THE HASSLE-FREE AMERICAN DREAM

BY RANDY NOLES AND KAREN LEBLANC

It was the American Dream: A single-family home with a big yard, a picket fence and a swimming pool. The problem: Someone had to mow the lawn, paint the fence, clean the pool and perform many other weekend tasks to maintain the home and avoid the ire of neighbors.

At least, it was a problem for many baby boomers who’d achieved the American Dream and were ready to enjoy their free time and let somebody else worry about weekend chores.

Many boomers bought their homes knowing that 40 years of Saturdays were spoken for. And that was fine. But with the kids gone and the newfound freedom to travel, socialize or just relax, many boomers are turning to maintenance-free options such as condominiums and townhomes.

Downsizing? Sometimes, but the term can be a misnomer. More affluent boomers may no longer be willing to maintain a home — but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to give up the luxuries to which they’ve become accustomed. 

In the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) “Home of the Future” study, industry experts found that low-maintenance was “critical” or “very critical” to today’s buyers, especially boomers. The higher the square footage, the more likely buyers are to want maintenance-free homes, the study’s authors added.

Thanks to high-tech electronics, today’s new homes save buyers time, energy and unnecessary repairs. An appliance tells you that it needs service before it breaks down. The push of a button puts your house in “goodbye” mode to dim the lights and turn down the air conditioner. Security, lighting, entertainment systems are all connected. As for the exteriors and common areas, they’re maintained by somebody else. 

In condominium developments, owners usually share ownership of the common areas. In townhome developments, common areas are usually owned by a homeowners’ association. Either way, owners pay dues to a homeowners’ association to cover the costs of maintenance.

“The idea is to spend more time on family and less time on housework,” says Stephen Melman, NAHB director of economic services.

Hill Gray Seven is offering another niche townhome project not far from Park Hill. Penn Place, across from the Winter Park Ninth Grade Center, is just a few blocks from Park Avenue.

In places like Winter Park, where expansive lakefront mansions are plentiful and new development is typically high-density because there’s little available land, a beneficial symmetry has resulted.

Many of the potential buyers for new townhomes and condominiums are currently owners of those mansions. They love the community, but no longer love the work required to maintain an estate-sized home.

Drew Hill, partner in Oviedo-based Hill Gray Seven LLC, recognized that fact. In Winter Park, his company is building perhaps the most luxurious townhomes ever seen in Central Florida — and is marketing them to people who already live in the picture-postcard city’s sprawling single-family homes.

Hill, a Winter Park resident, wanted to create a legacy project for his family owned company, Hill Gray Seven LLC. He wanted a project that would retain its wow factor for generations to come; a project that would permanently raise the bar locally for high-end townhomes; a project in which no compromises would be accepted, no expense would be spared and no detail would be overlooked.

But, Hill realized, the location for such an over-the-top endeavor had to be every bit as extraordinary as the opulent but dignified buildings he imagined. You couldn’t develop a project of this caliber and plunk it down just anywhere, even in the most affluent suburb. 

Then it hit him. Why not Park Avenue, perhaps the best-known thoroughfare in the region? Why not squarely in the vibrant heart of Winter Park’s lively, picture-postcard downtown district, with its beguiling European-meets-Mediterranean ambience and its intriguing assortment of boutiques, restaurants and museums?

He’d call the project Park Hill and market it toward baby boomers, some of whom may be downsizing but aren’t willing to swap luxury for convenience. Why not have both?

“We felt there was a market for this product, especially for people who want a luxurious setting but also want to be able to lock and leave and not worry about maintenance,” says Hill, a Rollins College graduate who runs the Oviedo-based investment and development company along with his father, Gregg Hill Sr., and brothers, Gray Hill and Gregg Hill Jr. 

Sure, everyone would love to have a Park Avenue address. But where could a new residential project be built in the downtown core? Only one place, as it turns out, and Hill Gray Seven quickly snapped it up. It’s two parcels totaling roughly an acre at the southwest corner of North Park and Whipple avenues. 

The site had encompassed the 18-unit Spanish Oaks Apartments and the eight-unit Golfview Apartments, both built in the 1960s and 1970s. In January, Hill Gray Seven paid $5.2 million for the property and put its ambitious plan in motion. Ground is breaking this summer on Park Hill, and presales will begin soon.

