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Not All Communities are Created Equal

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It’s been such an exciting year at Connerton that visitors and residents continue to be amazed by “The Community of More.”

The year began with Connerton being named the 2017 Showcase Community for the Parade of Homes sponsored by the Tampa Bay Builders Association. The month-long Parade brought hundreds of people to the Land O’ Lakes community for the first time in April, and many became new homeowners, with more than 30 homes being sold during the Parade.

Also in April, a brand new, mortgage-free home was presented to David Roca, a deserving Army veteran and his family. The dedication of the Roca home was an emotional outpouring of community support by local residents, Connerton’s developer Hayman Woods, and Lennar Homes, which built the Roca home.

Then, on July 1, more than 8,000 people came to Connerton for an old-fashioned Independence Day celebration with music, games, food and fireworks. Many other special events are held throughout the year for Connerton residents, which bring neighbors together to mingle and get to know each other in a friendly neighborhood setting.

 Discover the Connerton Difference

When Connerton visitors stop at the community’s beautiful clubhouse, they often ask, “Why does Connerton feel so different than other communities?” The answer is that Connerton is different because it is one of only three communities in Florida that has been formally recognized as a “New Town.”

Connerton earned its “New Town” designation because of its outstanding community planning and design, which reduces residents’ reliance on cars and promotes a more sociable, pedestrian culture. The mature trees, picturesque ponds and many conservation areas preserve the beauty of nature, and allow native foliage and wildlife to flourish.

As the town of Connerton grows, it is opening new neighborhoods and expanding its unique Town Center with its of mix of residential, retail, professional, commercial space and 20 acres set aside for a future government center. The Town Center will be the focal point of the community, connecting a hometown main street, open spaces, gathering places, and educational and recreational opportunities.

Everyone Loves A Winner

Connerton is an award-winning community. In May, it brought home trophies for Best Consumer Promotion for its Independence Day Celebration, and for Best Mobile Website, at the annual Award Presentation of the Sales and Marketing Council of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.

In July, Connerton won an award for Best Special Charity Event at the Southeast Builders Conference in Orlando. Numerous other awards have been presented to Connerton over the years, and are proudly displayed at Club Connerton, the resort-style clubhouse where the new Visitor Center is located.

Why Residents Chose Connerton

The diversity in ages and wide variety of interests are just two reasons why residents chose Connerton as their home.

At community gatherings, you’ll find people asking, “what brought you to Connerton?” Varied responses include the community’s connection to the outdoors, and its preservation of the natural beauty and pristine environment of the land.

Others love the “hometown American feel and the Norman Rockwell look about it.” The extended trails, bike paths and parks are favorites for many families, and pet lovers enjoy the dog park where even their four-legged family members can make friends.

It is interesting to note that 44 percent of new homeowners who purchased their home this year came from the Land O’ Lakes/Lutz area, 25 percent from Tampa, 7 percent from Wesley Chapel, 6 percent from West Pasco and 5 percent from other Florida counties. Another 13 percent are buyers from outside Florida, with the largest percentage of those coming from the northeast Atlantic area.

 Home Builders

Five quality builders offer beautiful floor plans and furnished models where homebuyers can choose their home site and style of home. Taylor Morrison, Homes by WestBay, M/I Homes and Lennar continue to build in The Arbors and Gardens villages. Most models are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

In September, Connerton is welcoming Inland Homes to their model lineup. Inland will be offering homes from 1,700 to 2,000 square feet priced in the mid $200,000. Watch for their grand opening invitation.

Connerton is located approximately six miles north of the intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41. For more information, visit Connerton.com.

Published August 23, 2017

Homes Sales Booming At Birchwood Preserve

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Families are choosing Birchwood Preserve because of its A-rated schools and convenient location, a half mile away from Dale Mabry Highway and less than two miles away from the Veterans Expressway.

