Sales centers set stage for community lifestyles

At Verandah, The Bonita Bay Group's newest master-planned community, guests are welcomed with lemonade, inviting porch swings and a step back in time with old photographs depicting the history of the surrounding Orange River area. At Mediterra, the company's 1,697-acre Naples community, sales center visitors can relax in the library, view renderings and photographs displayed like artwork on easels, or step outdoors and see some of the homes set against a large lake and preserve.

Sales centers are designed to reveal a lot about the community. They provide a one-stop source of information and offer a formal -- and important -- introduction to the community. Fort Myers architect Ron Olbekson, president and owner of Ocean Architecture, has worked closely with developers, including The Bonita Bay Group, to design sales centers that reflect the theme of the community and its eventual homes. Special wall and floor treatments, sculpted ceilings, columns and arches make visitors feel as if they've just walked into a home. "You want visitors to walk in and say, 'I want to be here. I want to live here.'"

"The sales center is designed for prospective buyers to get a complete overview of the community," said Al DiNicola, director of sales at Bonita Bay, The Bonita Bay Group's 2,400-acre master-planned community in Bonita Springs. "Visitors will learn about price, product, the community set-up and amenities, and in just 20 to 30 minutes will know where they want to go and where they don't want to go. If they don't visit the sales center, they might as well visit Bonita Bay blindfolded."

"It's important that the design of a sales center is congruent with the level of sophistication of the buyer and the model homes," said Kay Green, an Orlando-based interior designer who has created sales centers from central Florida northward through New York. "Sales centers really set the stage for the community by educating visitors about the community, its products and what it's like to live there."

For the "discovery center" -- as she calls it -- in MiraBay, a Tampa Bay community that emphasizes a boating, fishing and waterfront lifestyle, Green recreated the feeling of an old house with a fireplace and wood floors.

Green's center for a project in North Carolina reflects the community's emphasis on green building and the outdoors. By installing cedar shake shingles on the wall of the great room -- the project's main display area -- dangling tree limbs from the ceiling and running audio of crickets chirping, Green has created the illusion that visitors have suddenly walked outside.

"Visitors should feel comfortable and at ease to explore the possibilities at their own pace," said Robert Shiels, vice president of sales and marketing for The Bonita Bay Group. "Sure, they'll find all the information they need about the community, but they'll also find coffee and cookies, newspapers and televisions, and rooms that are just as comfortable and inviting as their own family rooms."

"People have told us they feel really welcomed in our sales center," said Kelli Eastman, director of sales at Verandah, a 1,456-acre master-planned community along the Orange River in Fort Myers. "They feel relaxed and comfortable, which is what Verandah is all about."

The Southern traditional architecture of Verandah's 8,400-square-foot sales center is a departure from the Mediterranean vernacular predominant in Southwest Florida. Designed by BSSW Architects of Fort Myers, the building has a tall, pitched roof, deep overhangs and a large wrap-around porch -- architecture that suggests the look of buildings planned for the community's amenities center, the River Village.

Cork floors and wood tones warm the interior and enhance the calm created by a bluish-green color scheme. Visitors are welcomed with coffee, lemonade and bottled water in a kitchen area, and guests often take a seat at the counter to read the newspaper and relax.

"We have two wooden swings on the verandah, and people really love to sit out there and enjoy the breeze," she said. "They can see the old oak trees, watch the golf course coming to life, and just get a really good sense of the Verandah lifestyle."

Inside, an informational display greets guests with a pictorial history of the Orange River area, contrasting an old orange-packing plant on the river with present day pictures of moss-draped oaks and sabal palms bending toward the scenic waterway. Visitors can also browse through model home blueprints, learn more about Verandah's emphasis on green building, and access Verandah.com on a demonstration computer that's hooked up to the RoadRunner service wired into every home.

Visitors to Bonita Bay's sales center may feel as if they've suddenly stepped onto an open-air terrace gazing past layers of mangrove islands to the Gulf of Mexico. A floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall mural captures the views seen from Bonita Bay's three luxury high-rise towers. "People come to Florida for the views, and this shows them the wonderful panoramic water views residents enjoy from our high-rises," said DiNicola.

Other floor-to-ceiling photo panels illustrate the Bonita Bay lifestyle and amenities. An interactive sales display is equipped with two plasma screens and a remote-control system to present renderings, floor plans and different views from the towers, as well as aerial videos of each of Bonita Bay Club's 90 holes of championship golf.

The sales center was recently renovated to reflect the community's focus on high-rise sales. Scale models of Horizons and Estancia, two of three completed towers, and Azure, slated to break ground this year, are positioned in front of the mural.

Visitors to the center are also likely to meet residents -- the multi-function building houses the Community Activities Room, a venue for social lifelong learning opportunities on a variety of topics from financial planning to foreign languages.

