The builder community continues to see growth in 2010, as evidenced by recent news from premier homebuilder, Wellington Homes. The company just announced in a recent press release their access to new homesites in MuraBella in St. Augustine.  The 65-foot homesites will join the company’s current 85-foot sites and offer the option of distinctly new home plans.

The Weston is the newest home plan by Wellington Homes designed specifically for the 65-foot homesites. The highly versatile plan features multiple options to meet the needs of a variety of homebuyers, including the option to select three, four or five bedrooms with a range of 1,544 square feet to 3,105 square feet of well-appointed living space.  Exterior elevation options mirror the Mediterranean-style of the MuraBella community with interiors that feature a modern, open layout perfect for growing families.

Wellington Homes is also offering several of its already popular floorplans on the 65-foot homesites, including the Abel, Andover and Bentley. All homes will feature impressive silver-level finishes, including a two-car garage, gourmet kitchen, open living and dining rooms and a luxurious owner’s retreat and bathroom.

In addition to the new homesites and designs, Wellington Homes introduces new versions of its highly sought after Gabrielle plan at MuraBella. The Gabrielle will continue to be offered on 85-foot homesites and feature a grand entry, gourmet kitchen with butler’s pantry, formal living and dining room, luxurious owner’s retreat and master bathroom, large lanai and spectacular summer kitchen. Two additional floorplans are available on 85-foot homesites, including the Waterford featuring 3,120 square feet of living space and the Bryant featuring 3,404 square feet of living space.

For more information about Wellington Homes’ homesites in the community, call (904) 819-9850 or visit www.WellingtonCompanies.com. More information about the community is available at www.MuraBella.com.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announces its annual fundraiser, Aloha By Moonlight, will be from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Crosswater Hall at Nocatee  in Ponte Vedra Beach. Join in the island spirit with an evening of live and silent auctions, fabulous tropical cocktails, hors d’ oeuvres and live music featuring the Stevie “Fingers” Trio and Steel Fantasy.

Sponsors of the event include Clockwork Marketing Services, Inc., Deutsche Bank and The PARC Group. Additional sponsorship opportunities for Aloha By Moonlight are available and range from $500 to $15,000. Individual admission is $100.

In a recent press release,  executive director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Claudia Werner put into perspective what the event is working to accomplish.

The money raised with Aloha By Moonlight will help support vital medical research aimed at controlling cystic fibrosis until a cure can be found. We look forward to providing the community with a fun-filled evening at this phenomenal new Ponte Vedra venue, while raising money for this incredibly important cause.

Since the first Moonlight event in 2002, formally known as Moonlight Martinis, more than $750,000 has been raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s research and care programs.

More information regarding sponsorships and admission to Aloha By Moonlight is available by calling the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at (904) 733-3560 or by visiting http://nfl.cff.org/moonlight.com.

Laterra Links at World Golf Village has achieved impressive sales success for the second quarter, closing more than $1.04 million in new coach home sales at the community located within the King & Bear neighborhood at World Golf Village. According to a recent press release, the Laterra Links sales team has closed more than $3.5 million in total sales in 2010 with a backlog of $960,000 to close.

The success of the community is evident in the new construction underway at Laterra Links. To keep up with the demand of interested buyers, the community has 16 new homes under construction. The first building, which will house four new coach homes, is expected to be complete in August.

Laterra Links is one of the only communities in Northeast Florida to offer coach homes and the King & Bear’s only multi-family community.  This distinctive building style allows residents to enjoy privacy while also experiencing a sense of community among neighbors. New homebuyers are also drawn to the community’s unique architectural and landscaping features, which include barrel tile roofs, Mediterranean architecture and vibrant native landscaping.

Each home at Laterra Links features a private entrance, a two-car garage, and numerous spaces for entertaining and accommodating family or friends in the privacy of their own suite. The homes feature incredible living spaces including an open family room and den area for relaxing and a screened lanai that overlooks the surrounding golf course and lakes.

More information is available by calling the community’s sales team at (904) 940-5388 or by visiting www.laterralinks.com.

Congratulations to the sales team at Laterra Links – we love to hear positive news about our local real estate industry!