“Lutz is very attractive to many homebuyers because it provides quick and easy access to St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, Tampa International Airport, Westshore Business District, International Plaza and the Gulf Coast beaches,” said Sean Strickler, president of Pulte’s West Florida division.

“Plus, Birchwood Preserve is surrounded by beautiful county parks, connecting trail systems and champion golf courses, such as Cheval and TPC Tampa Bay,” he added.

Excellent schools are another reason for the community’s brisk sales. Birchwood Preserve is the only new, single-family-home community in Lutz whose children are zoned to all three schools at the highly desirable public school complex on Lutz Lake Fern Road — Steinbrenner High, Martinez Middle and McKitrick Elementary, all just three miles away. Even closer is a new charter school, Sunlake Academy of Math and Science, which opens this month for students in kindergarten through seventh grade.

The entrance to Birchwood Preserve is gated and beautifully landscaped. Amenities include a private luxury community swimming pool with cabanas and hammocks, a multipurpose clubhouse room with kitchen, and a children’s exploration climbing dome playground, a swing set and additional discovery play equipment.

With just 196 home sites, there is no CDD requirement. Owners help support the shared amenities and common areas with an affordable HOA.

Birchwood Preserve is located west of Dale Mabry Highway at the end of Geraci Road. The property is set back far enough from Dale Mabry that there is no traffic or road noise to interfere with its peaceful, natural setting. Many home sites boast nature views, including waterfront lots.

All Birchwood Preserve homes are designed for the way families live today, with Pulte’s unique Life Tested home designs. “The ideas for our Life Tested designs come from our homeowners, whose suggestions we value and incorporate into our homes,” said Strickler. “An example is the Pulte Planning Center® — a unique, multifunctional area designed with counters and cabinets to help a family get organized in one place that is conveniently located off their kitchen or gathering room.” Pulte Homes’ designs also offer Everyday Entry® drop zones with built-in shelving, hooks and storage to accommodate backpacks, shoes, purses and jackets. Pulte’s interactive online design tools allow buyers to preview its Life Tested personal options to help them get the most out of their new home.

Every home in Birchwood comes with a Diamond rating in the Environments for Living Energy package. “Many people come to Birchwood Preserve looking for the peace of mind that comes with a new home that’s covered by Pulte’s unmatched warranty,” said Strickler. “We also have many folks coming in saying it would be way too expensive to try and update their current home, to get them close to par with the energy efficiency and current designs that our homes offer.”

Birchwood Preserve offers 10 single-family floor plans ranging from 1,904 to 4,600 square feet. Homes start at $318,990, and offer three to six bedrooms, two to six bathrooms and two- or three-car garages.

The Valleybrook is one of the most popular floor plans. At 3,320 square feet, it features four bedrooms upstairs and an optional fifth bedroom or den on the first level. Birchwood Preserve is also attracting empty nesters who want the latest in home design, but in a downsized, one-story plan. The Cascade model is a perfect fit with its spacious floor plan that offers three to four bedrooms and a tandem three-car garage that provides extra storage or hobby space.

The community’s model home is the 3,427-square-foot Millstone, which features from four up to six bedrooms and three and a half baths, with a three-car garage. The Millstone model center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Wednesday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.

Please stop by and meet sales associates Vince Kuntz and Amanda Barningham, who will gladly give you a personal tour and answer all your questions about Birchwood Preserve.

Published August 23, 2017

Epperson Attracts Hundreds Of Homebuyers With First Ever Crystal Lagoon

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Epperson, with its jaw-dropping Crystal Lagoon, has quickly become the most talked about new planned community in Tampa Bay. This community is selling homes at an impressive pace, with over 100 new homes sold, a running waitlist and residents already moving in.

Located in Wesley Chapel, north of State Road 54 at Curley Road and Overpass Road, three builders have model homes open for tour: Express Homes by D.R. Horton, M/I Homes and Pulte Homes. Two other builders, Lennar and AH Avex Homes, have models opening this fall. Epperson’s other builders, Maronda Homes and Freedom Homes by DR Horton, are accepting reservations for their homes that will be available soon.

