Weaves Regal Residences
Medical City is spurring residential growth outside the boundaries of Lake Nona. One of the area’s newest master-planned communities, Tapestry, is located at Carroll Street and Thacker Avenue in Kissimmee.
Location is a big selling point; Tapestry is conveniently located between Medical City, Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World. It covers nearly 244 acres with 863 homesites.
Tapestry is the first Orlando-area master-planned community by Mattamy Homes, Canada’s largest homebuilder, which also has operations in Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Phoenix.
“It will be totally Mattamy, from raw dirt to complete community, and we’re very proud and excited about that opportunity,” says Steve Parker, president of Mattamy’s U.S. Group. “Mattamy has a long history of developing large master-planned communities in Canada, and we’re looking forward to bringing that successful model to life here.”
Homes will be priced starting in the mid-$100s, and buyers will be able to choose from both townhomes and single-family homes. In addition, Beazer Homes has 250 homesites while and Park Square Homes will offer vacation homes.
Tapestry’s stone entry and landscaped main boulevard will offer a dramatic welcome, while its lakes, ponds and wooded preserve areas will underscore the location’s natural beauty. The amenity complex will include a clubhouse, cabana, outdoor pool and patio area, and a children’s playground.
Smart, Connected and Iconic
Cisco, a San Jose, Calif. company that designs and sells network marketing equipment, is working with Lake Nona to create a “Smart+Connected” community. It will be one of eight “iconic connected cities,” and the first in the U.S., to be built with fully interconnected technological systems.
Cisco is Lake Nona’s lead partner for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) planning. With its iconic connected cities program, the company is exploring the concept of including technology in the infrastructure of a community rather than grafting it on afterwards.
Urban planners around the world are increasingly identifying IT as integral to urban development efforts. Lake Nona is being designed with Cisco technology at the heart of its ecosystem to enable residents and visitors to work, live, learn and play in new and more sustainable ways.
“Cisco’s collaboration with Lake Nona is truly groundbreaking,” says Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide sales: “The iconic development will showcase what’s possible when visionary leaders design and build 21st-century cities connected by a digital infrastructure.”
One example: Lake Nona will have cellular connections points not just in scattered towers, but throughout its buildings, enabling improved phone and WiFi service. In addition, instead of each carrier building its own tower, the connectivity infrastructure will be created once, and all carriers will run on the same hardware.
When complete, Lake Nona will feature more than 20 smart services, including integrated data, voice and wireless; fiber to the home; digital signage; common-area video surveillance; energy management; and unified communications.
Fitness, Food, Fashion and Fun
As Lake Nona attracts more residents, businesses of all types are springing up. In fact, more than 5 million square feet of commercial space is currently or soon to be filled with shops, restaurants, medical offices and more.
Construction is underway on Village Center, located across from Laureate Park. An aquatic center, a fitness center, retail shops and an exclusive destination restaurant created by the owners of Luma and Prato in Winter Park are planned for the site.
The restaurant will feature a more formal sit-down section as well as a casual coffee shop-café area. The aquatic center’s two pools should open by the end of the year, and the rest of Village Center should follow suit in 2014.
The first phase of Lake Nona Town Center, which will eventually include major department stores, trendy fashion boutiques, movie theaters, restaurants and two hotels, is expected to break ground by the end of the year.
Things are also hopping at Lake Nona Village, which features a mix of retail and office space. The complex is home to the popular NONA Blue bistro, co-owned by PGA Tour pro Graeme McDowell. The bistro, which bills itself as a “modern tavern,” offers freshly prepared traditional fare in an inviting and contemporary setting.
Also at Lake Nona Village is the Lake Nona WineHouse and Menchies Frozen Yogurt; a Panera Bread outlet is under construction. And Lake Nona Plaza, with 70,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a Publix Supermarket, opened in late 2012.
How Horses Can Help Heroes
One of the most intriguing collaborations involving the Medical City anchors is an equestrian therapy program that will benefit wounded veterans being treated at the neighboring Orlando Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center.
Dr. Manette Monroe, a lifelong horse enthusiast, has led UCF’s effort to bring the program to Lake Nona. “Horses and Heroes” is a partnership between the UCF College of Medicine and Heavenly Hoofs, a nationally accredited equine therapy program in Osceola County.
Monroe’s goal is to scientifically quantify the ways in which horseback riding helps vets who are physically disabled or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as to recommend best practices for equine therapy. According to Wendy Spirduso Sarubbi, the medical school’s coordinator of information and publication services, the research will be groundbreaking.
“Veterans who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with amputations and serious brain injuries from roadside bombings need this program,” says Sarubbi. “Using equestrian therapy allows vets to ride the horses to improve balance, hand/eye coordination and core strength.”
And Monroe’s efforts have paid off: In April, the Osceola County Commissioners approved UCF’s request to build a covered equestrian center for year-round training and classes at Chisholm Park, located approximately 15 minutes from Medical City. The covered facility will allow the program to continue year-round, even during summer’s intense sunlight and frequent rains.
When the VA hospital opens in mid-2014, it will be treating veterans from all over the country, and veterans’ groups are already working on plans to provide shuttle service between Chisholm Park and the hospital.
The center’s facility and horse trails at the park will also be open to the public, and the facility is slated for completion before the end of 2013. Once open, plans are to hold four sessions per year and serve up to 80 veterans per therapy session.
Gateway Building Boosts Care Options
Lake Nona plans to build a 100,000 square-foot medical office building on the northwest corner of Narcoossee Road and Tavistock Lakes Boulevard. Florida Hospital and UCF’s Pegasus Health will become anchor tenants in the new building.
At the Lake Nona Gateway Building, which will be completed in mid-2014, Florida Hospital will offer a CentraCare urgent care center, imaging and diagnostics, an outpatient surgery center and a variety of specialist services. UCF’s College of Medicine will expand Pegasus Health, the school’s primary and multi-specialty practice.
The Gateway Building will complement the array of medical services offered at Lake Nona’s Medical City.
“We’re very pleased to welcome both Florida Hospital and UCF Pegasus Health to this new facility,” says Lake Nona President Jim Zboril. “Establishing these clinical facilities at the eastern gateway to Laureate Park and Medical City is an important part of our overall vision for Lake Nona.”
Timeline
Over the last eight years, Lake Nona’s Medical City has literally risen from the ground up. Here’s a look back at the major milestones in the project’s development:
MAY 2009
The UCF College of Medicine opens a 50-acre Health Sciences Campus. Cost, $166 million; size, 368,000 square feet; staff, 400.
MAY 2009
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona opens its east coast facility. Cost, $85 million; size, 175,000 square feet; staff, 300.
October 2009
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando opens its Cancer Research Institute at UCF’s Burnett Biomedical Sciences Building. Cost, $2.5 million; size, 30,000 square feet; staff, 25 researchers.
JANUARY 2012
UCF’s trustees vote unanimously to purchase 25 acres in Medical City near the UCF College of Medicine for a future teaching hospital and clinic.
AUGUST 2012
The University of Florida Research and Academic Center, which houses its doctoral pharmacy program and drug development center, opens its doors. Cost, $42 million; size, 100,000 square feet; staff, 120 employees, 200 students.
OCTOBER 2012
Nemours Children’s Hospital opens its facility and begins accepting patients. Cost, $397 million; size, 630,000 square feet; staff, 1,000.
JUNE 2014
The VA Hospital is expected to finish its final phase of construction and begin accepting patients approximately 90 days after completion. Cost, $665 million; size, 1.2 million square feet; staff, 2,100.