November is nearing and that means it will soon be time to vote on a number of issues affecting Northeast Florida, one of which is the vote on Amendment 4, otherwise known as Hometown Democracy or the “Vote on Everything” bill. To give our readers an update on Amendment 4, we have turned to the Vote No on 4 site, which is recognized by hundreds of credible organizations throughout the state as an informative, educational tool for voters.

Here is a brief glimpse of what Amendment 4 is and what it will mean for Florida citizens, as seen on the Vote No on 4 website. To learn more about Amendment 4 and what devastating effects it would have on Florida, visit www.florida2010.org. You can also check out some great videos about Amendment 4 at www.florida2010.org/videos.

What is Amendment 4?

Amendment 4 is a proposed amendment of Florida’s constitution that would require taxpayer-funded referenda on all changes to local government comprehensive plans. In other words, this “Vote on Everything” amendment would force Floridians – not the representatives they elect – to decide hundreds of technical comprehensive plan changes each year.

Would Amendment 4 have an effect on the Florida economy?

Yes, in these tough times, the Vote on Everything amendment would cause Florida’s economy to permanently collapse. If you like the recession, you’ll love Amendment 4. According to a study conducted by The Washington Economics Group, Amendment 4 will reduce Florida’s economic output by $34 billion annually. Given Florida’s precarious economic climate, that is the last thing the state needs.

Will Amendment 4 affect Florida jobs?

Yes. Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation puts Florida’s jobless rate at 12 percent. However, Amendment 4 would drive it even higher. A study by The Washington Economics Group says Amendment 4 will likely cost Florida 267,247 jobs.

What are the costs associated with Amendment 4?

Amendment 4 means higher property taxes and higher costs for all of Florida’s working families. Under Amendment 4, local governments – city and county – would be required to hold expensive referenda on hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of amendments every year. Voters will be asked to vote not only on big development projects but also on all minor or technical changes to their local comprehensive plan. In the last four years alone, this would have meant over 10,000 costly elections across the state of Florida – and more elections require more tax dollars to pay for them.

Learn more about Amendment 4 on www.florida2010.org and let us know your thoughts below in our comment section.

 WilsonMiller, a Naples-based planning, design, and engineering firm with offices in Jacksonville, has been acquired by the Canadian design firm Stantec. The firm will be called WilsonMiller Stantec.

In a press release, WilsonMiller chief executive Alan Reynolds said joining Stantec gives clients access to a wider range of services and expertise, and employees better technical resources and career opportunities.

WilsonMiller has operated in Florida for more than five decades serving the government, urban land, transportation, and natural resources and rural land markets. The company’s portfolio of projects includes the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, the redevelopment of Tampa’s Channel District and the Ave Maria town and university development near Naples.

Although it has more than 150 North American offices including Tampa and Sarasota, Stantec has had a small presence in Florida since 2006. The addition of WilsonMiller will bring Stantec’s presence in the state to about 300 employees. WilsonMiller has more than 265 employees and 10 offices throughout Florida.

This is Stantec’s second acquisition in a month. The firm recently acquired Industry and Energy Associates LLC, an engineering firm based in Portland, Maine.

Recently released data shows that our fine Sunshine State is bucking national trends with an increase in home sales for the month of June. Florida’s sales of existing homes increased in June, while national trends show declining purchases blamed on the end of the home buyer tax credit.

Statewide, the number of single-family homes sold grew 10 percent compared to May and 17 percent over June of last year, according to data released by Florida Realtors.

See the full story here: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=243798. This is great news for the local and state economy!

Are you a Realtor seeing an increase in existing home sales? Are you a homeowner who just sold your home? Tell us your story in our comments section below!

This week, PRI Productions held fun, fun, fun NFL 101 Programs throughout the city!

The programs are targeted to women and judging by the turnout, a lot of women are interested in the Jaguars these days! Every program sold out to capacity this year – more than double the attendance from 2009. On Tuesday evening, the Ponte Vedra Club had 300 guests sign up for the program. Randy Goodwin of PRI was there to make sure that everything went smoothly and he was all grins (maybe it was just being in the company of all those women!).