The project will include 10 three-bedroom homes with private elevators, two-car garages, private first-floor courtyards and covered rooftop terraces with summer kitchens and fireplaces. 

There are several options for luxurious, maintenance-free living in Winter Park. Phil Kean Designs is developing The Morse & Virginia Brownstones, named for the streets on which they’re located, and inspired by classic brownstones in Manhattan and other northern urban areas. 

Seven of the 10 homes will front Park Avenue, and each encompasses about 4,300 square feet of living area. They’ll have three bedrooms, three bathrooms and two half-bathrooms. 

Three other homes, equally luxurious at 3,300 square feet of living area, will have one less full bathroom. They’re separated from the row of seven homes by a private driveway and face the Winter Park Country Club golf course across Whipple. 

All 10, however, will boast a Park Avenue address. Prices start at about $3.2 million for the larger seven homes and start at about $2.5 million for the smaller three homes. Hill believes they’ll go quickly at that price. 

“No one has attempted anything like this in Central Florida,” Hill says. “And the only place it could really work is Park Avenue. That’s why we were willing to pay whatever it cost to get the property. That’s why this is something no one else can replicate. There’s really no competition.”

Hill says he didn’t want Park Hill to look like anything you’d typically find in Florida. “I want people to look at this and say, ‘That fits in; that’s Park Avenue,’” Hill adds. 

The architect is award-winning, Maitland-based Slocum Platts. Company principal Randall J. Slocum says Hill gave him general guidelines, including the direction that he wanted “a more northern look, with lots of brick and stone and a high level of detail.”

Slocum delivered a classically stylish design that buyers in the upper stratosphere will appreciate. The beautifully detailed facades feature smooth precast stone on the first floor and rustic handmade brick on the upper floors. Mansard slate roofs add a European touch. 

The flashing and gutters are copper and the exterior window trim, cornices and quoins are precast stone, demonstrating Hill’s insistence that there’ll be no corner-cutting on materials.

The complex is surrounded by a decorative iron fence with European-style gaslights topping brick columns. The walkways are bluestone and the landscaping — maintained by a homeowners’ association — is lush. 

Interiors, by Mark Roth Interiors, are no less impressive. Buyers will be able to choose from among several general styles, Hill says, from contemporary to transitional to traditional. But all the homes will feature high-style detailing, such as coffered ceilings and crown molding, as well as hardwood floors, marble countertops and cabinetry custom-made to the buyer’s specifications.

Master bathrooms will have rainhead showers and large soaking tubs as well as his-and-hers vanities, while gourmet kitchens will boast top-of-the-line Wolf appliances. There’ll be wet bars and wine towers that can store up to 160 bottles.

Perhaps the most impressive design feature will be three stories of glass along the back walls. That means natural light will spill unimpeded into every floor.

Construction will be energy efficient and airtight, with spray-foam insulation and high-SEER Carrier air conditioning units. Smart-home technology, including security systems, will be state-of-the-art. 

Hill Gray Seven LLC is developing another high-end townhome project not far from Park Avenue. Penn Place is a four-unit project on the southwest corner of Pennsylvania and Minnesota avenues.

It’s across from the Winter Park High School Ninth Grade Center and near the eastern entrance to Mead Garden, one of the most beautiful and tranquil botanical gardens in Central Florida.

Penn Place, also designed by Slocum Platts and built by Zoltan Construction, offers 3,300-square-foot homes with three or four bedrooms. They’re comparable to Park Hill, with elevators, high-style finishes, private courtyards and two-car garages. These two-story townhomes feature 11-foot ceilings on both floors.

Rollins College is about a five-minute stroll away, and the project is surrounded by charming historic homes lining walkable brick streets. Prices start at about $1.3 million.

The Phil Kean Design Group is also developing luxurious Winter Park townhomes called The Morse & Virginia Brownstones, for the streets on which they’re located. 

The project, inspired by New York City’s iconic brownstones, encompasses eight three-story townhomes ranging in size from 3,027 to 4,512 square feet and featuring private two-car garages, private door entries and interior elevators. The homes are priced from $1.2 million to $1.65 million.

Owners will be able to walk two blocks to Park Avenue’s fine dining and shopping as well as to Rollins and Hannibal Square. Six homes front Morse Boulevard, while two villas sit behind the larger row of buildings, with one home facing Virginia Drive.  

