BUILDER BRIEFS
Mercedes Homes plans to open a new model home at Live Oak Estates, a 33-acre community in Deltona.? Presales of new three-, four- and five-bedroom homes are priced from the $230s.? The builder has plans for 72 homes in one- and two-story designs.
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The new San Remo model by Mercedes Homes is now open at The Enclave in DeLand.
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Shea Homes has entered the Florida market with Victoria Gardens, an active lifestyle neighborhood located in Victoria Park, a master-planned community in DeLand developed by the St. Joe Company.? Shea will build 390 Victoria Gardens’ homes, with five models available for viewing in early 2008.? Homes will be priced from the mid-$300s. Shea was named the 2007 Builder of the Year by Professional Builder magazine. Also in Victoria Park, construction has begun on the community’s Village Center, which will consist of five buildings encompassing 30,000 square feet of office, retail and dining space.
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Habitat for Humanity has announced plans to develop Staghorn Villas, a 58-unit townhome community off Silver Star Road in Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County.?
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Ashton Woods Homes has started presales of 156 new luxury townhomes at Savannah Park at Heathrow. The two- and three-bedroom townhomes range in size from 1,450 to 1,925 square feet and are priced from the mid-$200s.
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Centex Homes has opened a 5,000-square-foot community clubhouse at Sullivan Ranch in Mount Dora. The facility will include a junior Olympic swimming pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a media room and indoor and outdoor fireplaces.?? Also in the community, Centex is building 415 single-family homes priced from the $170s along with paired-villa homes priced from the $160s.
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Avatar Properties is offering affordably-priced, single-family homes on oversized homesites at Stillwater Landing in Bellalago/Isles of Bellalago on Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee. Upscale Mediterranean-style homes priced from the low $200s, part of the company’s Classico Series, will be offered on 125-foot-deep homesites.? Also at Avatar, the company is building 170 Tuscan-style, attached single-family homes in Solivita’s Courtyards at Montelena, an active-adult community about 21 miles south of Disney World. Priced from the low $200s to the $300s, these maintenance-free courtyard homes offer 1,498 to 2,241 square feet of living area with one-car garages, golf cart bays, private entry courtyards and covered and screened rear lanais.
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Park Square Homes has opened two decorated model homes priced from the $190s to $380s at Shingle Creek Preserve at The Oaks in Kissimmee. The three- and four-bedroom homes range in size from 1,307 to 3,073 square feet. Plans call for 243 homes to be built.
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M/I Homes opened San Remo Ultra V, a fully decorated, four-bedroom model home in gated Wilson Park in Lake Mary. The home features 3,916 square feet of living area with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a lanai, a study, a bonus room and a three-car garage. Wilson Park homes are priced from the $400s.
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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and KB Home have opened Deer Creek, their first co-branded community in Florida, in Ormond Beach. Three model homes decorated by the Martha Stewart design team are now open for viewing. Deer Creek offers one- and two-story floorplans with three to six bedrooms. The homes range in size from 2,500 to 3,800 square feet with prices starting in the low $300s. Martha Stewart and KB Home CEO Jeff Mezger kicked-off the community opening by hosting a private block party for 150 sweepstakes winners.? In other KB Home news, Disney Home Products will be offered at KB Home Studios beginning in 2008. Buyers will be able to create custom Disney-themed rooms by selecting among the many Disney-related options. KB Home will showcase “Disney Dream” bedrooms at eight communities throughout the region, including Avalon Park, Mallard Pond, Hammock Trails, Preserve at Eagle Lake, Arbor Ridge, Southern Fields, Landings at Sugar Mill and Bayberry Lakes.?
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Morrison Homes recently opened three new model townhomes at Grandview Isle between Windermere and Lake Buena Vista.? Plans call for 54 two-story townhomes consisting of three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and attached garages. The units will range in size from 1,490 to 1,672 square feet. All but six of the townhomes, priced from the low $200s, front the 100-acre, spring-fed South Lake.???
PROGRESSIONS & AWARDS
Centex Homes has promoted Brett Lundequam to vice president of operations in the Orlando region. ...? Ryland Homes appointed Jeff Agar president of its Orlando division. ...J.D. Power and Associates has honored Pulte Homes with the highest rankings in the Orlando market in three of its recent studies: the New Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study, the New-Home Quality Study and the New-Home Design Study. Centex Homes and David Weekley Homes ranked second and third respectively in the customer satisfaction study. Nationwide, Centex Homes received the J.D. Power and Associates Platinum Award for Excellence in Homebuilding, ranking highest in customer satisfaction in 14 of 34 study markets. ...The 7th annual Avatar-Solivita Charity Golf Tournament raised $16,174 for Heavenly Hoofs, a Kissimmee-based organization that uses equine therapy to enhance the physical, emotional and cognitive growth of children with life-threatening illnesses or disabilities and other at-risk youngsters. ...Jonathan McGrath Construction of Longwood received the 2007 National Chrysalis Award for the Best Bathroom Remodel in the $40,000-$60,000 category.