Watch his website, www.priproductions.com, as one additional session will be scheduled in a few weeks and you don’t want to miss out.

Speaking of the Jaguars – 14,000 new season tickets have been sold this year but there are still 5,600 tickets left to sell to avoid a TV blackout. Can we do it? Let us know your thoughts below!

Things are looking up for the real estate industry. A recent survey from the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) profiled international home buying activity and found that international homebuyers are increasingly attracted to property in the United States. The report cites several factors, including the strength of the dollar, the value and desirability of U.S. real estate, and the emerging economic recovery as continuing to drive international interest in owning a home in the U.S.

The period of time covered in the survey was from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 and, according to the survey results, during that time period foreign buyers are estimated to have purchased $66 billion dollars of residential property, which amounts to 7 percent of the residential market. These buyers came from 53 different countries around the world. The top four countries were Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and China/Hong Kong.

This is excellent news for the state of real estate in the entire country and Jacksonville. Are you a local real estate professional who has experience working with international buyers here on the First Coast? Tell us about it in the comments section!

We have great news to share about Brant Creek Apartments, the first new apartment community to open in St. Marys in more than 15 years.  Since opening its doors in June with 84 of its 196 residences available, the community’s management team has signed more than 56 leases and welcomed more than 32 families to the community.  As a result, the new community has a limited number of three-bedroom apartment homes available for rent.

Brant Creek Apartments opened 28 additional units on July 15, and the final phase of 84 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes will be released in August. New residents at the community include a mix of single and married young professionals and families with young children. With its close proximity to Kings Bay Navel Station, about 60 percent of the residents are military or military support personnel. Some of the community’s new residents have moved from outside of Camden County to be closer to their work.

Many new residents selected Brant Creek Apartments because of its home technology offerings. Every apartment is equipped with structured media for today’s user and the latest technology from DIRECTV, making it possible for subscribers to set their DVR from a mobile device or computer when they are away from home. The community also has been designed with a web-controlled technology that allows residents to remotely control their thermostats online or from their cell phones. All of the residences also include washer and dryer connections, nine-foot ceilings, six-panel doors, modern kitchens and spacious closets.

Residents enjoy numerous amenities at Brant Creek Apartments. The clubhouse features a fully equipped kitchen, theater room and free wireless Internet access. The community also features a swimming pool, fitness center with cardio equipment, children’s playground, car care center and dog walking area.

Brant Creek Apartments is located near downtown St. Marys, convenient to shopping and restaurants, and a short drive from Kings Bay Naval Station.  More information is available by visiting www.brantcreekapartments.com.

It was a day of networking yesterday for the WhatsUpJacksonville.com team. If you missed the array of luncheons around town, here is a brief recap of what local organizations and business professionals were up to during yesterday’s lunch hour!

The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted its Board of Governors Quarterly Meeting. The program was an update from each of the committees focusing on Chamber priorities for the year – Downtown Revitalization, Retaining the Jaguars, Small Business Development, and Current Affairs, which is focusing on Vote NO for Amendment 4 and Enhancing Member Value.

The North Florida Hotel & Lodging Association’s (NFHLA) monthly luncheon was held at One Ocean Resort Hotel & Spa in Atlantic Beach. Two guest speakers attended the program, including Keith Overton, chairman of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) and Brenna Dacks, business development manager for VISIT FLORIDA. Keith encouraged members of NFHLA to become members of the FRLA so that the state and the local associations can work together on issues affecting the hotel and lodging industry. The NFHLA’s voice is important to FRLA and the organization wants representation from all regions of Florida. Brenna shared with guests how VISIT FLORIDA promotes travel to and within Florida. The organization’s goal is to establish Florida as the #1 destination for travel in the world!

The final luncheon our team attended was the Associated Builders and Contractors Women’s Council event. The topic of the program was “Implementing Healthcare Reform in the Workplace” and guest speakers included Lindsay Connor O’Brien and Amy Harrison Turci from Ford & Harrison.

Do you have any great networking events coming up that you would like to share? Add it to our comments section below, and in all likelihood, we will see you there!