New and Nice
Consider Callista Village, right off University Parkway in the Longwood Run area. The location is great – the middle of the University Parkway corridor, ten minutes from downtown yet far west enough to avoid most of the Lakewood Ranch traffic. The enormous new mall with Neimans and Nordstrom – on hold for now but hopefully going to happen when things pick up – is a couple of miles away.
And the Callista Village homes are terrific. They’re built in the Key West cottage style, a nice change from the over-worked Spanish Med look, and there’s a heavy commitment to “green building.” That’s very nice for the environment, of course, but it’s also nice for the homeowner, who will save money with a solar hot water heater (panels on the roof) and a foam-insulated attic that helps cool the house significantly – in addition to double paned windows, a metal roof, concrete block construction (with fiber concrete siding) and those premium organic paints that don’t give off noxious gasses.
Even though Callista Village is at the entry level price of new construction, the homes have a lot of luxury features that add an enormous amount to livability. I particularly liked the giant living area and the extra-large kitchen with its own dinning area. The master bath deserves mention, too. There’s a large walk- in shower – in addition to the tub – and of course, double sinks. The whole house has lots of windows and the ceilings are an impressive 9-feet, four-inches tall.