Heads Above Water

Water is a central element in the site plan development of BridgeWater, which was built on reclaimed phosphate-mining land and includes five deep, crystal-clear lakes. As a result, 90 percent of the lots in the community have a lake view. In brainstorming names for the lakes, the sales and marketing team at Jacksonville, Fla.–based developer LandMar Group decided to find five outstanding women related to the history of Lakeland, Fla., and name the lakes after them.

“We did a couple of small focus groups in Lakeland to make sure we weren't being exploitive,” says Jim Doyle, LandMar Group's vice president of sales and marketing. “They loved it. A lot of people didn't even know these ladies existed.”

They spent nine months working with the local historical society to identify the five women, contact them or their heirs, and ask their permission.

In February 2007, the official ceremony was held to name the lakes, featuring Hazel Haley as guest of honor. Lake Hazel is named for Haley, who retired in 2006 after a 69-year career in the classroom and is recognized as the state's longest-serving teacher. Lake Jane is for Jane Morrell, who donated the land for Lakeland's first hospital. Lake Ruth honors Ruth Elder, who was the first woman to attempt to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Serena pays homage to Serena Bailey Ross, the city's longest-serving librarian. And Lake Peggy is named for former mayor Peggy Brown.

NATURAL BEAUTY: An upgraded landscaping package was part of the developer's streetscape requirement for builders KB Home and William Ryan Homes. The visual impact of the lush foliage is immediate and dramatic.

“It was a very calculated marketing move, but it was honest,” Doyle says. “We had these five lakes. We said, ‘Instead of just giving them names, let's give them names that mean something.'”

The decision paid off handsomely. Joining Haley and local dignitaries at the naming ceremony were reporters from three daily newspapers, three TV stations, and four magazines, giving BridgeWater an estimated $1 million worth of media coverage.

While the lakes are a major amenity for the 633-acre community, they're far from the only reason that BridgeWater has averaged 15 sales per month, despite opening in August 2006, when the market had already begun to experience a serious cooling off.

As always, location plays a huge role in the appeal. The development is located about 30 minutes between Tampa and Orlando along the I-4 corridor, convenient for commuters with jobs in either city who prefer the more relaxed pace of a small town. It's also popular with empty-nesters looking to retire in a place that facilitates taking family and friends to the Orlando theme parks and the Tampa-area beaches.

OPTIMAL OPTIONS: KB Home's buyers have responded positively to the wide array of options and upgrades available to them at BridgeWater.

BridgeWater has also proved attractive to longtime Lakeland residents, who've never had the option of a master planned community with a full amenity package.

“That was the surprise to us—how many people from Lakeland wanted to move here,” says Grady Miars, Florida West Coast regional manager for LandMar.

Besides the lakes, which offer canoeing and fishing, BridgeWater's Lake Club Amenity Center features a resort-style pool and lap pool, a fitness center, a gathering area, and a playground. The community also adjoins The Golf Club at BridgeWater, a semi-private, 18-hole course to which BridgeWater residents receive discounted memberships and preferred tee times.

The community and the golf course operate jointly under a marketing agreement but are owned by unaffiliated companies. That allowed LandMar to offer its residents the benefits of a golf course community without having to absorb the cost of one.

To ensure that the community retain a unique market position, LandMar asked its builders to tweak their existing plans to offer something different from what they build in other communities.

“The builders were more willing to do upgrades to the homes,” Miars says. “They saw the value we were going to bring.”

The style of a LandMar community is traditional and not overly themed around one architectural style, Miars says. He expects builders to produce strong front elevations and “be cognizant of rear elevations, which sometimes fall short.” The developer requires upgraded banding on the windows, architectural upgrades on the roofs, applied moldings for a more substantive look, and an enhanced landscaping package.

“You only have to spend $2,500 to $3,000 on a landscape package, and it looks fantastic,” Miars says. “That's one of the benefits of Florida.”

Currently, prospective buyers can choose among single-family detached homes from just under 1,600 square feet to about 3,200 square feet from builders KB Home and William Ryan Homes. The next product line will be a paired villa product. Later options will include townhomes, apartments, and a “neighborhood of larger lots that sits in a peninsula of one of the larger lakes,” Doyle says. Retail and office space is also part of the master plan.

