The blueprint to living large

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LAKEWOOD RANCH — Westwater Construction CEO and majority owner Mark Miller isn’t fazed by building big homes.

But his newest project, a more than 19,900-square-foot mansion in The Lake Club in Lakewood Ranch, is among the largest his company has ever built. At 2,300 square feet, its garage is larger than many homes in the greater Lakewood Ranch area.

And its size, he said, doesn’t come from its number of bedrooms, but rather the addition of other rooms — multiple offices, libraries and other over-sized spaces.

“That’s how we get to these sizes,” Miller said. “The rooms are big. The family room, for example, is roughly 35 by 25 feet. Every room is large.

“It’s not over the top,” he said. “There will be lots of details, as far as the design goes, but it still will have a casual feel.”

Miller said Westwater has secured approvals to construct within The Lake Club, but is now going through the permitting process with Manatee County.

He expects to break ground on the home sometime this summer, and build-out is estimated at 18 months, he said.

THE LAKE CLUB
Although the last few years have proven slow for the ultra-luxury home market, The Lake Club in Lakewood Ranch now is seeing an increase in activity.

Five homes, each more than 10,000 square feet, are planned for this year or currently are under construction in the private, gated community off University Parkway.

Jimmy Stewart, vice president of sales for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch subsidiary LWR Communities, said the market has been devoid of homes at this square footage and price point for the last few years, but with low material and labor costs, among other advantages, landowners are deciding it’s time to move forward with construction of their new homes.

Several owners of new homes slated for The Lake Club have owned their property for several years, Stewart said.

“When you get to these square footages, people also are looking at cost of ownership,” he said. “They’re taking advantage of some of the newest (green) technologies.”

About 70% of homes purchased or built in The Lake Club are cash deals, he said.

Stewart also noted The Lake Club has found a unique niche in the area, because there is not much competition locally for the ultra-luxury home market.

These are some discretionary purchases for these (buyers) and the majority of our competition comes from other locations, such as Palm Beach, Naples and Windermere,” he said.

Stewart said buyers are from both the United States and Canada.

GREEN BUILDING
Perhaps the home’s most prominent feature is its energy efficiency. Although it’s nearly 20,000 square feet, the house will use the same amount of energy as a large custom-built home one-third its size.

Miller estimates during the peak heat of summer, owners of this home will pay monthly only $350 to $450 for electricity.

Energy-efficient features include 100% LED lighting throughout the interior, exterior and landscaping as well as spray foam insulation in all attics and ceilings and solar panels.

“This house will actually have the ability to supplement some of its electrical usage,” Miller said. “Then, it also will have solar heat for the pool and spa. It will have low E glass windows and doors — it’s like an insulated glass window.”

The home also will have spray-foam insulation in all attics and ceilings and will use a high-efficiency HVAC system that includes variable speed air handlers.

“It has the ability to regulate itself,” Miller said, noting the air conditioner will be able turn off and on more gradually and thus reduce the amount of power used, as well.

SIZE COMPARISON
Miller said the average-sized home his company used to construct before and during the real estate boom hovered around 10,000 square feet. Today, it’s building custom homes mostly between 3,500 and 7,500 square feet.

This Lake Club home ranks as one of the largest his company has ever constructed, comparing in size to a home Westwater built on Casey Key a few years ago.

“The average (custom home size) has gone down, but just lately, in the last two years, we’re seeing demand for the larger homes again,” he said.

PROPORTIONS
Although this new home will be nearly 20,000 square feet, its size comes primarily from its added features. The home itself only has five bedrooms, but it has many other rooms — his and her offices, eight bathrooms, multiple dens, living rooms and game rooms, a gym and more.

“Every room is oversized,” Miller said. “That’s really how these houses grow. It just depends on the layout.”

AMENITIES
This home is being designed to have two garages, with capacity for 10 or more vehicles. Car lifts will provide additional vehicle storage, depending on what layout for the buildings is finalized.

Additionally, the home has multiple courtyards, each with water features.

The pool will be heated by solar panels placed on the southern side of the roof. The HVAC systems will have their condensation lines plumbed to the pool for an added source of “free” water for maintaining the water level, Westwater said.

UNIQUE VISION
Miller said the home’s owners have taken careful deliberation in planning each aspect of their new home to make sure it is perfect for them.

In total, owners have been planning the home for about three years, he said.

“(The owners) spent a tremendous amount of time designing the house exactly to their needs,” he said. “They were very cognizant of all the details and literally (went) through every aspect of the plans to get what they wanted. (And they) did it in a way that the house is still, even though it’s large, going to be a very efficient house.”

LANDSCAPING
Miller said the home’s landscaping is being selected carefully, because the temperatures in The Lake Club can vary drastically from other parts of Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Only native species of trees, grasses and flowers will be planted so the landscape will require virtually no water, while allowing the yard to survive both Florida’s harsh summers and occasional winter freezes.

“We’re trying to have zero-maintenance landscaping,” Miller said.