Take Note: New Home Community and Builder News

Lake County
Harbor Hills, a master-planned community, has opened Bella Vista, a new gated neighborhood that overlooks the golf course and Lake Griffin. The project will encompass 141 homesites priced from $35,000.

Ryland Homes has opened a new community center at Waterside Pointe, a gated lakefront community located off S.R. 50 west of U.S. 27 in Groveland.? Waterside Pointe will have 150 new three-, four- and five-bedroom single-family homes, many with lake access, in the first phase. Prices will start in the $180s.?
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Orange County
Rey Homes has opened a second phase of City Homes in Baldwin Park. Plans call for 60 three- and four-bedroom, four-story townhomes priced from the mid-$300s.

Mattamy Homes has bought 114 townhome sites at Tuscany Place at Millennia in southwest Orlando. Two- and three-bedroom townhomes are planned ranging in size from 1,423 to 1,700 square feet with prices starting from the $190s. The builder also snapped up 68 townhome sites in Baldwin Park and will build three- and four-bedroom “city homes.”

Beazer Homes has started site development for a second phase at The Enclave at Moss Park in the Lake Nona area of southeast Orlando. Plans call for 40 three- and four-bedroom, single-family homes and 32 two-, three- and four-bedroom townhomes priced from the low $160s.

K. Hovnanian Homes has opened a new model, the Calloway Classical, in Baldwin Park. The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home has 1,742 square feet and is priced from $387,321.? The company also has officially changed its name from Cambridge Homes, which was purchased by K. Hovnanian in 2005.

Park Square Homes has broken ground on new townhome models in Waters Edge at Lake Nona. Three floorplans are available offering three or four bedrooms and ranging in size from 1,398 to 1,607 square feet. Prices start around $150,000.

Taylor Morrison has acquired all 99 remaining homesites at Carriage Pointe in Winter Garden. The company will build single-family homes priced under $300,000.
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Osceola County
Avatar Homes now has 13 single-family plans with three and four bedrooms in Poinciana. Prices start in the $80s.

Park Square Homes has begun presales of 40 luxury vacation homes in the first phase at Veranda Palms in Kissimmee. Ultimately, about 400 four- and five-bedroom homes are planned ranging in size from 1,567 to 2,826 square feet and priced from the $300s.

Harmony Development Company will work with Florida State University to build FSU’s Energy and Sustainability Center, a state-of-the-art energy research facility to be located within Harmony’s recently created Florida Energy Research Park. The facility will allow FSU researchers to test sustainable-energy technologies including solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass.

Polk County
Highland Homes has reduced pricing in several communities.? Homes at Andover in Davenport and? Lakeside Landings in Winter Haven feature three-, four- and five-bedrooms and are now priced from the $120s. Pool homes at Normandy Heights in Winter Haven have been discounted $40,000.

Seminole County
Ashton Woods Homes has opened 10 new two- and three-bedroom townhomes at Savannah Park in Heathrow. The units will range in size from 1,540 to 1,941 square feet with prices starting at $189,900.

Ryland Homes has opened Arborview Park, a 130 townhome community in Oviedo with homes from the mid-$100s.? Two- and three-bedroom homes will available with 1,335 to 1,664 square feet.

Volusia County
Mercedes Homes has opened the 3,450-square-foot Stanton model at Oakhurst Estates in Orange City. The home offers five bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a family media room and a three-car garage. The base price is $242,990.

Chadwick Real Estate Group is developing 12 European-style, two-story loft townhomes with retail space at Beach Street Courtyard in downtown Daytona Beach. The one- and two-bedroom residential lofts range in size from 1,304 to 2,135 square feet and are priced from the high $300s.

Giving Back
Beazer Homes’ employees volunteered over the holidays for the Share-A-Meal program at Orlando’s Ronald McDonald House.? Beazer employees cooked and served dinner to the families of critically ill patients at Orlando area hospitals. Beazer plans on continuing the effort throughout the year.

Avatar Properties presented a holiday gift to the School District of Osceola County. The company cut $1.5 million off the sales price of a 17.55-acre site so a new elementary school can be built in northwest Osceola.

A charity tennis tournament was held at Lake County’s Harbor Hills community to raise funds for Lillian Riley, better known as the “Cookie Lady.” To date, she has baked and sent more than 40,000 cookies to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.?

Events and Awards
The Master Custom Builder Council will hold a Showcase of Luxury Homes for three consecutive Saturdays and Sundays, beginning February 28. More than 50 spectacular custom homes will be available to tour and special incentives will be offered to buyers.? For more details, visit www.custombuilt.com.

Remodeling contractor Jonathan McGrath Construction is celebrating its 25th year in 2009. Jack McGrath is well known for his design expertise and cost-effective approaches. Marion McGrath, his wife and business partner, has been part of the team since 1996 and is currently the treasurer of the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando.?

Baldwin Park has been selected by the regional chapter of the Urban Land Institute as the recipient of its inaugural Land Use Excellence Award. The master-planned community also received the 2008 Environmental Award, popularly known as the ENVY, from the Florida Association of Realtors.

REALTOR ICON CHARTS NEW CONSULTING COURSE
Belton Jennings III, CEO for the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA) for more than 15 years, has decided to venture out on his own and offer professional consulting services to the real estate industry.?

Jennings, known for his lively and information-packed presentations on market conditions at large Realtor gatherings, and the ORRA Board of Directors parted ways in December.

“It was an amicable agreement between the parties,” says Jennings, who has opened EnJender LLC to target real estate associations who need assistance with policies and procedures, bylaws and staffing charts as well as implementing strategic plans. The company name is a takeoff from the word “engender,” meaning to build and create. The former Navy captain characterizes his new services as “deckplate level assistance.”

“Many times a consultant leaves town after a strategic planning session and the CEO either does not have time or just needs help with the implementation,” he says. “That’s where I see a niche.”
Jennings has more than 35 years of association management experience, 24 of which have been spent in the real estate industry.

His client base is expected to be global, and he has already scheduled a trip to Hungary for this spring. As CEO of the National Association of Realtors’ Ambassador Association to the Hungarian Real Estate Associations, he has made annual trips to Budapest and the CEREAN conference in various Eastern European capitals since 1997.

Jennings, who is a Certified Association Executive, a Certified International Property Specialist and a Realtor Certified Executive, says he will also be available for other freelance consulting work in the area.

“I’m very excited,” he says. “Change is good.”