01/08/09

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Mixing it up on Florida's west coast

On Florida's west coast, developers of Lakewood Ranch are finding some shelter from the troubled residential market by combining a mix of styles in a single master-planned community.

With home sites priced at $1 million and up, the Lake Club caters to an affluent homeowner who can afford the finer things in life. Just down the road, homes in Country Club East are selling from the high-$300,000s. Not far from either community, Greenbrook features homes priced in the high-$200,000s. Despite the price divide, these communities share something in common: They are all part of Lakewood Ranch, a master-planned community that's located in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Offering a mix of housing styles has been part of Lakewood Ranch's mission from the beginning, according to Milt Flinn, president at LWR Communities. "In the industry, we call it segmentation," says Flinn. "It's about providing a variety of housing products, kind of like selling cruises. People come here for all of the amenities, and we're charged with finding them a cabin, so to speak."

Being able to offer a wide range of cabins — from condominiums that attract "lock-and-leave" snowbird types to luxurious single-family homes in gated communities — has helped Lakewood Ranch position itself as the "something for everyone" development on Florida's west coast.

"We're seeing inventory get tighter in the under-$500,000 range," says Flinn, who sees the 12 recent sales made at the new Country Club East community as a positive. "By having housing product that appeals to everyone, we're able to increase our velocity."

Beth Barnett, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Sarasota, has been selling real estate in Lakewood Ranch for about 10 years. According to Barnett, the planned unit development continues to attract national and international buyers with amenities like golf courses, a country club, coffee shops, shopping boutiques, movies, restaurants, parks, and nature trails. Other attractions include the top-rated private and public schools, says Barnett, who calls Lakewood Ranch a very sought-after place to live. "I've sold seven homes here in the past five years," says Barnett, "with more buyers coming."

The master-planned development is rooted in a 100-year history. In the early 1900s, John Schroeder of Milwaukee, an owner of furniture, turpentine, milling and lumber businesses, began assembling the land that is known today as Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the parent company of Lakewood Ranch.

In 1922, the Uihlein family, founders of Schlitz Brewing Company, acquired the land and continued to expand its agricultural operations, which are still active today and include cattle ranching, vegetable, citrus, timber and turf farming and shell mining. In 1994, after years of planning, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch began developing the master-planned community.
Lakewood Ranch is located east of I-75, south of State Road 64, and north of Fruitville with 75 percent of the community in Manatee County and 25 percent in Sarasota County. So far, just over 6,000 units have been built, with 75 under construction at any given time. Another 4,500 units are approved and set to be phased in over the next several years.

Like most other Florida real estate developers, Lakewood Ranch was riding high during the "boom years," building product and selling it to buyers intent on owning a piece of the Sunshine State. After reporting about 600 retail closings annually during the boom, the company sold just 250 new homes in 2007. It was a far cry from the days when buyers were camping out, waiting for new homes to be released for sale. "In 2005, we held lotteries where 200 buyers showed up on our doorstep for 20 homes," recalls Flinn.

Still, 250 sales wasn't too shabby during a year when most builders and developers were licking their wounds and hoping for a market turnaround that never came — and still isn't imminent. Flinn credits the development's segmentation strategy with helping to keep sales at a respectable level. "We try to hit selected price points and square footages in our different neighborhoods," he says.

Greenbrook, for example, is targeted at families with children and lacks a gated entrance and the association fee structure of Country Club East. According to Flinn, in the planning stages is a community that targets the senior population, including a 2,000-unit continuing care retirement community.

Still, the economy has brought change. Fewer spec homes are being built and marketing is much more strategic with more resources being allocated to Web marketing. Also, the emphasis on green building has intensified.

As one of the largest green communities in the country, Lakewood Ranch appeals to buyers who want to do their part to lessen their homes' impact on the environment. The development works with 22 builders, all of whom are green-certified. "People are making buying decisions based on how the developments treat nature and the environment," says Flinn. "We're super green here — we even have electric cars."

Builders Brian Pruett and Todd Johnston of Sarasota know what it takes to create homes that get people's attention. The pair has built what they're calling a "health house" and a "solar-energy home" at the Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch, inspiring many to consider luxury houses as more than simply a place to savor the good life.

"I don't look at it as just building houses," says Pruett, whose neo-classical home, the Cyprus, with nearly 5,000 square feet of indoor living space, is the only single-story residence among the Lake Club's Showcase Circle. The 10 homes vary in classical architectural styles. "Anyone can build a house. What we try to do is make it more functional, more livable and to last a long time."
A self-described pioneer in Florida of health-house building during the 1990s, Pruett calls his projects "green, clean and super efficient," which he says will add long-term value to the homes his company, Pruett Builders, expects to construct within the Lake Club. When finished, the project will feature 1,090 custom-estate residences — in classic styles such as Mediterranean, French Country and English Estate, among others — situated amid lush parks, intertwining lakes and diverse, old-world streetscapes.

By incorporating the green building concepts into his homes, Pruett says the structures wind up being 50 to 60 percent more energy-efficient than a standard house. "The amount of savings over a lifetime on utility bills is huge," says Pruett, who estimates that homeowners achieve a 20 percent return on every dollar invested in environmentally friendly home-building products and features.