The sales centers at The Estates at TwinEagles and Mediterra, The Bonita Bay Group's two Naples communities, introduce visitors to the landscape palette they'll experience throughout each community. Both buildings, as well as their clubhouses, have been certified by the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program for using landscaping materials and following practices that conserve water and other natural resources, improve water quality and attract wildlife.

Much like the homes within the 1,697-acre community, Mediterra's sales center is inspired by the Mediterranean. Designed by architect David Humphrey of David Humphrey & Associates, the 8,000-square-foot building has classical elements, such as an entry tower, arches and barrel vaults. "The architecture captures the warmth and embracing style of the Italian countryside," said Humphrey. Even its warm sienna hue is borrowed from that romantic setting.

Nestled into a valley created by the elevated main road, the center overlooks a lake, nature preserve and some of the custom estate homes within the community.

"The sales center really captures the essence of Mediterra," said Cheryl Deering, the community's director of sales. "The driveway leads from the main road down to the clubhouse, where visitors see a lake and landscape views reminiscent of the Mediterranean countryside. It really makes an impression."

Inside, finishes and furnishings, including marble floors, wooden bookcases and comfortable furniture, extend an elegant yet casual welcome that invites guests to browse at their leisure. Photographs and renderings are displayed as artwork on easels. A library provides a comfortable setting for private meetings and an outdoor deck overlooks the lake, adding to the Italian ambience.

Lucien Salvant, managing director of public affairs for the National Association of Realtors, said sales centers also serve as an important meeting place that "brings builder, buyer and Realtor together under one roof."

Bonita Bay's center offers a private room for the exclusive use of area Realtors. The office provides access to phones, fax lines, a computer and resource materials -- including the Internet and multiple listing services.

Some sales centers often double as design centers, providing would-be buyers with a palette of countertops, cabinetry, tile and carpeting selections.

The Azure design center in the Lutgert Presentation Center at Bonita Bay gives buyers a glimpse into their future home. Vignettes include a remote-controlled gas fireplace finished in stone and marble, a water closet with bidet and an outdoor kitchen. A kitchen mock-up demonstrates available cabinetry and countertop choices and is shown with a raised breakfast bar and appliances, including a five-burner gas cooktop and oven tower. The working kitchen is used for cooking demonstrations, helping prospective homeowners picture themselves in their potential new homes.

A display area provides samples of the types of granite, marble, tinted glass, hardware, fixtures and even towel bars available in each home. A conference center, equipped with a plasma-screen monitor, allows residents to make their choices on-screen.

"This design center is important for high-rise sales," said Mike Hoyt, project manager for The Lutgert Companies. "With a construction schedule that lasts two years, this gives buyers the chance to experience -- and plan -- their home long before it's built."

Humphrey also designed the sales center at Shadow Wood, the traditional country club community within The Brooks, The Bonita Bay Group's 2,532-acre master-planned community in Bonita Springs. With arches, columns and an entry rotunda, its architecture is also inspired by the Mediterranean -- a theme repeated in the community's homes.

Information and floor plans are arranged around a topographical table, a scale model of Shadow Wood. Above, a pyramid ceiling is painted with blue skies and clouds and rimmed in cove lighting. Guests can also get information about amenities and its sister community, Shadow Wood Preserve, log onto The Brooks community Web site or see what's happening on the social calendar of the community on the closed-circuit television channel available to residents 24 hours a day.

A lakefront patio offers an introduction to the landscaping, animals and birds visitors will see throughout the community.

The deck behind the sales center at The Estates at TwinEagles is a favorite place for visitors. "Almost everyone ends up out there, enjoying the lake and the wildlife," said Deering, who also oversees sales at the 1,115-acre community. "If they're lucky, our family of deer will make an appearance."

From the deck, Deering said guests get a good understanding of TwinEagles. "You really get a sense of what we mean by country-estate living," she said. The large topographical table inside the 6,000-square-foot building furthers that knowledge, showing large homesites and the layout of the Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II co-designed golf course. Golf memorabilia hints at The Estates at TwinEagles' emphasis on the game.

What goes up eventually comes down, and that's sometimes true of many sales centers. Once Mediterra's on-site sales center was up and running, the original center at the corner of Immokalee and Livingston roads was moved to the community, where it was converted into The Sports Club.

And the Olbekson-designed center at Shadow Wood Preserve is a prefabricated structure that will one day be reused, the architect said.

Green said the role of a sales center has changed in the past few years, evolving from a room or two of a model home to a full-fledged welcome center. "There used to be certain things you'd see in a center -- charts with the builder's story, different elevations and floor plans and a topo table. While many still do have a map and topo table, they're getting away from the floor plans and elevations and instead displaying streetscapes that show how the houses look together or something that says something about the community. It's more of a relaxed atmosphere. More warm and homey. It doesn't look like an office."

"A sales center is really more of a welcome center," said Shiels. "They really say, 'Welcome home, enjoy your time with us.'"