The demand for Epperson can be attributed to the community’s desirable Wesley Chapel location and its unique 7-acre lagoon. Already hugely popular around the world, this will be the first Crystal Lagoon to be built in the U.S.

Metro Development Group, who has several Metro Places communities in the area, is planning two of these lagoon communities in Wesley Chapel – Epperson and Mirada. Together, these communities will anchor the nation’s first Smart Gigabit Community built from the ground up on a framework of the fastest internet and WiFi speeds imaginable. This means acres of crystal clear blue waters and an area ignited by technology, all in Pasco County.

Additionally, Metro has two more planned lagoon communities under development; Southshore Bay in Southern Hillsborough and Brightwater in Ft. Myers.

WHAT IS A CRYSTAL LAGOON?

Epperson’s lagoon is an enormous 7-acre, 16-million-gallon swimming pool with crystal clear water that stretches the length of five football fields. It will be 200 feet wide and up to 8 feet deep, and include a series of arms that stretch out 1/4 mile in length from the main Lagoon. The pool’s average depth will be 8 feet, with some areas as deep as 12 feet.

Both lagoons will have crystal clear blue water with sandy beaches, swim-up bars and restaurants built along their shores. Water sports enthusiasts will be thrilled with the Lagoon’s water slides, kayaking docks, snorkeling, paddle boarding and small sailboats. Those wanting quiet conversations and relaxing in the sun will enjoy the Cabana pools.

Crystal Lagoon’s advanced ultrasound technology system, uses thousands of sensors to keep the water crystal clear. Epperson’s lagoon will use between 14 and 15 million gallons of water that will be purchased from Pasco County. After the Lagoon is filled, it is estimated that it will use 50 times less water than a park of the same size, and 30 times less water than an 18-hole golf course. Crystal Lagoons also use 100 times less chemicals than a swimming pool and up to 50 times less energy than conventional pool filtration systems.

“The lagoon at Epperson will truly be a first-of-its-kind amenity, not only in this region, but in the entire nation,” said Jen Austin, marketing director of Metro Development Group. “There is nothing like it, and it’s why so many people are buying homes at Epperson.”

1 GIGABIT OF ULTRAFI SPEED

Because Epperson is included in Pasco County’s newly designated Connected City, it residents will have ULTRAFi —the fastest Internet and WiFi speeds available in North America. ULTRAFi offers 1 gigabit of speed throughout the community, and up to 1 gigabit at individual homes.

“Living in an ULTRAFi community means there are no buffering delays as residents play, watch, game, surf and stream by the pool, on the trails, at the playground and right inside their homes,” said Austin.

This technology also offers smart controlled features that allow homeowners to customize settings from the same room or their smart device, including dimming lights, changing temperature and setting security.

Upon completion, Epperson and Mirada will have around 3,000 homes. The entire Connected City corridor will have around 37,000 homes and over 12 million square feet of commercial space, including office, retail, and state-of-the-art education, medical and technology facilities. The plan for the Connected City spans 50 years.

ABOUT METRO DEVELOPMENT GROUP

A Tampa-based company founded in 2003, Metro Development Group is committed to bringing some of the most innovative technologies and amenities to homebuilders and homebuyers. With the introduction of the Connected City, Metro Places, ULTRAFi and Metro Lagoons by Crystal Lagoons, Metro continues to be the gold standard in the development of master-planned communities. For more information, please visit MetroDevelopmentGroup.com and MetroPlaces.com.

 ABOUT CRYSTAL LAGOONS

Crystal Lagoons is an international technology company based in Miami that has developed an innovative concept and technology that allows for the construction and maintenance of unlimited size bodies of water in crystal clear conditions at low cost. Founded in 2007, Crystal Lagoons’ impressive turquoise waters are revolutionizing not only the real estate world; but also water and energy production. For more information, please visit Crystal-lagoons.com.

Published August 23, 2017