At Grande Oaks in Heathrow, “homeownership without the hassles” is a major selling point. The gated townhome community is conveniently located near I-4 and S.R. 417 (the Central Florida GreeneWay) and next door to the dining and retail center Colonial Town Park. 

For those who travel frequently, the northern Seminole County location offers an easy commute to Orlando International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport. 

“This area is undergoing a shift as children leave for college and people who live in luxury communities get ready to simplify,” says John Manrique, vice president of marketing for Kolter Homes LLC. “They want to sell and remain where their friends, banks and doctors are located. They want the amenities they had in their single-family neighborhoods, but without the upkeep.”

Grande Oaks offers an amenity-rich lifestyle with a lakefront clubhouse, a fitness center, a community pool, a boardwalk and nearby walking and biking trails. 

Buyers have five different townhome models from which to choose, in a mix of two- and three-story floorplans ranging in size from 1,970 to 2,150 square feet, with two-car garages. The homes range in price from $250,000 to $325,000. 

Grande Oaks at Heathrow, by Kolter Homes, offers an amenity-rich lifestyle with a lake­front clubhouse, a fitness center, a community pool, a board­walk and nearby walking and biking trails. 

“There is certainly a generational mix living here,” notes Manrique. “There are retirees, young professionals and vacation- or second-home owners.” Grande Oaks maintains the exteriors and handles the lawn care, while owners are responsible only for what’s inside, he adds.

In Volusia County, Kolter is offering low-maintenance single-family homes in the 55-plus neighborhood, Cresswind at Victoria Gardens, part of master-planned Victoria Park. “Cresswind is an age-targeted, gated community with an amenity-rich lifestyle and without the yard upkeep,” says Manrique. 

But buyers of maintenance-free homes aren’t necessarily retired. And they aren’t necessarily older than 55.

David Weekley Homes is building maintenance-free townhomes in Spring Lake at Celebration. “This is for the buyer who’s more interested in being active than in mowing the lawn,” says Brent Bartholomew, the company’s Orlando division president. Homes, which range in size from 1,596 to 1,829 square feet, are priced from the high $200s. 

KB Home offers several communities that provide maintenance-free living, including several single-family homes in Orange County’s Horizon West. “Our homes in Orchard Park, Summerlake and Lake Hancock all provide owners with low-maintenance features including exterior landscaping,” says Cara Kane, spokesperson for KB Home.

Toll Brothers handles maintenance — including lawn care, irrigation, tree pruning and fertilization — in many of its communities. “These services are included in the homeowners’ association fee, and they enable residents to spend more time relaxing at the pool or entertaining friends and family,” says Ken Thirtyacre, the company’s division president for Central Florida.

Clearly, this shift to a more hassle-free life is increasing demand for high-end homes without high-maintenance. From townhomes to luxury apartments and zero-lot line single-family homes, consumers have more choices than ever to live the good life with less hassle. 

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TOWNHOMES AND CONDOMINIUMS:

HERE ARE THE DIFFERENCES.

The difference between a townhome and a condominium is, primarily, the form of ownership. In a condominium, homeowners own the interiors of their homes. But the exteriors, as well as the land and the common areas, are owned by a homeowners’ association.

A condominium can look like an apartment. But it can also look like an attached one-story villa or a multilevel townhome. 

Many first-time buyers don’t consider the additional cost of homeowners’ association (HOA) fees, which pay for communal maintenance as well as amenities. 

While those fees won’t be part of your mortgage payment, they’re typically paid monthly. So you’ll need to budget for that ongoing expense when you buy. The fees will also be counted toward your debt-to-income ratio when you apply for a loan.

If you buy a townhome in the traditional way, you’ll typically be part of an HOA that will handle maintenance of common areas and, sometimes, lawns for individual townhomes. 

In some townhome developments, the owner is responsible for exterior maintenance of the actual structure. In others, the HOA handles it. In all condo developments, the HOA handles exterior structural maintenance.

With a condo, HOA dues pay for higher levels of insurance for the community. That’s because things like roofs, elevators, exterior walls, walkways and the land itself are owned by the association. 

Condo owners typically pay lower homeowners’ insurance rates because they’re paying to cover only the interiors of their homes and their personal possessions.

Whether you prefer a townhome or a condo, you should compare the entire cost of buying — including association fees and insurance premiums — before you decide which is best for you.