Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008 - (Page 33)

Owner/Developer Bonita Bay Group Key Consultants/Financial Sources Johnson Engineering RCLCO and Passarella & Associates Vanasse and Daylor BSSW Architects The Sater Group Bruce Howard & Associates International Conference and Expo as the first development in the country to receive third-party validation. In early 2004, Verandah was recognized by Firewise Communities USA as one of the first communities nationally to take steps to reduce its wildfire threat. In 2006, it was named the Florida Association of Realtors Environmental (ENVY) Award winner for proving that development and nature can coexist. In 2007, Verandah was named the Council for Sustainable Florida’s Best Practices winner in the green-building category; was recognized with the Florida Urban Forestry Council’s Trees Florida 2007 Award for its commitment to preserving trees, and received Project EverGreen’s national Because Green Matters Award for its commitment to green space. “It’s a public relations tool. If we do something, we tout it. We get articles out about it. It helps us in getting entitlement permits on other projects,” Church said. “We can point to Verandah and the county commissioners and county staff can see what we’ve done and they can say, ‘These guys are doing the right thing.’” The market place When Verandah opened for sales in February 2003, it doubled its projections for the year, reaching 96 sales at a volume of more than $24 million. Sales the following year more than doubled at 202 generating $69 million; sales more than doubled again in 2005 at 412 and $164.5 million in revenues. The national real estate market began to cool in 2006, yet Verandah still hit 85 sales at more than $40 million, and in 2007 reached 28 sales at $12 million. In the first two months of 2008, sales at Verandah more than doubled the same time period a year ago, indicating a returning market – and the long-term viability and financial success of Verandah in a highly competitive arena. “There was an oversupply of product out there. We’re slowly burning through that. Verandah is doing OK,” Church said, pointing out the importance of watching cash flow, protecting the quality of the brand and following through on commitments. “It’s a tough market. We just have to work through it. There’s still a lot of baby boomers coming and Florida is still a great place to live,” he said. “Verandah’s a beautiful community and we’re positioned for the turnaround.” SLDT Photos courtesy of Bonita Bay Group About the author: Rob Kundert is senior editor of Sustainable Land Development Today. Create a Signature Feature York Timber Vehicular Bridges Go beyond just building a common bridge to cross your creek, stream, lake, wetlands or ravine. Add value to your project and give your residents something to remember. Call or visit our website today to find out more about why the industry’s best Builders & Developers are choosing York Bridge. Stand out from your competition and give your prospective residents something they’ll never forget. www.ybc.com 1.800.226.4178 Circle 111 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard www.SLDTonline.com 33 http://www.ybc.com http://www.ybc.com http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008 Contents Our Voice Editorial Board SLDT Resources Where Rubber Meets the Road Integrated Planning: The Key To Developing Sustainable Planned Communities Win-Win For College and Community Industry Spotlight: Transoft Unique Organization, Unique Opportunity New Preferred Provider Comments from the Austin Conference Welcome New Members New Knowledge Project Articles Books Going Green Business Management Risk Management Surveying and Mapping Industry News Products/Services Showcase Advertiser Index Classifieds The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008

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