William Ryan Homes, headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., is building homes ranging from 1,564 to 2,997 square feet at Bridge-Water, says Richard Dombrowski, president of William Ryan's Florida division. Prices start in the low $190,000s and go up to $300,000.

Buyers have “a lot of structural options within the floor plans,” such as bonus rooms, garage bump-outs, sitting rooms, or converting a bedroom to a den, Dombrowski says. “That helps us a lot,” he notes. “When [the market] was hot and heavy, it didn't matter. People would buy anything. You have to be a lot more creative now.”

To make the homes in BridgeWater unique from others it builds in the market, William Ryan increased the pitch of the roof and included standardfeatures it would sell as upgrades elsewhere. These include upgraded tile floors throughout, higher-end wood cabinetry, two-panel interior doors, an upgraded range, and a 50-gallon water heater instead of the usual 40-gallon unit.

To assure buyers that they're getting the best possible price and to create a reason to buy now, William Ryan lowered its prices across all of its communities and created a price protection program. If a buyer purchases a home now and there's a better deal on the base price and incentives when the buyer gets to 21 days before closing, the builder will give the buyer the better deal.

“There are no strings attached,” Dombrowski says. “When we adjusted prices, we went to our entire backlog and reduced their prices, as well. We felt it was the right thing to do. We talked to so many buyers and told them, ‘We're not setting the market, we're reacting to it.' We're trying to find a place where we can continue to make sales. There's no benefit to sitting on lots.”

The developer has been particularly impressed with how Los Angeles–based KB Home adapted its elevations to meet the architectural guidelines of the community—and how quickly the builder completed its five models, which were finished in just 60 days, on time to open in conjunction with the lake-naming ceremony.

FINISHING TOUCHES: KB Home met the challenge presented to it by developer Land-Mar Group to create elevations that would be unique to BridgeWater. A sophisticated color palette and beefed-up architectural detailing fit the bill nicely.

KB isn't a builder partner Doyle normally would have considered. KB is a national production builder that generally focuses on first-time buyers. LandMar brands itself as a country club community developer. But KB already had a contract in place from the previous landowner, Doyle says. “We looked at it pretty hard and said, ‘How can we be successful and still be true to our brand?' We went to KB and said, ‘The floor plans and the value inside are great. Can you step it up a notch on the elevation?' And they did. I was absolutely tickled when I saw it.”

Dean Luce, vice president of sales and marketing for KB Home's Orlando division, says the builder's success comes from listening to its customers through extensive surveying on a regular basis and using a colorist in the builder's architectural division to create a sophisticated color palette for the elevations. Each house has up to five complementary color tones on the front elevation. The stucco may be painted a lighter color on the top than at the bottom, with another color on the window bands, the porch or entryway, and the shutters.

“You'll see soffit-matched paint, wonderful overhangs, and elevations with a lot of contours to them,” Luce says. “It's very savvy. We really think it distinguishes us in the market.”

KB Home's 10 floor plans range from 1,900 to 3,200 square feet, with a base price of $228,000 to $286,000. Some of the floor plans are unique to BridgeWater and others have been successful in other communities with similar target markets. Buyers have ranged from first-time homeowners to empty-nesters, who respond to the open floor plans, ample storage, large master bedrooms and baths, and KB's extensive option program, which allows buyers to design the house around their lifestyle and stage of life.

“Our market survey told us what to do; we did it and it's going well,” Luce says.

All together, the combination of location, a great site plan that takes advantage of its lakes, various amenities, strong product, good pricing, and the inspiration of five exceptional women have helped BridgeWater maintain a steady sales pace without piling on incentives or slashing prices.

“We did aggressive pricing so builders could come in at an aggressive price,” Doyle notes. “When you're selling stuff for a little over $100 a square foot, that's pretty good. I don't know that you'll find a lot of projects in Florida doing 15 [sales] a month without [pitching], ‘Save $90,000.'”